This is a wonderfully catchy song from the Caribbean. There is a really great 4 person clapping game that goes with it too.
Anyway, the words I learned was from a workshop run by Doug Goodkin. The words of this song never made any sense to me. But I did love the song as well as the clapping game that went along with it.
No doubt a song like this has been passed person to person though many generations and probably the words have changed during the transitions.
Particularly as the song has crossed cultures. The song is originally from somewhere warm and is now sung my me in Canada.
Four White Horses (words I learned from Doug Goodkin)
Four white horses by the river
Hey, hey, hey, up tomorrow.
Up tomorrow is a rainy day.
Come on and join our shadow play.
Shadow play is a ripe banana.
Hey, hey, hey, up tomorrow.
Up tomorrow is a rainy day.
Come on and join our shadow play.
I think more likely words are:
Four white horses by the river
Hey, hey, hey, hope tomorrow.
Hope tomorrow is a rainy day.
Come on into the shallow bay.
Shallow bay has a ripe banana.
Hey, hey, hey, hope tomorrow.
Hope tomorrow is a rainy day.
Come on into the shallow bay.
Anybody know where this song is from?
I would love to hear about other versions or stories about the song. As always please feel free to post your lyrics or comments below.
I have always loved this song, and now working with children, I had hoped to come across a recording of it. I remember learning it in elementary school, as our music teacher taught us many songs with confusing lyrics. I think the fact that they didn’t make much sense made it all the more fun. I wish I knew the origins of this song. Up until now, I thought I was the only one who knew it.
4 white horses on the river
hey heyhey up tommorow
up tomorrow is a rainy day
come on up to the shallow bay
shallow bay is a ripe banana
up tommorow is a rainy day
four white horses on de rainbow
aye aye aye for tomorrow
for tomorrow’s a rainy day
come and play it’s a ripe banana
aye aye aye
for tomorrow
for tomorrow’s a rainy day
(can’t remember this line…)
This is what I remember, learned it in the Gramboko Elementary school yard- maybe 1974, 75,76 St. Thomas V.I. It was a clap game for four people… across from you, up, down, left, right… so fun
We also sang clap songs like “Brown Girl in the Ring”
Good memories!
hi Nacy, i attended Gramboko around the same time(1974-75)my favorite teachers were Ivy Neal,and Ms.Richarson.
check me out on fb.
p.s
how about trying to organize a class/school reunion?
Nancy
Thanks for your words great to get someone who played the clapping game years ago. I just learned the clapping game last year and love it!!
i always heard it like this:
four white horses on the rainbow ey ey ey up tomarow up tomarow its a rainy day come on down to our shallow play shallow play is a rotten bananana eyeyey up tomarow(reapeats whithout saying four white hourses on the rainbow eyeyey)
lyrics i learned: 4 white horses on a rainbow
i i i up tommarow up tomorrow’s a rainy day
come and join our shadow play
shadow play’s a ripe bannana
i i i up tomarrow up tomarrow’s a rainy day
come and join our shadow play
p.s- a girl told me that she grew up with horses and the shadow play could be the name of a horse. and the ripe banana means that the horse is going to be riddin for the first time.
Natalie
Thanks for your version and the info about the “Ripe Banana”.
i learned it like this:
four white horses on the river hey hey hey up tomorrow, up tomorrow is a rainy day, come on up to the shallow bay, shallow bay is a ripe banana, up tomorrow is a rainy day.
Four white horses, on the riverbank,
Hey, hey, up tomorrow,
Up tomorrow is a rainy day.
Come on down to the shadow play,
A shadow play is a ripe banana,
Hey, hey, up tomorrow
Up tomorrow is a rainy day.
Come on down to the shadow play,
A shadow play is a ripe banana,
Hey, hey, up tomorrow.
(you have to sing it in a very upbeat way)
I learned that song in school its EPIC!
My music teacher taught us this a few weeks ago and he has had a student that owned many horses and it turns out a horse that is going to be ridin for the first time is referred to as a ripe banna and I’ve always heard it four white horses on the rainbow but I don’t no what that means but I’m guessing the song means why don’t you come down and see my horse shadow play she is a ripe banna
In school it learned it as
Four white horses on the table pick them up and grease your nable
Hey here we go up tomorow up
tomorow is a rainy
and a rainy day is a shadow day and a shadow day is a ripe banana
(can not remember this line)
I live in st.vincent in the carbbean it is a famous game in the caribbean
from my grandmother days
I learned it as:
Four white horses on the rainbow
Hey, hey we go, up tomorrow
Up tomorrow is a rainy day
Come on down with a shallow play
A shallow play is a ripe banana
Hey, hey we go up tomorrow
By the way, I was born in Trinidad and I grew up mostly in St. Croix, Virgin Islands
four white horses on the river hey hey hey up tomorrow up tomorrow is a rainy day come and join in our shaddow play shaddow play is a ripe bannana up tomorrow is a rainy day
my music teacher said
four white horses, on the river,
hey, hey, its a rainy day,
come on down to the shallow bay,
the shallow bay is a ripe bannana,
hey hey, its a rainy day.
Karen is the only one who got it right folks! I hear all these versions with people calling an unridden white horse a ripe banana. Wrong. This song originated in the Caribe caribbean including St Croix and includes meanings only familiar to Caribes and Africans who understand the context. There are some original Dutch who know it but may have forgotten as the older generation die off. The Caribe word for St Croix is Ay Ay and four white horses on the rainbow has meanings and reference to whites in the islands and the clashes that took place as the Caribes refused to yield to the Europeans. A shadow play is a reference to a spirit or Jumbie from the Caribe (and African) understanding leading to a ripe banana that would be too long to go into. Caribes from Dominica and Trinidad should be familiar with this. The meanings are the same but changes a little as Caribe (the people) culture merged into and was carried by African culture in the northern Caribbean. This is more than a children song. It is an anthem and a call to the spirits that protected the Caribe and their African brothers who resisted colonialism an allowed them to survive to this day. Now I hear these non Caribbean people from the US changing the words and putting all kinds of stupid meanings to the song. This is insulting.
Chris
Thanks for your historical meaning of the song really interesting and nice to know some more about the origin of the song. BTW Karen had a “shallow Play” not a “Shadow Play” in her version she knew from St. Croix. I would not get too upset about people changing words to songs it happens all the time and is really what happens naturally to songs as they move around and take a life of their own. Twinkle Twinkle has been set to 100s of different texts. That is what people do with folk songs. Also btw I learned the “mostly correct” version of this from a non-Caribbean American and it was me who changed the words and I’m from Canada not the US.
What this page is about finding its origin and thanks for your input and putting some more pieces in the puzzle.
Do you think you could leave the lyrics as you know them for the record?
And fyi Ay Ay was the place of the first and only documented skirmish between Columbus and the Caribe Indians where one of Columbus’s men was killed with an arrow through the chest. As warriors who ate their foes you could understand why that would have significant meaning and be represented in a song.
i love this song four white horses by the river
This song was first published in 1990 in the book Domino by Karen Ellis on page 8. All the words, melody, and games instructions are there. The game was originally collected from St. Croix U.S.V.I. in 1977 you can see more about this collection here:
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/GuavaberryBooks/Domino/_DOMINO_.html
best, Karen Ellis (author)
Thanks for the info Karen.
Hi Mike
There are plans to publish Domino as an ebook this year with all the children’s voices on mp3 files from the site. Hope to revive 36 years of history and protect children’s culture. Use technology to give back what screen time has taken away
four white horses on a rainbow
hey, hey hey up tommorow
is a rainy day come on down to the shallow bay
the shallow bay has a ripe bannana
I think it’s: four white horses by the river hey hey hey up tomorrow,up tomorrow is a rainy day come on join our shadow play,shadow play is a ripe banana,up tomorrow is a rainy day!
That’s how I learnt it
