Daar Kom Die Alibama

Here's an interesting find from South Africa.  Down there, a popular song is "Daar Kom Die Alibama" or "Here Comes The Alabama".  It appears that the Cape Malay population, brought from Indonesia by the Dutch in the 18th Century, started this song when the Confederate raider CSS Alabama visited Cape Town in 1863.  It became commonplace to the point it is in today's South African Manual of Scouting (http://www.scouting.org.za/songs/southafrican.php) complete with endorsement from Nelson Mandela himself.  This song says a lot about the implications that the Civil War wrought on the rest of the world.  Here are the lyrics, first in Afrikaans and then in English.  Here's a Youtube video of an American choir, the Choralaires singing the song.  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AzcvyqDaxE)

•Daar kom die Alibama,

•Die Alibama, die kom oor die see,

•Daar kom die Alibama,

•Die Alibama, die kom oor die see...

•Nooi, nooi die rietkooi nooi,

•Die rietkooi is gemaak,

•Die rietkooi is vir my gemaak,

•Om daarop te slaap...

•O Alibama, die Alibama,

•O Alibama, die kom oor die see,

•O Alibama, die Alibama,

•O Alibama, die kom oor die see...

•There comes the Alabama,

•The Alabama, it comes o'er the sea,

•There comes the Alabama,

•The Alabama, it comes o'er the sea...

•

•Lass, lass, the reed bed calls,

•The reed bed it is made,

•The reed bed it is made for me,

•To sleep upon...

•

•Oh Alabama, the Alabama,

•Oh Alabama, it comes o'er the sea,

•Oh Alabama, the Alabama,

•Oh Alabama, it comes o'er the sea...