Lyr Add: Man Piaba (Belafonte/Rollins)

Subject: Man Piaba
From: bseed(charleskratz)
Date: 17 Mar 00 - 10:08 PM

This is the Harry Belefonte version, as well as I can remember it: I'm missing one line in the Sigmund Fraud verse, and perhaps someone can supply it. I can't remember if Belefonte sang it as "The woman piaba, the man piaba" or if I got that from someone else. I think it has a bit more interesting syncopation with the woman first.

(Wo-)man Piaba

When I was a lad just three-foot-three
Certain questions occurred to me
So I asked my father quite seriously
To tell me the story 'bout the bird and the bee.
He stuttered and he stammered pathetically
And this is what he said to me:

(chorus)
The wo-man piaba and the man piaba
And the tahn-tahn coil bakka lemon grass.
The lily-root, golly-root, belly root, uh!
And the famous granny scratch-scratch.

Well it was clear as mud but it covered the ground
And the confusion made me head turn round,
So I went to see a good friend of mine
Known to the world as Albert Einstein (He said, Son,)
From beginning of time and creativity
Has existed the force of relativity:
Pi-R-Squared and minus ten
Is a root known only when
The solar system in one light year
Make the Hayden Planetarium disappear,
And if Mount Everest doesn't move,
I am positive that it will prove,
That the wo-man piaba and the man piaba...

Well, it was clear as mud but it covered the ground
And the confusion made me head turn round,
So I got on a boat and I went abroad
And in Baden, Germany, saw Sigmund Fraud, (He said, Son,)
From your sad face remove the grouch
And place the body upon the couch.
I can see from your frustration,
A neurotic sublimation.
- - - - - - - - - - (missing line)
And your Rorshack shows that you are peripatetic.
It all started with a broken sibling,
In the words of the famous Rudyard Kipling,
The wo-man piaba...

Well, I've traveled far and I've traveled wide,
But I still haven't got meself a bride,
All of the great men upon this earth
Have confused me since my birth.
I've been on the land and I've been on the sea
But I still haven't learned about the bird and the bee,
And now that I am ninety-three
Well, I don't give a damn, you see,
If the wo-man piaba and the man piaba...

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba
From: TheOldMole
Date: 17 Mar 00 - 10:38 PM

Love and hate are psychosomatic

Subject: Lyr Add: MAN PIABA (Belafonte/Rollins)
From: Abby Sale
Date: 18 Mar 00 - 10:17 AM

MAN PIABA
Lyrics by Harry Belafonte and Jack K. Rollins

When I was a lad of three foot three,
Certain questions occurred to me,
So I asked me father quite seriously
To tell me the story 'bout the bird and bee.
He stammered and he stuttered pathetic'ly
And this is what he said to me:

    He said, 'The woman piaba and the man piaba
    And the Ton Ton call baka lemon grass.
    The lily root, gully root, belly root uhmm,
    And the famous grandy scratch scratch.

It was clear as mud but it covered the ground
And the confusion made the brain go 'round.
I went and ask a good friend of mine,
Known to the world as Albert Einstein.

He said, 'Son, from the beginning of time and creativity
There existed the force of relativity.
Pi r square and a minus ten
Is a routine only when

Hey! The solar system in one light year
Make the Hayden Planetarium disappear,
So if Mt Everest doesn't move,
I am positive that it will prove

    That the woman piaba and the man piaba
    And the Ton Ton call baka lemon grass,
    The lily root, gully root, belly root uhmm,
    And the famous grandy scratch scratch.

It was clear as mud but it covered the ground
And the confusion made me brain go 'round.
I grabbed a boat and I went abroad
In Baden Baden asked Sigmund Fraud.

He said 'Son, from your sad face remove the grouch.
Put the body up on the couch.
I can see from your frustration
A neurotic sublimation.

Hey! Love and hate is psychosomatic.
Your Rorschach shows that you're a peripatetic.
It all started with a broken sibling.
In the words of the famous Rudyard Kipling.

I've been over land and been over sea
Trying to find the answer 'bout the bird and bee
But now that I am ninety-three,
I don't give a damn you see.

    Hey, a woman piaba and the man piaba
    And the Ton Ton call baka lemon grass,
    The lily root, gully root, belly root uhmm,
    And the famous grandy scratch scratch.

Well, I traveled far and I traveled wide
And I don't even have meself a bride.
All the great men upon this earth
Have confused me since my birth.

    If the woman piaba and the man piaba
    And the Ton Ton call baka lemon grass,
    The lily root, gully root, belly root uhmm,
    And the famous grandy scratch scratch.


I wonder what language 'Piaba' is?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 18 Mar 00 - 01:52 PM

My recollection of Belafonte's singing is that it's "The woman piaba and the man piab"--without that final "a" on what the man does.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba
From: Bill D
Date: 19 Mar 00 - 03:39 PM

Right, Dave..my wife Rita(Ferrara) sings that, and I 'believe' posted it here once, but the search doesn't find that now...(we have the original record, and she listened closely and got it from htere)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Nov 10 - 07:37 PM

Woman piaba and man piaba are apparently plants out of Africa.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba
From: Leadfingers
Date: 20 Nov 10 - 08:09 AM

Popularised in UK by Johnny Silvo - He sang it the last time I saw him atThe Tap in Brentford

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba
From: Commander Crabbe
Date: 20 Nov 10 - 09:40 AM

Piaba

From the Spanish verb piar:
piaba is:
   1st person singular (yo) Imperfect Indicative

piar Verb
1.cheep, chirp, chip, chirrup, peep, tweet, twitter, warble.

CC

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 20 Nov 10 - 09:43 AM

Oh dear, they have Twitter in Spain too :(

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 20 Nov 10 - 02:06 PM

PIABA, n. A small fresh water fish of Brazil, about the size of the minnow, much esteemed for food. -- Webster 1828

"...a herb just for the females. It is helpful for menstrual cramps, and, when combined with other plants, makes a refreshing herbal bath to soothe the body and relieve stress. Woman Piaba (hyptis brevipes), made popular in a song by Harry Belafonte, is a mint-like herb of African descent, which makes a good tea for colds, fever, headache and gout. It is also a potent medicine when the juice from the leaves is squeezed on a fresh wound."
www.jamaicaobserver.com/westernnews/Get-a--woman-piaba--bath-to-relieve-stress_7693980

Based on the song's chorus, I'm guessing that the second paste is substantially reflects the meaning of the song.

Damn! I love the internet!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba (Belafonte/Rollins)
From: GUEST,Steven Strauss
Date: 28 Oct 13 - 10:53 PM

I have assumed the string bass chair in Skip Henderson and the Starboard Watch here in Oakland CA, and Skip has been singing it in an intermittently incomprehensible way at the regular Thursday night outing (twenty-some years and counting). To sing a Calypso without the accent is perhaps as offensive as singing it with, if one does not habitually speak so. Singers who love Calypso songs face three unpalatable options, and for myself I have decided to limit my renditions of such material to instrumental ones.

Is it the complete intent of the song to entertain by exemplifying the discomfort surrounding learning and teaching about sex?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba (Belafonte/Rollins)
From: Mrrzy
Date: 29 Oct 13 - 11:02 AM

I always heard "and the famous randy scratch scratch" which makes slightly more sense...

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba (Belafonte/Rollins)
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 29 Oct 13 - 12:04 PM

Mrrzy, are you actually looking for sense in this song? That way madness lies.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba (Belafonte/Rollins)
From: GUEST,James Fryer
Date: 05 Sep 14 - 12:00 PM

Although the Belafonte version is corrupted, the original version (by Bill Rogers) has plenty of meaning, it is basically a catalogue of West Indian medicinal herbs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00wXT7Ksv6E

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Man Piaba (Belafonte/Rollins)
From: Genie
Date: 08 Sep 14 - 03:09 PM

Abby, some of the lyrics were our of order your post above.   Here's the whole thing:

MAN PIABA
Lyrics by Harry Belafonte and Jack K. Rollins

When I was a lad of three foot three,
Certain question occurred to me,
So I asked me father quite seriously
To tell me the story 'bout the bird and bee.
He stammered and he stuttered pathetic'ly
And this is what he said to me:

    He say, 'The woman piaba and the man piaba
    And the Ton Ton call baka lemon grass.
    The lily root, gully root, belly root uhmm,
    And the famous grandy scratch scratch."


It was clear as mud but it cover the ground
And the confusion made the brain go 'round.
So I went to ask a good friend of mine,
Known to the world as Albert Einstein.

He said, 'Son, from the beginning of time and creativity
There existed the force of relativity.
Pi r square and a minus ten
Is a routine only when

Hey! the solar system in three light year
Make the Hayden Planetarium disappear,
So if Mt Everest doesn't move,
I am positive that it will prove

    That the woman piaba and the man piaba
    And the Ton Ton call baka lemon grass,
    The lily root, gully root, belly root uhmm,
    And the famous grandy scratch scratch.



It was clear as mud but it cover the ground
And the confusion made me brain go 'round.
So I grabbed a boat and I went abroad
In Baden Baden asked Sigmund Freud. He say, "Son

"From your sad face remove the grouch.
Put the body upon the couch.
I can see from your frustration
A neurotic sublimation.

Hey! Love and hate is psychosomatic.
Your Rorschach shows that you're a peripatetic.
It all started with a broken sibling.
In the words of the famous Rudyard Kipling.

Hey, the woman piaba and the man piaba
    And the Ton Ton call baka lemon grass,
    The lily root, gully root, belly root uhmm,
    And the famous grandy scratch scratch.


Well, I traveled far and I traveled wide
And I don't even have meself a bride.
All the great men upon this earth
Have confused me since my birth.
I've been over land and been over sea
Trying to find the answer 'bout the bird and bee
But now that I am ninety-three,
I don't give a damn you see.

    If the woman piaba and the man piaba
    And the Ton Ton call baka lemon grass,
    The lily root, gully root, belly root uhmm,
    And the famous grandy scratch scratch.