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03 Feb 26 - 08:52 AM (#4235299) Subject: ADD: Viva Panama From: GUEST,Justin Vogel I was wondering whether anyone might have any information about an old, humorous little song about the Panama Canal. My father, who was born and raised in Miami, FL, frequently sang it to my siblings and I when we were children, and claims he learned it in elementary school (this would have been in the late 1950s/early 1960s). I sing it with my children now, and they enjoy it. I've never been able to find any information about the song until recently, when I found a post on a discussion board with some of the lyrics, saying that it was heard as part of a BBC radio program called "Singing Together" (which I had never heard of). Further searching led me to this site, and a post stating that the song was included as part of the program in 1990, 1993, and 1996 (https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=154766) The lyrics, as I know them, are as follows: VIVA PANAMA I went to town to sell my pig the morning after Christmas They gave me a pick and told me to dig a ditch across the isthmus. (Chorus) Qué viva - ¡viva Panama! Qué viva - ¡viva Panama! Qué viva viva viva via - Panama! Qué viva - ¡viva Panama! We dug and we dug, the dirt just flew The digging was terrific We dug a canal to join the blue Atlantic and Pacific (Chorus) Now I sit beneath the trees and watch the ocean liners Float through the canal from sea to sea from sunny Spain to Chiners (Chorus) I would love to know where the song came from, and check whether the lyrics and melody that father has passed down to us are correct (he isn't musically inclined, and I'm pretty sure this is the only song he has memorized!). Any information would be most appreciated! |
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03 Feb 26 - 04:29 PM (#4235324) Subject: ADD Version: Viva Panama From: Joe Offer VIVA PANAMA Words by Margaret Marks, music collected by Agnes Dixon I came into town to sell my pig The morning after Christmas They gave me a spade and said to dig A ditch across the Isthmus. CHORUS Qué viva - ¡viva Panama! Qué viva - ¡viva Panama! Qué viva viva viva viva - Panama! Qué viva - ¡viva Panama! I dug and I dug, the dirt just flew The digging was terrific! I dug a canal that joined the blue Atlantic and Pacific. CHORUS And now in the shade beneath a tree, I watch each ocean liner Go through the canal from sea to sea From sunny Spain to China. CHORUS Source: Music in our Country, Silver Burdett fifth grade songbook, 1956, pp. 150-151. email me if you need a scan of the music notation. joe@mudcat.org This melody sounds about right: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1fV5_JybUY |