Origins:Matilda [Mathilda](King Radio/Norman Span)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: artbrooks
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 11:13 PM

Morwin, posts here stay for 24 hours, even if there is no response. It is not necessary to refresh eery few hours.

BTW, it is 'caat' (or 'caht') rather than 'cat'...an attempt at dialect, doncha know.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: Amos
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 11:01 PM

It was his life savings and she snuck off with it, so he had to sell his cart (not cat) and horse to have food and pay rent.


I know, I was there!! :D


A

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: GUEST,MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 10:26 PM

Going by *my* memory of the lyrics and the way I sing it, if that is possible- it could be that Matilda sold the cart and horse out of revenge. Or alternatively there is no motivation. If that is true and we can accept the narrator's word for it, then either he did something or she is one of the worst girlfriends ever! No wonder he says "So my friends, never to love again".

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: EBarnacle
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 05:39 PM

It heard it so long ago that I have no recall of where or when.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 12:54 PM

Griska-

I concede to your superior reasoning.

"Those wicked women force us to write sad songs which may even top the charts."

Not all our sad songs top the charts but them women can be oh so wicked!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 12:22 PM

According to Joe Offer above (10 Dec 98 - 04:03 PM), Matilda's theft made the singer sell his "cat" (cart?) and horse. That means, he sold these after the woman had left and he had no cash left to buy food etc. When that money was spent and the foundation of his economic existence was gone as well, he had to write "calypso" lyrics. Sad, sad. Those wicked women force us to write sad songs which may even top the charts.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 11:32 AM

Not according to the version of the lyrics that Joe Offer posted above:

Five hundred dollars, friends I lost
What made me sell me cat(sic) and horse,
Hey - a - Matilda, she take me money and run Venezuela.

I'm assuming "cat" is a typo for "cart" but I could be wrong.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: GUEST,MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 10:33 AM

bump

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: GUEST,MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 10:31 AM

Refresh? Anyone else have an opinion?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: GUEST,MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 07:39 AM

Besides, selling the horse and cart to keep her wouldn't work- a horse and cart was apparently a status symbol in 1920s rural Trinidad.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: GUEST,MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 07:35 AM

Ha ha Charley! Didn't she sell the horse and cart though, not him? From memory: "Five hundred (thousand) dollars friends I lost, de woman even sold me cart and horse."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 07:32 AM

He sold the horse and cart so that he could entice Matilda to stay with him while supporting her in the style she was accustomed to, but she only did so long enough to steal his money and run to Venezuela. He wasn't thinking of his economic future when he sold cart and horse. Case closed. So sad!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: GUEST,MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 07:24 AM

Refresh

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: GUEST,MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 13 Apr 11 - 01:28 AM

P.P.S. to third post: Just something I thought of because the song's subject matter is almost bluesy (I think a blues cover would be awesome) and in many blues song, apparently, there are references to drunkenness)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: GUEST,MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 10:25 PM

The "cart and horse" line is what puzzles me. A cart and horse was equivalent to a car in the rural West Indies at the time. So from this we can guess the narrator is probably living in the countryside and uses the cart and horse as transport. If she sold the cart and horse there must be something else going on- would anyone really sell one of their most valuable possessions with no real reason?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: GUEST,MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 10:18 PM

Reply to EBarnacle's post: Where did you hear that line?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: GUEST,MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 09:56 PM

Maybe so as to why she took the money, but why would she sell the cart and horse though? Another question about the lyrics; in the Great Depression (when King Radio's version appeared) would five hundred dollars have been enough to buy a "house and land"in Trinidad? Doesn't five thousand make more sense? I believed when I first heard it that she was a gold-digger but wouldn't a gold-digger just take the money and not care about the cart and horse?
P.S. Does anyone think the singer is probably drowning his sorrows whiel he tells the story?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: EBarnacle
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 09:53 PM

$500 would have been substantial money in the islands when the song was written.

A variant I have heard is:
She take me money and run with the sailah [Sailor]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 09:46 PM

Greed, wrath, lust, gluttony, pride, sloth, or envy?

Just seven deadly suggestions.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: GUEST,MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 07:53 PM

Thanks, Joe! So what was Matilda's motive?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Matilda, Matilda (from Harry Belafonte)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 07:49 PM

Hi, Morwen -
Most times, it's best to build on existing threads. You can find old threads by putting a keyword in the filter on the main page, and setting the "age" back.

I moved you over to this thread, where people already have lyrics and other information to build on.

-Joe Offer, Forum Moderator-

Subject: Origins: Matilda, Matilda: Why did she take it?
From: GUEST,MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 12 Apr 11 - 07:29 PM

In the song "Matilda", about the woman who took a man's money and left for Venezuela, what was her motive for taking the money, which was either $5000 or $500, and selling the cart and horse? Was it five hundred dollars or five thousand dollars? There could've been a revenge element, or something else. Would like to read your thoughts.

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics :
From: Peter T.
Date: 11 Dec 98 - 10:52 AM

I think in Allan Sherman's song she (My Zelda) runs with the tailor (rhymes with Venezuela).

Yours, Peter T.

Subject: Tune Add: MATILDA, MATILDA! (Norman Span)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 Dec 98 - 02:16 AM

MIDI file: MATILDA.MID

Timebase: 192

Name: MATILDA, MATILDA!
Text: By Norman Span
Copyright: Copyright © 1953 by MCA Music
TimeSig: 2/2 24 8
Start
0192 1 60 110 0256 0 60 000 0032 1 64 110 0256 0 64 000 0032 1 67 110 0912 0 67 000 0048 1 65 110 0256 0 65 000 0032 1 69 110 0256 0 69 000 0032 1 72 110 0912 0 72 000 0048 1 67 110 0256 0 67 000 0032 1 71 110 0256 0 71 000 0032 1 74 110 0160 0 74 000 0032 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 67 110 0190 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0160 0 62 000 0032 1 60 110 0160 0 60 000 0224 1 60 110 0256 0 60 000 0032 1 64 110 0256 0 64 000 0032 1 67 110 0912 0 67 000 0048 1 65 110 0256 0 65 000 0032 1 69 110 0256 0 69 000 0032 1 72 110 0912 0 72 000 0048 1 67 110 0256 0 67 000 0032 1 71 110 0256 0 71 000 0032 1 74 110 0160 0 74 000 0032 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 67 110 0190 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0160 0 62 000 0032 1 60 110 0160 0 60 000 0224 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0190 0 67 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 60 110 0160 0 60 000 0224 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 72 110 0094 0 72 000 0002 1 72 110 0190 0 72 000 0002 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 67 110 0256 0 67 000 0032 1 71 110 0256 0 71 000 0032 1 74 110 0160 0 74 000 0032 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 67 110 0190 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0160 0 62 000 0032 1 60 110 0160 0 60 000 0224 1 60 110 0256 0 60 000 0032 1 64 110 0256 0 64 000 0032 1 67 110 0912 0 67 000 0048 1 65 110 0256 0 65 000 0032 1 69 110 0256 0 69 000 0032 1 72 110 0912 0 72 000 0048 1 67 110 0256 0 67 000 0032 1 71 110 0256 0 71 000 0032 1 74 110 0160 0 74 000 0032 1 71 110 0094 0 71 000 0002 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 69 110 0094 0 69 000 0002 1 67 110 0190 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0160 0 62 000 0032 1 60 110 0160 0 60 000
End

This program is worth the effort of learning it.

To download the March 10 MIDItext 98 software and get instructions on how to use it click here

ABC format:

X:1
T:Matilda, Matilda!
M:2/2
Q:1/4=120
K:C
C5E3|G8|-G2F3A3|c8|-c2G3B3|d2Bc2AG2|GF2E2EED|
-DC4C3|E3G5|-G5F3|A3c5|-c5G3|B3d2Bc2|AG2GF2E2|
EED2C4|G2G2G2GG|G2EC4c|-cc2c2c2c|c2AF2G3|
B3d2Bc2|AG2GF2E2|EED2C4|C3E3G2|-G8|F8|-F3A3c2|
-c8|G8|-G3B3d2|Bc2AG2GF|-FE2EED2C|-C/2||

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics :
From: Jon W.
Date: 10 Dec 98 - 05:20 PM

It was the last song on the Belafonte's live album from Carnegie Hall. He got groups from the audience to sing the chorus. The funniest one was when he shouted out "Women over forty" and no one sang. He said "We know you're out there" and made 'em do it over. Memories from my childhood. I actually this year found the album in a thrift store and bought it for a dollar.

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics :
From: Barry Finn
Date: 10 Dec 98 - 04:47 PM

From Allan Sherman's "My Son The Folk Singer"

She found her first romance, when I broke the zipper in my pants
Matilda, she take the money & run with barber

My mother must have given this to my sister when I was around 9 or so in the late 50's or early 60's. My first encounter with something folk ('sigh'). Barry

Subject: Lyr Add: MATILDA, MATILDA! (Norman Span)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Dec 98 - 04:03 PM

MATILDA, MATILDA!
By Norman Span, AKA King Radio
©copyright 1953 by MCA Music & General Publishing co., Inc.

Chorus:
Matilda, Matilda, Matilda, she take me money and run Venezuela.
Everybody!
Matilda, Matilda, Matilda, she take me money and run Venezuela.

Five hundred dollars, friends I lost
What made me sell me cat and horse,
Hey - a - Matilda, she take me money and run Venezuela.

Well, de money was just inside me bed,
Stuck up in de pillow beneath me head.
Don't you know Matilda, she take me money and run Venezuela.

Well, me friends, nevah to love again,
All me money gone in vain,
Hey -a - Matilda, she take me money and run Venezuela.

Subject: RE: Need Lyrics :
From: Peter T.
Date: 10 Dec 98 - 03:58 PM

Dear Lopaka, you can find Matilda at:

"www.geocities.com/Nashville/8855/matilda.gif"

It is a picture file (that is, it is a "gif" file), and if you can't handle it, let me know and I will transcribe it for you.

Yours, Peter T.

Subject: Need Lyrics :
From: Lopaka
Date: 10 Dec 98 - 02:10 PM

Can anybody help me out there? This song was sung by Harry Belofonte.