Interconnections – “Gal, You Want to go Back to Scambo?”

The interconnections of “Gal You Want to Go Back to Scambo?” and the components of Bahamian musical culture are strongly influenced by the economics of the time.  The instruments represent the economic situation and remote location of the song’s production.  There were limited resources for musicians and so the use of sticks, played by local children, and the use of a traditional goat skin drum and saw show the rural, self-sufficient setting of the music.  This in turn connects with the appropriate ness of the music in that it stays in tune with the traditions.  

The audience (or who listens to the music) would have been a “captive” audience since the song was originally played within the August Monday Celebration (Independence from Slavery) from which it was produced on the Music of the Bahamas record (1959).  This is a connection to the function of the music.  This song would not necessarily have a ritual to accompany it, but it was played as a forefront at the August Monday Celebration so it would have a connection to the holidays for that country which places it in an appropriate context. There was a spontaneous production behind this song, which pulled together band members in order to keep the celebration, not for the sake of making money or making a band.

There is a strong steady beat that can easily be grouped into measures.  There is also an easy, sloping swing to the song.  These aspects make it easy to dance, sway and clap your hands to the music which supports the movements associated with the song.  The ideas component supports that it is appropriate to dance to the song since it encourages easy movement.    Also, because of the easy beat and flowing tune, there is time and space within the song to socialized as a by-product of listening.  There is a strong sense of socialization and connection to one another within the Bahamas to the point that residents use the term “family islands” to symbolize the unity of the scattered population (Ember, 153). The musical culture of the Bahamas, then and now, is a further extension of bringing the people together whether it’s for August Monday or another socializing activity.

Not everyone who participates in the production of this song is a professional because there is a group of children who participated on the sticks.  They played a part where the Guitarist, Prince Forbes, “called” and in response the children played the sticks…this lead to a call and response and a certain socialization within the music and within the community.  Once again the use on unprofessional individuals allows another break in economics related to the song.

The important pieces of the components related to “Gal, You Want to go Back to Scambo?” include the instrumentation (making and use), the context and function, who listens to the music and the general creation and consumption of this song.  These are all equally important to the relative economics of the Bahamas during the late 1950′s when tourism was only beginning to be promoted (Countries of the World and Their Leaders, 151). 

References

“Background: The Bahamas.” Countries of the World and Their Leaders Yearbook 2010. Vol. 1. Sept. 2008: 150-153.

Charters, S. B. Music of the Bahamas, Vol. 3: Instrumental Music from the Bahamas Islands. Folkways Records and Service Corp, 1959. 

Ember, Melvin, and Carol R. Ember, eds. “Bahama Islands.” Countries and their Cultures. Vol. 1. 153-159., 2001. 

The Fresh Creek Dance Band. Gal, You Want to go Back to Scambo? Folkways Records, 1959.