BLICKSEMS! DIE ALIBAMA!
This is a traditional Afrikaans song, especially popular among the Cape Malays in Cape Town. It is translated into English as "There comes the Alabama, the Alabama comes over the sea. Girl, girl, the reed bed is made, the reed bed is made for me to sleep on."There are two stories about its origin: one is that the song was composed about the US Confederate raiding ship Alabama which called in Cape Town during the American Civil War in 1863 after capturing the Federal ship Sea Bride in Table Bay, leading to a huge party on the beach where the captain, Admiral Semmes, handed out provisions seized during raids. Another theory is that there was a local boat called Alabama that brought thatching reads to Cape Town from St Helena Bay on the West Coast of South Africa.
Daar kom die Alibama,
Die Alibama die kom oor die see
Daar kom die Alibama,
Die Alibama die kom oor die see.
Nooi, nooi, die rietkooi, nooi,
Die rietkooi is gemaak,
Die rietkooi is vir my gemaak
Om daarop te slaap.
Nooi, nooi, die rietkooi, nooi,
Die rietkooi is gemaak,
Die rietkooi is vir my gemaak
Om daarop te slaap.
Die Alibama, die Alibama,
Die Alibama kom oor die see.
Die Alibama, die Alibama,
Die Alibama kom oor die see.
I like it!
Afrikaans looks like a cross between Plattdeutsch and Dutch . . . I can actually read it, much to my amazement. (I do read High German and Plattdeutsch)
Howzabout something in English?
"ROLL ALABAMA ROLL!"
When the Alabama Keel was laid
Roll Alabama Roll
It was laid in the yard of Jonathan Laird
Oh! Roll Alabama Roll
It was laid in the yard of Jonathan Laird
Roll Alabama Roll
It was laid in the town of Birkenhead
Oh! Roll Alabama Roll
Down the Mersey Way she rolled then
Roll Alabama Roll
Liverpool fitted her with Guns and Men
Oh! Roll Alabama Roll
From the Western Isles she sailed forth
Roll Alabama Roll
To destroy the commerce of the North
Oh! Roll Alabama Roll
To Cherbourg Port she sailed one day
Roll Alabama Roll
To take her count of prize money
Oh! Roll Alabama Roll
Many a Sailor lad foresaw his doom
Roll Alabama Roll
When the Kersage move in view
Oh! Roll Alabama Roll
A Ball from the forward pivot that day
Roll Alabama Roll
Shot the Alabama's Stern away
Oh! Roll Alabama Roll
Up the three mile limit in 64
Roll Alabama Roll
The Alabama Sank to the Ocean floor
Oh! Roll Alabama Roll
When the Alabama's Keel was laid
Roll Alabama Roll
It was laid in the yard of Jonathan Laird
Roll Roll Alabama Roll