WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

Fall is in the air, loving it. Halloween is almost upon us while I write this month’s blog. Then comes Thanksgiving and Christmas. The end to another year.

I was thinking along the lines of what’s it all about. And several thoughts came up. I love the song by Brooks and Dunn That’s What It’s All About, which centers around family.

During the past 2 years we have been distanced from friends, family, and our music together. Very stressful and very sad times indeed. We had a very special time with our music family during our WUP and I believe it warmed our hearts to be together again. Brooks and Dunn might have sang about immediate family, but there are all kinds of families or communities. GPDA is a musical family.

Then there is the Hokey Pokey and the famous saying That’s What It’s All About. It has some interesting history. This song is played and danced to throughout the world. It’s called Hokey Pokey or Hokey Tokey, Okey Cokey, or Hokey Cokey, or "boogie woogie" (pronounced /ˌbʊɡiː ˈwʊɡiː/). Oh my!

According to Wikipedia it originated in the UK as early as 1826 as a folk dance tune. Here are the original words:

Fal de ral la, fal de ral la:

Hinkumbooby, round about;

Right hands in, and left hands out,

Hinkumbooby, round about;

Fal de ral la, fal de ral la.[2]

I had to look up Hinkumbooby and found it to mean a singing game. Rightly so.

English/Scottish version from 1857 lyrics are:

I put my right hand in,

I put my right hand out,

In out, in out.

shake it all about.

Another version from 1872 and called Ugly Mug included these lyrics:

I put my right hand in

I put my right hand out

I give my right hand, shake, shake, shake, and turn myself about.

In 1891 a town in Golspie, Scotland used this version:

Hilli ballu ballai!

Hilli ballu ballight!

Hilli ballu ballai!

Upon a Saturday night.

Put all your right feet out,

Put all your left feet in,

Turn them a little, a little,

And turn yourselves about.[5]

1892 from Sheffield, England included the following words:

Can you dance looby, looby,

All on a Friday night?

You put your right foot in;

And then you take it out,

And wag it, and wag it, and wag it,

Then turn and turn about.[6]

Then a Shaker song was formed from this little ditty named Hinkum-booby in 1940.

Then pops up the Looby Loo which originated in Hula, Mexico and very similar to the Hokey Pokey.

The history goes on and on from all over the world. You can find it HERE .

Back to the original question, That’s What It’s all about?

We are considering playing at Botanica this Christmas and I for one am keeping my fingers crossed we can. It is such a magical place and we would be together again playing our beloved music. Our musical family playing for others. That’s What It’s All About. (I wouldn’t mind dancing to this either!)

Keep the music in the air,

Your VP, NancyJ