Date Collected
Fall 11-29-2017
Place item was collected
Logan, Utah. Collector's Apartment.
Informant
Mark DeBry
Point of Discovery/Informant Bio
Mark is my younger brother; he is the youngest of us five siblings. He just turned 20 and is preparing to start college at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. He has been living in Georgia the last month to make money working at a landscaping company in preparation for school. Mark is very talented in most everything he sets his mind to. He enjoys drawing, playing baseball, singing, and joking around. He has always been the sibling that gets us laughing, keeping the attitude light and happy. Mark just recently finished serving a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Ukraine and he is in the process of being acclimated to life at home again. He is the type of person that can talk to anyone about anything, is very relatable, and enjoys having a good time. He is considering going into the business/finance field or into advertising for his occupation, but is still deciding.
Context
I interviewed Mark over the phone and recorded the interview using my computer. He is living in Georgia currently so phone calling was the easiest way to contact him. He had just been spending time with new friends in Georgia when I called so he was happy and in a good mood. When I asked him about the song he immediately started singing. However, he messed up the song at first, mixing up a few words; probably because he’s been gone for two years and has only been home for a couple months. This is a tune that we have known as children since we were little. It was sung most when we were driving in the car, Mark thinks it would normally come up to distract him while we were driving. This wasn’t a song that was openly sang with random strangers in an open area. It happened most often when we were altogether in the car sitting in silence, and someone would start it spontaneously. It didn’t necessarily matter who started it, but everyone would join in. He equates this memory with one of our old vehicles, the old green minivan. The song goes back and forth between a male and a female, and we were often corrected if we sang the wrong part. There is also a particular order to the girls’ names and if we got it wrong then we would have to start over. Mark isn’t sure where the song came from but it most likely came from our mom’s mom, who coincidentally has been the source of much of our family folklore. Mark said he sang it a lot as a child but not as much as he’s grown up. However, this is a song he plans on teaching his children to sing on future car rides.
Text
Girl: “What’s your name little boy?”
Boy: “My name is Lammie.”
Girl: “Lammie, what little boy?”
Boy: “Lammie kiss ya. What’s your name little girl?”
Girl: “My name is Ida.”
Boy: “Ida, what little girl?”
Girl: “Ida wanna. What’s your name little boy?”
Boy: “My name is Lammie.”
Girl: “Lammie, what little boy?”
Boy: “Lammie kiss ya. What’s your name little girl?”
Girl: “My name’s Alaska.”
Boy: “Alaska, what little girl?”
Girls: “Alaska my momma. What’s your name little boy?”
Boy: “My name is Lammie.”
Girl: “Lammie, what little boy?”
Boy: “Lammie kiss ya. What’s your name little girl?”
Girl: “My name is Olli.”
Boy: “Olli, what little girl?”
Girl: “Olli right.”
Make kissing noise with lips (smooch smooch)
Texture
Each of the names represents a phrase and is sung in a way that corresponds to a specific action. Lammie is sang as “let me”, Ida is sang as “I don’ wanna”, Alaska is sang as “I’ll ask my”, and Olli is sang as “all right”. Mark sang this song as with a happy tune, bouncing in pitch and rhythm. While he sang both parts he didn’t change his voice for either of them, he sang both the boy and girl part with the same tone. If we were singing in person and I joined him by singing the female part, we would most likely be bouncing or nodding our heads to the beat. Almost habitually when ending one’s line, both point to the other for their turn, almost as if passing the tune of the song back and forth. For each character there is also some personality and action. The one singing for Lammie usually has an inviting smile, sometimes puckering lips at the end of their line, “Lammie kiss ya.” With Ida, there is often a shake of the head and a straight face. “Alaska” is often accompanied with a shrug of the shoulders. And “Olli” is often sang with a big smile, ending the line leaning in ready for a kiss. If it was our parents doing it, they would often kiss, but if it was just us siblings we would only make the sounds.
Course
Introduction to Folklore/English 2210
Instructor
Dr. Lynne McNeill
Semester and year
Fall 2017
Theme
G5: Child and Young Adult Songs
EAD Number
1.9.7.1
Recommended Citation
Teichert, Elise, "Lammie Song" (2017). USU Student Folklore Fieldwork. Paper 209.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/student_folklore_all/209