TRACK 11 (Mar86-04-s01) Song 4: Karra-ve kanya-verver
| Sung text | Free Translation |
| karra-ve kanya-verver-rtedi kay[a-ndhi]karra-ve kak-ung-bende badjalarrribene ribene ribene ribene ribene ribene …ii aa ükarra-ve kanya-verver-rtedi kaya-ndhi | It [a breeze] is forever cooling my backAway now to Badjalarr foreverRibene ribene, ribene ribene, ribene ribene …ii, aa, üIt [a breeze] is forever cooling my back |
Here a ghost sings about its journey to Badjalarr, the Wadjiginy island of the dead. Feeling the wind on your back is a sign of the presence of a ghost. Lambudju described getting this song from a Wumymalang ghost as follows: ‘the wind’s blowing and I’m lying down here. I slept and dreamt and a maruy (Wunymalang) spirit came and sang the song. I got that picture and I sang that song’ (Marett, Barwick and Ford, 2001, pp 13-14).
The song is in a mixture of Batjamalh and Emmi: text phrase 1 (karra-ve kanya-verver-rtedi kaya) is in Emmi, while text phrase 2 (karra-ve kak-ung-bende badjalarr) is in Batjamalh. Such mixing of languages is unusual in wangga songs, but Lambudju is said to have frequently mixed the two languages in everyday conversation, perhaps because he was brought up in an Emmi-speaking family though his own ancestral language was Batjamalh. Despite Lambudju’s claim to have composed this song himself, Marett has suggested that it is entirely possibly that this song is older, being one of the songs originally in Batjamalh transmitted to him from his father’s generation via his adoptive father, Mun.gi, whose mother tongue was Emmi (Marett, 2005, p 195). This may be another explanation for the macaronic nature of the text.
Fluent speakers of Emmi assured us that text phrase 1 should end with the enclitic –ndhi (towards speaker), which would give the meaning, ‘it [the wind] is always blowing on my back,’ but it is not present in this performance, although careful listening suggests it is present when the text phrase is repeated at the end of the song. It can also be heard in the performance of this song that follows (track 12).
Song structure summary
VOCAL SECTION 1
Melodic section 1
Text phrase 1
Rhythmic mode 4c (moderate uneven triple)
| karra | -ve | kanya | -verver | -rtedi | kay[a | -ndhi] |
| SW | forever | 3MIN.A.IR.make | cool | back | 3MIN.S.IR.lie | towards speaker |
It [a breeze] is forever cooling my back
Text phrase 2
Rhythmic mode 4c (moderate uneven triple)
| karra | -ve | kak | -ung | -bende | badjalarr |
| SW | forever | away | PURP | now | place name |
Away now to Badjalarr forever
| ribene | ribene | ribene | ribene | ribene | ribene | ribene | rib |
| SW | SW | SW | SW | SW | SW | SW | SW |
ribene ribene, ribene ribene, ribene ribene …
Melodic section 2
Text phrase 3
Rhythmic mode 4c (moderate uneven triple)
| ii | aa | ü |
| SW | SW | SW |
ii, aa, ü
Melodic section 2
Text phrase 4
Rhythmic mode 4c (moderate uneven triple)
| karra | -ve | kanya | -verver | -rtedi | kay[a | -ndhi] |
| SW | forever | 3MIN.A.IR.make | cool | back | 3MIN.S.IR.lie | towards speaker |
It [a breeze] is forever cooling my back
INSTRUMENTAL SECTION 1
Rhythmic mode 4c (moderate uneven triple)