Teacher Lick de Gal

DESCRIPTION: Jamaican patois: Mother patches the girl's shift, but she burns the same spot; teacher beats the girl while her mother holds her, and she turns over. The girl has a baby; they beat and fine her. Bitter casava poisons Joe Brownie.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1951 (Murray-FolkSongsOfJamaica)
KEYWORDS: violence clothes death pregnancy mother poison food
FOUND IN: West Indies(Jamaica)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Murray-FolkSongsOfJamaica, pp. 43-44, "Teacher Lick de Gal" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Noel Dexter and Godfrey Taylor, _Mango Time - Folk Songs of Jamaica_ (Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers, 2007), pp. 112-113, "Teacha Lick de Gyal" (1 text, 1 tune)
Jim Morse, _Folk Songs of the Caribbean_ (New York: Bantam Books, 1958), pp. 110-111, "Teacher Lick de Gal" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Edric Connor with the Caribbeans and Earl Inkman, "Teacher Lick de Gal" (on WIEConnor01)
NOTES [41 words]: Murray-FolkSongsOfJamaica does not explain what is going on. Is the burned petticoat connected, at least symbolically, to the pregnancy? Is Joe Brownie the father? Was his death an accident? Is there another version that answers the questions? - BS
Last updated in version 3.7
File: JaMu043

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