"Daar kom dieAlibama" (in English: "There comes theAlibama") is a traditionalAfrikaans song[1] andCape jazz song.[2] According to some sources, the song's history dates back to about 1863, and it originally referred to the warship, theCSS Alabama.[3][4] The English name,Alabama, was respelt in theCape Dutch vernacular toAlibama.
In theAmerican Civil War, theCSS Alabama sailed under theConfederate States of America flag and raidedU.S. commercial shipping, successfully gaining international infamy. During aSouth African expeditionary raid in 1863, the ship docked atCape Town to take on supplies and sell cargo and ships looted during its mission.[5]Alabama revisited Cape Town in 1864. The song may have originated during these visits.[6][7]
The South African journalist and authorLawrence G. Green states that the lyrics' reference to a "reed bed" possibly points to the song having a more humble origin.[8] Green states that in the 1800s, there was a riverboat based on theBerg River, also namedAlabama (Alibama), that once a year used to deliver reeds to the harbor of Cape Town. Weavers used the reeds to braid bridal beds forCape Malay brides; at Cape Town harbor, they sang: "There comes the Alibama . . . the Alibama that comes across the sea ..."[8]
The lyrics in Afrikaans are:
Daar kom die Alibama, die Alibama kom oor die see
Daar kom die Alibama, die Alibama kom oor die see
Nooi, nooi, die rietkooi, nooi, die rietkooi is gemaak
Die rietkooi is vir jou gemaak om daarop te slaap
Nooi, nooi, die rietkooi, nooi, die rietkooi is gemaak,
Die rietkooi is vir jou gemaak om daarop te slaap
Die Alibama, die Alibama, die Alibama kom oor die see
Die Alibama, die Alibama, die Alibama kom oor die see
Daar kom die Alibama, die Alibama die kom oor die see
Daar kom die Alibama, die Alibama die kom oor die see
Die Alibama, die Alibama, die Alibama kom oor die seeDie Alibama, die Alibama, die Alibama kom oor die see
Translated into English, the lyrics are:
Here comes the Alibama, the Alibama comes across the sea
Here comes the Alibama, the Alibama comes across the sea
Girl, girl, the reed bed, girl, the reed bed has been made,
the reed bed has been madefor you to sleep upon
Girl, girl, the reed bed, girl, the reed bed has been made,
the reed bed has been madefor you to sleep upon
The Alibama, the Alibama, the Alibama comes across the sea
The Alibama, the Alibama, the Alibama comes across the sea
Here comes the Alibama, the Alibama that comes across the sea
Here comes the Alibama, the Alibama that comes across the sea
The Alibama, the Alibama, the Alibama comes across the seaThe Alibama, the Alibama, the Alibama comes across the sea
