TRACK 21 (Mar88-05-s13) Song 15: Ya Rembe Ngaya Lima Ngaya

This song is performed in the moderate tempo band. You can hear the slightly more relaxed feeling that it has compared with the energetic fast rhythmic modes of the previous lerri ‘happy’ songs (in Marett, 2005, it was wrongly described as being in the fast tempo band). Even though the beating is even, and the repeated vocable text elements (‘rembe ngaya’ and ‘lima ngaya’) of melodic sections 1 and 1a are each set to two beats, the addition of ‘ya’ at the beginning of the melodic sections creates a three-beat feel.

Another interesting feature of this song is that melodic section 1 is sung twice in vocal section 1.

Song structure summary

VOCAL SECTIONS 1-2

Melodic section 1 (repeated in vocal section 1)

Text phrase 1

Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)

Ya rembe ngaya

Text phrases 2-5

Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)

Lima ngaya rembe ngaya

Text phrase 6

Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)

Lima ngaya rembe ng

Melodic section 2

Text phrase 7

Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)

Yagarra! What am I singing? What am I singing?

Text phrase 8

Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)

What am I singing?

Text phrase 9

Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)

Yagarra rembe ngaya

Text phrases 10-11

Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)

Lima ngaya rembe ngaya

Text phrase 12

Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)

Lima ngaya

(vocal section 2 only)

rembe ng

INSTRUMENTAL SECTIONS 1-2

Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)

CODA

Rhythmic mode 4d (moderate uneven quintuple)

yit ngayi yit ngowe yit ngowe …