2019--THE CLIMATE OF POLITICS
The people of this place
divided as they are
can easily be replaced
by lowering of the bar
Lowering the bar? he asked
and what will that do?
If we raise it, said the other,
we still won’t have a clue.
Limbo -- Wayne Pascall
Limbo dancers attempt to go under a horizontal limbo bar with their backs facing the floor. No part of their body is allowed to touch the bar, and no part other than their feet may touch the ground. Whoever knocks the bar off or falls is eliminated. Then the bar is lowered and the contest continues until only one person can get under. The dance originated in Trinidad as an event that took place over 9 nights at wakes. The bar was placed at the lowest possible height for dancers to go under and was gradually raised each night, signifying an emergence from death to life in Heaven. Reversing the traditional order, Julia Edwards turned the dance into a choreographed and competitive tourist attraction. She promoted the dance in the popular 1957 Robert Parrish film "Fire Down Below." In 1959 she added a flaming limbo bar to the routine and later introduced human bars formed by the limbs of other dancers. The "How low can you go" chant that usually accompanies the performance came from a 1962 song by Chubby Checker: "Limbo Rock" originated in 1960 on a bet that Billy Strange made, that in 5 minutes he could write a better song than the one playing on the radio; originally the only lyric was "What a monotonous melody" in every line. The Champs recorded an instrumental version in 1961, and Checker's manager Karl Mann (as "Jon Sheldon") added lyrics. It was #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 2 weeks.
ReplyDeleteEvery limbo boy and girl
All around the limbo world
Gonna do the limbo rock
All around the limbo clock
Jack be limbo, Jack be quick
Jack go unda limbo stick
All around the limbo clock
Hey, let's do the limbo rock
Limbo lower now
Limbo lower now
How low can you go?
First you spread your limbo feet
Then you move to limbo beat
Limbo ankolimboneee
Bend back like a limbo tree
Get yourself a limbo girl
Give that chic a limbo whirl
There's a limbo moon above
You will fall in limbo love
Don't move that limbo bar
You'll be a limbo star
How low can you go?