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Bad homan oh! bad homan oh! nyam an' cry, me coco no ripe, nyam an' cry, me hafoo no ripe, nyam an' cry. |
The man is "working his provision ground," and his wife is always saying she has not got enough to eat. She is a bad woman, who does nothing but "nyam an' cry," eat and call for more, and my cocoes are not ready to dig and my Afoo (Italian a, ahfoo) yam is not ready either. (There are as many different kinds of yams as there are of potatoes.)
LVII.
Continuing with subjects connected with field-work, we come now to a sing which must have originated in old slavery days, when ringing a bell was the signal for beginning and knocking-off work:—
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Bell oh, Bell oh, Bell a ring a yard oh! oh Degay, Bell a ring a yard oh! Baboon roll de drum oh, Monkey rub de fiddle, oh Bell a ring a yard oh! |