What language is the chorus from the song "Iko Iko" in?

Question

It's been re-recorded a billion times over, and I love it. But what does the chorus mean?

Answer 1

Creole French.

The song that tells of a parade collision between two "tribes" of Mardi Gras Indians.

The lyrics are derived from Indian chants and popular catchphrases.

The song, under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written in 1954 by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford in New Orleans, but has spread so widely that many people take it to be a much older folk song.

The song is closely identified as a Mardi Gras song, but it is equally known as a Top 40 hit and a Grateful Dead song.

The story tells of a "spy boy" or lookout for one band of Indians encountering the "flag boy" or guidon carrier for another band. He threatens to set the flag on fire.


The lyrics of the song are based on Louisiana Creole French. The phrase Iko Iko may have been derived from one or more of the languages of Gambia, possibly from the phrase Ago!, meaning "listen!" or "attention!".

The line from the chorus, Yock-a-mo feen-o and-dan-day echoes the original title amidst Creole palaver.

Answer 2

The lyrics of the song are based on Louisiana Creole French. The phrase Iko Iko may have been derived from one or more of the languages of Gambia, possibly from the phrase Ago!, meaning "listen!" or "attention!". The line from the chorus, Yock-a-mo feen-o and-dan-day echoes the original title amidst Creole palaver.

Answer 3

I'm so glad to have run across this question. I'm from Louisiana and was born cajun-french so I do know a few things about this song. Over the years this is what I have learned....

Iko Iko" is a much-covered New Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two "tribes" of Mardi Gras Indians. The lyrics are derived from Indian chants and popular catchphrases. The song, under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written in 1954 by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford in New Orleans, but has spread so widely that many people take it to be a much older folk song. The song is closely identified as a Mardi Gras song, but it is equally known as a Top 40 hit and a Grateful Dead song.

The story tells of a "spy boy" or lookout for one band of Indians encountering the "flag boy" or guidon carrier for another band. He threatens to set the flag on fire.

The lyrics of the song are based on Louisiana Creole French. The phrase Iko Iko may have been derived from one or more of the languages of Gambia, possibly from the phrase Ago!, meaning "listen!" or "attention!". The line from the chorus, Yock-a-mo feen-o and-dan-day echoes the original title amidst Creole palaver.

The song was popularised by The Dixie Cups in 1965 whose version, arranged and produced by Wardell Quezergue, was included in The Big Easy film soundtrack, and is used extensively in The Skeleton Key. The Dixie Cups version came about by accident. They were in a New York City studio for a recording session when they began an impromptu version of "Iko Iko", accompanied only by drumsticks on a glass ashtray. The tape happened to be running and session producers Leiber and Stoller added bass and drums and released it.

The Dixie Cups knew little about the origin of the song and the original authorship credit went to the members, Barbara Ann Hawkins, her sister Rosa Lee Hawkins, and their cousin Joan Marie Johnson. Later a credit to Crawford was added.

The song is regularly performed by various artists from New Orleans such as the Neville Brothers, Larry Williams, Dr. John, The Radiators and Buckwheat Zydeco, and can often be heard on the streets and in the bars of New Orleans, especially during Mardi Gras.

It has also been covered by Cyndi Lauper, the Grateful Dead, Cowboy Mouth, Warren Zevon, Long John Baldry, Dave Matthews & Friends, Indigo Girls, and Glass Candy among others. Aaron Carter covered the song for The Little Vampire soundtrack, and The Belle Stars' cover was featured in the film Rain Man. A later version by Zap Mama, with rewritten lyrics, was featured in the opening sequences of the film Mission: Impossible II. Eurodance act Captain Jack re-popularized the tune in Germany in 2001.

I hope that I didn't overload you! Thanks for asking a good question! If you ever make it to Mardi Gras you WILL hear this song alot!!

Answer 4

It seems to be Creole.

This is an interesting site talking about it:
http://www3.clearlight.com/~acsa/introjs.htm?/~acsa/songfile/IKOIKO.HTM

but these are the words I'm more used to:
http://www.lyricsdomain.com/3/cindy_lauper/iko_iko.html

Edit:
USMCstingray copied out half the site, but I think he missed the part that would interest you most:
"Joc-a-mo-fee-no-ah-nah-nay, Joc-a-mo-fee-nah-nay" is a ritual chant used by the Mardi Gras Indians which has been around for so long the words are no longer clearly distinguishable, and it has a well understood meaning of its own. Very, very loosely translated it signifies "we mean business" or "don't mess with us". Originally it would have been Cajun (a liberal mix of French and English) and literally translates to "the fool we will not play today".

Answer 5

The words in the chorus that you are referring to are in Louisiana Creole French. The song was written in 1954 by James Crawford, but most people think it is a much older folk song.

Here is the Wikipedia link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jockamo

Have Fun!

Jen

Answer 6

Notes
(1) the chorus is fragments of Cajun patois, with more or less phonetic spelling. You will often find "Jockamo" rather than "Jockomo" for example (and Andrew Katzenstein has suggested "Giacomo"). And you sometimes see "feeno ai nan" and "feenan." I don't believe there is a "correct" spelling.
(2) "chicken wire" is what it sounds as if Jerry is singing (though on some other versions it sounds more like "chicko wiyo"). I haven't tracked this line down to any definitive "source" in other versions. Reg Johnsey came up with this explanation:
The way country people celebrated Carnivale/Mardis Gras was to make conical masks out of chicken wire and decorate them, wearing them with costumes festooned with strips of cloth. So, the references to fixing someone's chicken wire sounds like a joking threat to mess up their masks, since part of the battle was how good the costumes were.
(3) in some versions (eg 27 Feb 1990), Jerry sings "My marraine see your marraine" for this line. This is a line that Dr John sings as "My marraine see your parrain." "Marraine" is French for "godmother," though in patois it is often used for "grandmother." "Parrain" is godfather/grandfather. (thanks to Adam Wasserman for the explanation)

Answer 7

Iko Iko Original Version

Answer 8

It is Creole (Louisiana)...
"Jockamo fee na nay" means something like "don't fool with me, no, no".

Answer 9

korean i think

Answer 10

First introduced into the Dead's repertoire in 1977, and played regularly thereafter. There are all sorts of variations on the lyrics, and what's below is only a sample.

These are the lyrics from 2 September 1980 (Dick's Picks Vol 21):

Chorus (note 1)
Hey now (hey now)
Hey now (hey now)
Iko iko un day
Jockomo feeno ah na nay
Jockomo feena nay
[repeated twice]

My grandma see your grandpa
Sitting by the Bayou
My grandma see your granpa
Gonna fix your chicken wire (note 2)

[chorus]

My spy dog see your spy dog
Sitting by the Bayou
My spy dog see your spy dog
Gonna set your tail on fire

[chorus]

My little boy see your little boy (note 3)
Sitting by the Bayou
My little boy see your little boy
Gonna fix your chicken wire

[chorus]

My grandma see your grandma
Sitting by the Bayou
My grandma see your grandma
Gonna fix your chicken wire

[chorus]

Notes
(1) the chorus is fragments of Cajun patois, with more or less phonetic spelling. You will often find "Jockamo" rather than "Jockomo" for example (and Andrew Katzenstein has suggested "Giacomo"). And you sometimes see "feeno ai nan" and "feenan." I don't believe there is a "correct" spelling.
(2) "chicken wire" is what it sounds as if Jerry is singing (though on some other versions it sounds more like "chicko wiyo"). I haven't tracked this line down to any definitive "source" in other versions. Reg Johnsey came up with this explanation:
The way country people celebrated Carnivale/Mardis Gras was to make conical masks out of chicken wire and decorate them, wearing them with costumes festooned with strips of cloth. So, the references to fixing someone's chicken wire sounds like a joking threat to mess up their masks, since part of the battle was how good the costumes were.
(3) in some versions (eg 27 Feb 1990), Jerry sings "My marraine see your marraine" for this line. This is a line that Dr John sings as "My marraine see your parrain." "Marraine" is French for "godmother," though in patois it is often used for "grandmother." "Parrain" is godfather/grandfather. (thanks to Adam Wasserman for the explanation)

For comparison, this is the version from 16 September 1990 (on Dick's Picks Vol 9):
Chorus
Hey now (hey now)
Hey now (hey now)
Iko iko un day
Jockomo feeno ah na nay
Jockomo feena nay
[repeated twice]

My spy dog see your spy dog
Sitting by the Bayou
My spy dog see your spy dog
Gonna set your tail on fire

[chorus]

Indian boy going down town
Iko iko un day
You don't like what the big chief said
Said Jockamo feena nay

[chorus]

My grandma see your grandpa
Sitting by the Bayou
My grandma see your grandpa
Gonna set your flag on fire

[chorus]

My spy boy see your spy boy
Sitting by the Bayou
My spy boy see your spy boy
Gonna fix your chicken wire

[chorus]

On 14 June 1985, Bob Weir sang a couple of verses that are hard to decipher. They seem to be lines from or a reference to another song "Meet The Boys On The Battlefront," recorded by Wild Tchoupitoulas (thanks to David Deephouse for this information):
Meet the boys on the battlefront
The Wild Tchoupitoulas gonna stomp some rump

Meet the boys on the battlefront, sing brother John is gone
Meet the boys on the battlefront, bye bye, cho cho

One additional verse that appears on some lyric collections is below. I haven't yet confirmed whether it definitely sung by the Grateful Dead:
Well look at that girl all dressed in green
She hides a pistol where it can't be seen

Roots
According to Dr John in the liner notes to his 1972 album "Gumbo":
"The song was written and recorded back in the early 1950s by a New Orleans singer named James Crawford who worked under the name of Sugar Boy & the Cane Cutters. It was recorded in the 1960s by the Dixie Cups for Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller's Red Bird label, but the format we're following here is Sugar Boy's original. Also in the group were Professor Longhair on piano, Jake Myles, Big Boy Myles, Irv Bannister on guitar, and Eugene 'Bones' Jones on drums. The group was also known as the Chipaka Shaweez. The song was originally called 'Jockamo,' and it has a lot of Creole patois in it. Jockamo means 'jester' in the old myth."
Thanks to Adam Wasserman for the following information:
Iko Iko (as well as other songs such as Big Chief, Hey Pokey-Way, New Suit, Fire Water) has a very specific meaning. They are all New Orleans Mardi Gras songs about the Black Indians. Black Indians are parade crewes (tribes) that parade through the New Orleans streets on Mardi Gras wearing extravagant ceremonial Indian clothes. They face off when they meet and have battles of clothing, dancing, and singing. The Spy Boy is a ceremonial position (the front runner who scouts out other tribes to do battle with) as is the Flag Boy, Wild Man, and Big Chief. Friends and family who follow are in the "second line" and are therefore second liners. So lines like "My spy boy to your spy boy, I'm gonna set your tail on fire" are ceremonial challenges to the other tribe.

"Joc-a-mo-fee-no-ah-nah-nay, Joc-a-mo-fee-nah-nay" is a ritual chant used by the Mardi Gras Indians which has been around for so long the words are no longer clearly distinguishable, and it has a well understood meaning of its own. Very, very loosely translated it signifies "we mean business" or "don't mess with us". Originally it would have been Cajun (a liberal mix of French and English) and literally translates to "the fool we will not play today".
One additional comment on the origins/meaning of "Iko":
"Iko and un day are Creole corruptions of the Gambian call ago! [pay attention] and the expected response, which is amay! [I/we are listening]. Chuck Davis of the African- American Dance Ensemble, which is based here in Durham, uses this device ubiquitously when he acts as Griot (master storyteller/master of ceremonies). When he calls "ago!" everyone is supposed to shout "amay!"--no matter what else is going on. He likes to slip this into the middle of various narrations just to make sure folks are paying attention. He also uses it as an introductory, "calm down" sort of exercise before he starts to speak, or to quiet the crowd if it gets noisy while he's speaking."
These are the lyrics from Sugar Boy Crawford's version (thanks to Anita Cantor for help with the transcription):
Iko, iko
Iko iko an de
Jockomo, fee-lo an da'n de
Jockomo fe na'n n'ae

My spy boy met your spy boy
Sittin' by the fiyo
My spy boy a-told your spy boy
I'm gonna set your flag on fiyo

Chorus
Talkin' 'bout
Hey now, hey now
Iko iko an de
Jockomo fee-lo an da'n de
Jockomo fe n'an n'ae

Look at my queen all dressed in red
Iko iko an de
I bet you five dollars she'll kill you dead
Jockomo fe n'an n'ae

[chorus]

[chorus]

Iko, iko
Iko iko an de
I'm having my fun on the Mardi Gras day
Jockomo fe n'an n'ae

[chorus]
[chorus]

The Dixie Cups' version is fairly similar:
My grandma and your grandma
Were sitting by the fire
My granma told your grandma
I'm gonna set your flag on fire

Chorus
Talking 'bout
Hey now (hey now)
Hey now (hey now)
Iko iko on day
Jockomo feeno ah na nay
Jockomo feena nay

Look at my king all dressed in red
Iko iko on day
I'll bet you five dollars he'll kill you dead
Jockamo feena nay

[chorus]

My flag boy and your flag boy
Sitting by the fire
My flag boy told your flag boy
I'm gonna set your flag on fire

[chorus]

See that guy all dressed in green
Iko iko on day
He's not a man, he's a loving machine
Jockamo feena nay

[chorus]
[chorus]
Jockamo feena nay
Jockamo feena nay

There are all sorts of other versions and verses - this is one of the longer ones I found on a non-Dead lyric site:
My spy boy to your spy boy, they were sittin' along the bayou
My spy boy to your spy boy, I'm gonna set your tail on fire

My grandma see your grandpa sitting by the fire
My grandpa say to your grandma, gonna fix your chicken wire

Indian boy gotta go downtown, Iko Iko all day
If he don't like what the big chief say, Joc-a-mo-fee-nah-nay

We goin' down to Bedford town, Iko Iko ah- nay
Sure get rowdy when the sun go down, Joc-a-mo-fee-nah-nay

See Marie down the railroad track, Iko Iko Ah-nay
Said put it here in the chicken sack, Joc-a-mo-fee-nah-nay

My spot dog see your spot dog, sitting by the fire
My spot dog told your spot dog, "gonna set your *** on fire"

My Marie see your Marie, sitting by the fire
My Marie say to your Marie, gonna fix your chicken wire

See that girl all dressed in green, Iko Iko all day
See that girl, she's a lovin' machine, Joc-a-mo-fee-nah-nay

My little boy to your little girl, Get your head on my-o
My little girl to your little boy, Gonna fix your chicken wire

We goin' down to see my shack, Iko Iko ah-nay
Shoulder to shoulder and back to back, Joc-a-mo-fee-nah-nay

As a little bitty boy I did not care, Iko Iko ah-nay
I had to leave New Orleans to go somewhere, Joc-a-mo-fee-nah-nay

Goin' down to see my granny, Iko Iko ah-nay
Sure get rowdy eatin' grits and gravy, Joc-a-mo-fee-nah-nay

My flag boy to your flag boy, Sittin on' the bayou
My flag boy to your flag boy, Gonna set your flag on fire

See me gal all dressed in red, Iko Iko ah-nay
Bet you five dollars she'll shoot you dead, Joc-a-mo-fee-nah-nay