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Beware
Category: Children's Chant
Source: Azizi Powell Collection; {Pittsburgh, PA 1998,
African American girls, ages 7-9 years}
Beware, ready, set, go.
Beware.
We’re comin through.
No one can stop us,
not even you.
We got the power
to over-roll.
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,
so beware!
“Beware” is a unison chant that I collected in
1998 from African American girls, ages 7-9 years in Pittsburgh, PA.
I have collected several slightly different versions of this chant.
Children perform this chant by linking arms together and moving
down the sidewalk in a horizontal line, forcing people to move out of
their way. “Beware”
reminds me of the “get out of the way” chants that are performed by
Mardi Gras “Wild Indians” groups.
Since the late 18th century, New Orleans’s African
American “Wild Indian” groups have celebrated Mardi Gras and other
special occasions by dressing up in elaborate costumes of feathers and
beads and marching down streets chanting and playing drums.
Everyone has to get out of the way of the “Wild Indian” groups.
One major difference between this children’s chant
and the Mardi Gras Indian chants is that “Beware” is chanted in
unison, but the Mardi Gras Indian chants usually have a call &
response format. “Call
& response” is a very common performance style of African American
music. Music created by
African people and other people of African descent throughout the world
often has this call & response style.
In call & response music, a soloist sings or chants a short
phrase and the rest of the group responds to what the soloist says with
the same short phrase or with another short phrase.
The group’s phrase usually doesn’t change that much throughout
the song or chant.
Notice that “Beware” starts with the introductory
sentence, “Beware, ready, set, go.”
A lot of African American children’s chants start with an
introductory phrase or sentence. This
may be done to make sure that players will be ready to stay on beat.
However, introductory phrases or instrumental chords also are found
at the beginning of other types of African American music and songs.
This practice may simply be done to announce that the song or
musical piece is about to begin.
Sometimes words used in children’s songs and
chants may not be real words. This
may be done on purpose or because a word or words may be accidentally
pronounced wrong. I think
that the word “over-roll” that is used in the "Beware" chant may mean “to be in charge of” (“over-rule”-to
rule over someone or something”).
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