Talk:Iko Iko

"Indians"
Shouldn't the article be a little more clear in the fact that it's referring to "American Indians" (i.e., Native Americans) and not "real" Indians (those from India)?

Looks like the article makes it clear it is referring to neither American nor Punjabi Indians, but Mardi Gras Indians. Trst (talk) 17:32, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Lyrics
sorry, not sure which template is the right one - but with all the record companies going after lyrics sites, I thought flagging this for usage of Cindi Lauper lyrics makes sense (clem 10:59, 21 December 2005 (UTC))
 * You know, you misspelled Lauper's first name, lol. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.203.10.156 (talk • contribs) 01:11, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

I may be anonymous but I'm going to delete the reference to "and Juha recast the song as a story of Palestinian dislocation on his Polari album." This appears to be a piece of self promotion- "Juha" is in no way notable as are the other performers of Iko Iko. My aunt hummed it once, but she's not going get a mention on the Iko Iko entry. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.227.243.19 (talk • contribs) 13:06, 13 June 2006 (UTC)
 * You may not be quite as anonymous as you might think, but your judgement on this matter seems sound, thanks. :)  Xtifr tälk 02:59, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

Those lyrics are ALL WRONG! It's "spy boy", not "flag boy", and certainly not "grandma." " —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.249.130.14 (talk) 22:12, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Lyrics - NOT "Grandma", and NOT "Marie" - - The word is "Marrain", it means 'Godmother'......sez JD Chandeleur, Jesuit Bend LA JerseyDanny1320 (talk) 14:15, 28 October 2018 (UTC)

I changed the lyrics back to the one which had a citation. These are the listed lyrics on a reputable website. If you are able to find references to the other version I am more than happy to go with them. However these are the lyrics I know from the film 'Rain man' which was the reason I first came to this page. Somebody reversed my edit, I intend to put it back. Could we enter a discussion and reach consensus before we change again. But I do feel we have to go with the version which we have evidence for. 79.121.197.4 (talk) 12:57, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

lloyd price?
What's up with Crawford saying Lloyd Price put music to the song? Did Price actually write the melody, or just do some arranging? --Allen 01:39, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Allen, I'm positive you misunderstood the article as did the lady before you. Crawford made a reference to Lloyd Price writting Lawdy Miss Clawdy...which is a saying, down in New Orleans and the South. So Lloyd took the saying and composed the music to that song, as did Crawford to Jock-A-Mo. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.200.116.130 (talk • contribs)


 * Thanks! I should have checked the reference.  I've included the whole quote now so it's easier to follow.  Out of curiosity, who is "the lady before" me?  --Allen 03:57, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

Does anyone know what the "Iko! Iko! an de' Jackomo fe no a na nae, Jackomo fe na ne" stands for. Is it gibberish or another language? If anyone can find a reference please post, the words are so unusual I have always thought they must have been taken from a language rather than just being background noise (like a doo-wap) I've been looking but can't find any answers. [karyn] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.67.195.80 (talk) 17:36, 20 December 2008 (UTC)

Removed Natasha
I took this out of the article. If it were documented, it still might not be worth having. As it is, zero:
 * A performer named Natasha also covered it on her album which featured other tracks such as "The Boom Boom Room" - I will add the album details when I unpack it.

--Ortolan88 16:58, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Seems she's back in :) I do remember the Natasha version, it's OK. But the Belle Stars version was released at the same time (UK) and there was some confusion as a result - and they cannibalised each others sales. I thought I recall that the Belle Stars version won out and the Natasha version dropped off the charts pretty quickly. 203.87.74.230 (talk) 05:59, 22 November 2007 (UTC)


 * The article is correct that Natasha's version outperformed the Belle Stars in the UK charts. However, the Belle Stars version won out in the end when it became a surprise top 20 hit in the US seven years later!--Tuzapicabit (talk) 16:31, 4 April 2008 (UTC) Top10 still beats Top 20 in terms of chart position, so US hit or not the point is moot. Natasha had the better version.

Grateful Dead timeline
The article states that the Grateful Dead started playing the song in the early 1980 when Brent Mydland joined the band. This is not correct. - They first played IKO IKO in concert in May 1977, over two years before Brent joined the band. - For reference check Dead Base - either the book or the web site. Cheers! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.30.41.105 (talk) 17:04, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Your researches need to go beyond just American, New Orleans, American Indians Histrory.
I'm going to strongly support the notion of this song is a second hand translation of an old "Haitian" folk song.

The reason why I'm saying this is because I'm sure that this old Haitian woman who just past away sometime in 2004 didn't just

hear that song in the 70's, or 60's.  Why? well there was no electricity where she was born and raised in the 1920's, and

neither did her peers who constantly sang that song while holding one point of their dresses with their finger tips and doing

a dance they called "Congo" singing "Panama'm Tombe, Panama'm Tombe, Panama'm Tombe sa ki deye ranmase li pou mwin.

The name of the Haitian song is "Panama-m Tombe". please research it for yourself and post your findings. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.153.75.174 (talk) 05:06, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

History fact: Slaves were coming in and out of Louisiana from Haiti during the harsh slavery years until the big uprisal in

Haiti which forced Napoleon to give up Louisiana. There was a big chance for Cultural exchange where the song could have

easily transfered. And since the Creole had been lost due to the stronger American influence, these words were replaced and

everyone pretty much wrote their own stories about the songs.

You dont need to go further than History to know where the song could have possibly come from.

Yes, New Orleans had a stronger french influence than African at the time, but we all can come to the conclusion that none of

those words sound like french.

The only other influence on Louisiana at the time was the one coming out of Haiti which was the African-Creole influence.

Here is the difference:

The New Orleans natives speak French-Creole. A creole with a french influence.

The Haiti natives speak a darker French Creole with a strong African Influence.

As History tells it, Louisiana was a land used to facilitate trade generated by slave labor between Louisiana and Haiti. Not

a place where the French came on vacation or built their summer homes. It was mostly a slave masters land, the fench and

American businessmen/slave owners.

I'm going to leave you there folks. Do your research. Or go to Miami, Florida and meet an old Haitian woman who will tell

you how far back they've been singing that song, and compare it with the Hollywood stories from people who belive that it was

writen in the 60's or 70's by an American.

I myself am an american, but I make friends from all over the world.

True history lives and dies with the people who were there. Books, as much information as they may contain, they are

controlled, and are usually points of views of the people who write them.

Thank you all.

72.153.75.174 (talk) 04:51, 12 August 2008 (UTC)Black Orpheus72.153.75.174 (talk) 04:51, 12 August 2008 (UTC)


 * "Do your research." No.  Please, don't.  Wikipedia is not the place for original research. 69.63.55.224 (talk) 01:29, 23 October 2008 (UTC)


 * "The copy rights go not to the first or the best, but to he who hireth the best-connected lawyer in the end..."
 * (Even so, the song seems to have only superficial similarities to me. Less than the similarity say between Dig Up Her Bones and 867-5309/Jenny, for example...) Wnt (talk) 03:17, 13 July 2009 (UTC)

Nickelodeon
This song was used (with different lyrics) as the theme for Nickelodeon Nation in the 90's. Someone should add in something about that in the Pope Culture section. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.190.2.25 (talk) 14:36, 30 January 2009 (UTC)

Jockomo or Jackomo
This article appears to contradict itself. In the top section it refers to the line in the chorus "Jock-a-mo feen-o and-dan-day", however in the lyrics below the line is "Jackomo fe no a na nae' " Is one correct or are both acceptable versions? 79.121.197.4 (talk) 11:17, 6 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Both are acceptable, as shown in the final two references. David spector (talk) 03:14, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

Giacomo
The notion that the Italian name Giacomo is a sensible equivalent word for the Cajun word Jacamo (Jester) is WP:OR and very unlikely. Similarly, the notion that "Giacamo" derives from the relatively recent movie The Court Jester is unsupported and just plain ridiculous. This speculation should be deleted. David spector (talk) 03:18, 25 October 2009 (UTC)


 * The Court Jester was released three years after the original song, so Jock-a-Mo in the song certainly didn't come from there. But the THEORY of its origin might have come from the name's use in the film, so it's worth mentioning here in the talk section. Mdulcey (talk) 23:26, 19 March 2023 (UTC)

This page has become an original research essay / editorial chock full of opinions
Oh my goodness! Over the past couple of days, this article has been edited over 100 times by only two or three users.

The result is, that an article that had some issues with lacking a few citations, and with the general quality of its prose, has become almost 100% original research, comment, opinion, and editorial.

While I appreciate the good faith efforts that have gone into it, the article has become about as un-encyclopedic as you'll ever see on Wikipedia. The version from a few days ago, while far from an excellent article, had far fewer NPOV and OR issues.

Should we restore a version from a few days ago (over 100 edits back)? Fish Man (talk) 19:02, 23 February 2010 (UTC)


 * FYI, I've brought up the same concerns over at the Help desk, in order to try to get more eyes on this article and its problems. 66.58.210.21 (talk) 00:14, 20 March 2010 (UTC)


 * FWIW, I took out the garbage. In general, anyone can fix such problems, even you.  -- Jayron  32  03:50, 20 March 2010 (UTC)

George Washington Cable
I removed the following from the article and bring it here for discussion:


 * In George Washington Cables 1890 novel "Strange True Stories of Louisiana" the New Orleans planters daughter is on a riverboat trip. Upon seeing a gathering of "natives" on the riverbank she "called with all of the force in her lungs every indian word that ...she had learned: "Chacounam finnan! O Choctaw! Conno Poposso!" And the indians clapped their hands, laughing with pleasure..."

As I said when I removed this the first time, it needs a secondary source to show that this is relevant. The Project Gutenberg link only shows that the wording is accurate, but does not indicate, much less prove, a relationship to the phrase being discussed in that section. ---  RepublicanJacobite  TheFortyFive 21:10, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

My first wiki edit ever, so sorry about the slow take on getting the reference corrected. I think the similarity between the phrases "Chacounam finnan" and "Jakamo Fi Na Ney" would be self evident. And considering that this is a discussion between a French girl who learned "some of" the native language and Native Americans, I frankly think that this makes some of the earlier comments in the article moot. As this book is a translation of a diary, and not a novel, I think it has significant weight.---upriverpaddler — Preceding unsigned comment added by Upriverpaddler (talk • contribs) 05:51, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

WikiProject The Beatles
I removed the Beatles WikiProject from this page because there is no indication in the article of any connection between the Beatles and this song. --Metropolitan90 (talk) 01:01, 21 October 2013 (UTC)

Rolf Haris
The article states Harris removed references to 'flag-boy". I can't speak to his 1965 recording, but his 1966 and later recordings certainly include a verse which says, "My flag-boy and your flag-boy sittin' by the fire. My flag-boy told your flag-boy, I'm gonna set your flag on fire." I had the 1966 album from its issue as a kid and grew up with that version. Ptilinopus (talk) 14:45, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

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Madagascar 2
It wasn’t featured in the movie, but it was featured in the video game as part of the level / mini-game “Volcano Rave”. This should be on the page, unless I missed something. 6 Nov 2021 4:23 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.216.67.148 (talk)

Cyndi Lauper
Listed and categorized but not mentioned in the article? 38.73.253.217 (talk) 14:36, 12 March 2022 (UTC)


 * This should be rectified. 65.29.80.139 (talk) 03:21, 19 July 2023 (UTC)