Ja-Da

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1918 sheet music Ja-da - ja da, ja da, jing jing jing! (IA jadajadajadajing00carl).pdf
1918 sheet music

"Ja-Da (Ja Da, Ja Da, Jing, Jing, Jing!)" is a hit song written in 1918 by Bob Carleton. The title is sometimes rendered simply as "Jada." The song has flourished through the decades as a jazz standard.

Contents

In his definitive American Popular Songs, Alec Wilder writes about the song's simplicity:

... It fascinates me that such a trifling tune could have settled into the public consciousness as Ja-Da has. Of course it's bone simple, and the lyric says almost nothing, except perhaps the explanation of its success lies in the lyric itself. "That's a funny little bit of melody—it's soothing and appealing to me." It's cute, it's innocent, and it's "soothing." And, wonderfully enough, the only other statement the lyric makes is "Ja-Da, Ja-Da, Ja-Da, Ja-Da, Jing, Jing, Jing." [1]

Selected renditions

Comedy rendition

In Jack Finney's 1995 novel From Time to Time , the time-traveling protagonist recalls a childhood memory of his aunt dressing up in her old flapper costume and dancing the Charleston to "Ja-Da," singing its playful refrain "Jotta, jotta, jink-jink-jing." [sic] He associates the tune with a stylish young woman he meets in 1912, whom he calls "the Jotta Girl," [7] a character who later becomes central to the novel’s plot. (The reference is anachronistic, as "Ja-Da" was not composed until 1918.)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ First released on the 1972 album Burgers . The title, lyrics, and some chord changes in this rendition — and the band name "Hot Tuna" — are related to a song first recorded by Blind Boy Fuller, "Truckin' My Blues Away," the origin for the R. Crumb comic — and the popular phrase — "Keep On Truckin'". This recording reappeared on Flight Log , a 1977 compilation by Jefferson Airplane and related bands, this time with the double title "Ja Da (Keep on Truckin')". The song is credited to Carleton or, on recent releases, as "traditional" (for example, on Live in Japan ). [3] [4] [5]

References

  1. ↑ Wilder, Alec (1972). American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950 . New York: Oxford University Press. p.  26. ISBN   0-19-501445-6.
  2. ↑ "Ja-Da" sung by Alice Faye in Rose of Washington Square (1939), audio file only, on YouTube
  3. ↑ "Burgers". Allmusic.
  4. ↑ "Flight Log". Allmusic.
  5. ↑ "Live in Japan". allmusic. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
  6. ↑ Fox, Charles; McCarthy, Albert (1960). Jazz on record: a critical guide to the first 50 years, 1917-1967. Hanover Books. p. 62.
  7. ↑ Finney, Jack (1995). "Chapter 14". From Time to Time. Scribner Paperback Fiction. p. 137.
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