Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST,Che che cole...
Date: 19 Dec 08 - 06:32 AM

Made famous by Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe....

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: Azizi
Date: 19 Dec 08 - 03:36 PM

Yep. Guest, che che cole is right that this song was made famous by those two Latin performers.

GUEST,wincal's post on 01 Feb 08 - 10:43 PM was the first one in this thread to mention that "Puerto Rican Salsa artist's Hector Lavoe and Wille Colon did a funky adaptation of this children's song on their 1967 "El Malo" album".

I posted hyperlinks to two YouTube threads of Latin versions of this song in my 01 Feb 08 - 11:11 PM comment on this thread.

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST,ada (guest)
Date: 19 Dec 08 - 07:05 PM

I should've read the entire thread...
Another example of african/latino cultural roots...

thanks,
ada

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: Azizi
Date: 19 Dec 08 - 08:53 PM

Ada, no problemo :o)

Please consider joining Mudcat. It would be good to have another Black person posting on this forum.

Membership is free and easy. Just click on the Membership icon at the top of this page on the right hand side.

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: Azizi
Date: 15 May 09 - 02:22 PM

Here is an email about "Kye Kye Kule" that I received today from a Ghanaian woman, Abena Gyebi:

"Sorry, cocoyam, You see I have always known the Ghanaian children's song Kye kye kule. The Kum adende or Kum aye dei was always part of it. I do not believe it is a later addition; I mean I'm into my fifties and I've always known it with the Kum. Maybe it's because the people you talked to were male. I guess when we as girls were playing kye kye kule they were busy playing football or so.(Or hunting rats?-:)

'Kum' apart from its Akan meaning - to kill- is also the sound made when something falls heavily on the ground,like a child falling or something dropping.

The other version of the game was,instead of running behind the circle and tapping someone on the shoulder, one bent down and dropped a piece of cloth behind one of those sitting in the circle. It was supposed to be done so artfully that the one with the piece of cloth did not notice it.The singing and clapping then got more exciting as the runner got closer and closer to where she had dropped the piece of cloth. If the sitting person still did not notice the cloth, she got a 'boo' or a smack on the shoulder for being inattentive. On the other hand, if she got alerted, she would then run as fast as possible chasing the first runner until the first runner took her place in the circle. Then she would take over the kye kye kule and look for another person behind whom she would drop the piece of cloth. This version of kye kye kule was an adaptation of another children's game we called 'anto akyire'"

-snip-

Abena Gyebi is correct that the only Ghanaians who have given me information about this song are males. I'm very grateful that she has shared this performance information and information about the meaning of the word "Kum" in that song.

Subject: ADD: Che Che Cole
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 May 09 - 02:51 PM

Well, I woun't vouch for their quality, but here are the lyrics for "Che Che Cole."

Source: http://www.metrolyrics.com/che-che-cole-lyrics-marc-anthony.html

Movie: El Cantante
Artist: Héctor Lavoe
Song: Che Che Cole

Vamos todos a bailar
al estilo africano
si no lo sabes bailar
yo te enseñaré mi hermano.

A ti te gusta la bomba
y te gusta el baquiné
para que goces ahora,
africano es el bembé.

Che che colé, que bueno e'
Che che cofriza, muerto 'e la risa...

Oye tú sentado allá
pareces venezolano
ven aquí vamo' a bailar
que todos somos hermanos.

Lo bailan en Venezuela,
lo bailan en Panamá.
Este ritmo es africano
y donde quiera vá acabar.

Che che colé, que bueno e'
Che che cofiza, muerto 'e la risa...

Ya yo sé que te gustó,
quieres bailarlo otra vez,
bailalo en la punta del pie
y veras que bueno es.

Ya yo sé que te gustó,
quieres bailarlo otra vez
pues ponte bien los zapatos
que los tienes al revés.

Che che colé, que bueno e'
Che che cofiza, muerto 'e la risa...


You can hear sound samples here. Does it sound at all like the African tune?
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST,Lolly
Date: 20 Jul 09 - 04:36 PM

omg my mum taught me this when me and my sisters were so young and i still remember. We were born in England but mum was raised in Ghana n shes ewe..but i dont remember the kum at the end. either way thankz 4 ur post azizi brought back happy memories!!! nw im goin 2 remind my sisters n laugh:)

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: Azizi
Date: 20 Jul 09 - 05:59 PM

Joe, I'm just seeing your post of 15 May 09 - 02:51 PM. I can't answer your question does the Latin songs sound like the African version of this song. But the "che che cole/che che cofisa" part sounds like the USA song (and somewhat like the foot stomping chant). But of course, the tempo is quite different between all of those versions and the USA song (and the percussive foot stomping chant).

**

Greetings, GUEST,Lolly.

Thanks for sharing your memories of this song.

Best wishes,

Azizi

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 03 Jan 10 - 09:51 AM

I was taught an Americanized version of this song in 5th or 6th grade by a music teacher named Daria Lacey...I also recently heard it performed by a GREAT band here in Pittsburgh named Machete

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Feb 10 - 06:43 PM

Im from ghana and I have to say that Kofi is a ghana name and alot of the words in the song i can understand. I have been singing this song since I was a child. My mother knows it, my grandmother knows it and my great grand mother knows It. I recently caught the spanish verson on the radio and started singing along right away. I was very surprised someone else from another part of the world had made a song with my childhood play song. The song has been around for a least a few centuries Its not surprising that there have been different versions made

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST,Alondra
Date: 08 Jun 10 - 03:20 AM

Such a small world! Im from Puerto Rico and I have been singing this song for a long time too. I never really knew what the words that were not in spanish meant but have always loved this song. Is huge in latin america! Its nice to know that is so special to others too.

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST,guest (lonesome d stringband)
Date: 20 Jul 10 - 06:06 PM

I felt bad about reupping this old thread but noticed it's happened occasionally previously. I really need to sign up for this site. At any rate, just letting you guys know about the terrific Antibalas version of the Colon/Lavoe joint. Antibalas are nominally an Afrobeat band (and in any event are consistently excellent) and their Makossa arrangement more or less brings the chant at its center back home in a different form (even though Makossa is Cameroonian, and I'm not even sure how much of a makossa this arrangement is, but... you get the picture.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ20WrymXIs

I learned the chant in elementary school as well as a kid in the late 1970s in suburban Philadelphia (T/E school district). I recall learning it from a visiting arts troupe but have no idea who. I also think whoever was teaching it to us mistransliterated some of the syllables as we both distinctly recalled the last line as sounding more like 'CHI a ye ye' - but we did follow it with counting it to ten like in some of the videos of Ghanaian schoolkids available on Youtube.

Good blog entry on the subject I came across today: http://lapelanga.com/che-che-cole-0

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Sep 10 - 03:57 AM

Interesting... I thought the lyrics were in a Bantu language. 'Viene de Katanga' means it comes from Katanga in The Congo.

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST,Hi
Date: 11 Mar 11 - 03:54 PM

I am an assistant teacher for the Somerville Community schools after school program in somerville, MA. We have an african druming club for the k-2nd graders. They learn rhythm, beat, and culture of african drumming and song. currently i am sitting in on the computer to their club time and they are learnign their song from the instructor. They sounds great! :)

He says one line and they repeat after him. They love it and i love it! it is so catchy and fun! He told us all about how it is from Ghana and was a popular childrens song.

Just thought that you would find this great!

Somerville is lovated 5 minutes from Cambridge, MA and 10 minutes from Boston, MA

Thank you :)

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST,Norway
Date: 06 Apr 11 - 09:33 AM

Hi. The soccer team SK Brann from Bergen Norway sings a version of Kye Kye Kula after matches in the lockeroom.

http://www.brann.no/nyheter/branntv/video/508421/

Subject: RE: Kye Kye Kule {Che Che Kulay}
From: GUEST,Jones- London
Date: 14 Nov 11 - 09:28 AM

Chay chay kolay
repeat)

Chay Chay cap-e-sah
(repeat)

Cap-e-so-longa
(repeat)

Longa-te-longa
(repeat)

Kum ah-den-dey
(repeat)

I'd like to know if anyone has heard this version. I know it's a playground game and written this as it is spoken.

Is there a right or wrong way to say this.

Please help.

Many thanks