The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #88593   Message #1665094
Posted By: GUEST,Bob Coltman
09-Feb-06 - 06:55 AM
Thread Name: Open up the window, Noah
Subject: RE: Open up the window, Noah
My favorite old Georgia Sea Islands song "Norah Hice duh Winduh" seems to be the original of Open Up the Window Noah.

What a great song! I heard it sung by the Society For the Preservation of Spirituals of Charleston, SC on a private issue LP c. 1950.

A different version of the song is in Lydia Parrish's book Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islands, but I give it as the SFPS sang it, which I think is a better version. I give the dialect spelling as they gave it in their notes:

NORAH HICE DUH WINDUH

Turkle dub come flop dis way,
Hice duh winduh, let the dub come in,
Rain keep rainin' all around,
Hice the winduh, let the dub come in,

CHO
An' it's Norah, hice the winduh,
Norah, hice the winduh,
Norah, hice the winduh,
Hice the winduh, let the dub come in.

Some come cripple an' some come lame....
Some come walkin' in Jedus' name...

Paul an' Silas dey in jail,
One of em pray an de odder one watch

Shadrack, Meshack, Abednigo,
Cas' in three an' come out fo'

Stah in de eas', stah in de wes'
Wish dat stah been in my breast'

(repeat verse1)

***
Glossary is mostly obvious, but I give equivalents anyway to avoid misunderstanding:

turkle dub = turtle dove
winduh = window
hice = heist, raise
Jedus = Jesus
odder = other
cas' = cast
stah = star