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"Marianne"
Song
Genre Calypso
Songwriter(s) Roaring Lion

"Marianne" is a traditional calypso song made popular by Trinidadian calypsonian Roaring Lion. Writing credits on the Easy Riders recording are Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr, and Frank Miller.

History

"Mary Ann" is a traditional calypso that was recorded by Trinidadian calypsonian Roaring Lion (born Rafael de Leon). [1] It was popular with steel bands and revelers during a spontaneous carnival celebration on V-J Day in Trinidad in 1945, at the end of World War II. [2] The song's lyrics allude to Mary Ann's occupation:

All day, all night, Miss Mary Ann
Down by the seaside, she sifting sand.

Recordings

References in popular culture

  • In Ian Fleming's 1958 James Bond novel Dr. No, Honeychile Rider whistles Marion [sic] on a beach in Jamaica and Bond joins in singing a couple of lines. Fleming implies that the original calypso was racier and had been 'cleaned up' in the contemporaneous popular recording. The lines he quotes are:
All day, all night, Marion,
Sittin' by the seaside siftin' sand …
The water from her eyes could sail a boat,
The hair on her head could tie a goat …

The last two lines are not in the Terry Gilkyson version.

  • Allan Sherman sang about Cary Grant based on this song, which went as follows (from Shticks of one Kind and Half Dozen of Another):
All day, all night, Cary Grant
That's all I hear from my wife, is Cary Grant
What can he do that I can't
Big deal, big star, Cary Grant
  • In the nudie-cartoon anthology Sex to Sexty, which included "Balled-Up Ballads"—popular tunes with racy lyrics—the following lines were written for "Marianne":
All day, all night, Marianne;
Who the hell you think I am, 
Superman?

References

  1. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir; et al. (2001), All Music Guide: The definitive guide to popular music, Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 884, ISBN  9780879306274, retrieved 27 November 2010
  2. ^ a b Green, Garth L. & Scher, Philip W. (2007), Trinidad Carnival: The cultural politics of a transnational festival, Indiana University Press, p. 190, ISBN  978-0253116727, retrieved 27 November 2010
  3. ^ Belafonte Concert in Japan, Belafonte by Request, Belafonte...Live!
  4. ^ Bronson, Fred (2003), The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, Billboard Books, p. 19, ISBN  9780823076772
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 386.
  6. ^ "Les Compagnons De La Chanson – Marianne". Ultratop.

External links