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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Who Dat Sey Dey Own Dat Chant?

The NFL claim to own the phrase "Who Dat?" The cheer for the New Orleans Saints, who are scheduled to crush the Indianapolis Colts and Louisianian exile Peyton Manning at the Superbowl in Miami just over a week from now, is as follows:

"Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? Who dat? Who dat?"

I first learned of this from Abovethelaw.com; click to read that article. I definitely second the opinions in that article.

While the black-and-gold elite, and the NFL for that matter, have every right to protect what is theirs, the phrase has been around much, much longer than the Saints. I have pasted an article from Wikipedia, updated today with the new information about the cease and desist letters sent by the NFL to local retailers.

Here is the Wikipedia Entry:

Origins

The chant of "Who Dat?" originated in minstrel shows and vaudeville acts of the late 1800s and early 1900s, and was then taken up by jazz and big band performers in the 1920s and 30s.

The first reference to "Who Dat?" can be found in the 19th Century. A featured song in E.E. Rice's "Summer Nights" is the song "Who Dat Say Chicken In dis Crowd"

, with lyrics by poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.[1] A common tag line in the days of Negro minstrel shows was: "Who dat?" answered by "Who dat say who dat?" Many different blackfaced gags played off that opening. Vaudeville performer Mantan Moreland was known for the routine.[1] Another example is "Swing Wedding," a rarely shown 1930s Harmon-Ising cartoon musical, which caricatured Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ethel Waters, and the Mills Brothers as frogs in a swamp performing minstrel show jokes and jazz tunes. The frogs repeatedly used the phrase "who dat?"

In the swing era, "who dat" chants back and forth between the band and the band leader or between the audience and the band were extemporaneous. That is, there was no one specific set of words except for the two magic ones.

"Who Dat?" Lyrics from 1937:

Who dat up there who’s dat down there
Who dat up there who dat well down there
Who’s dat up there, sayin’ who’s dat down there
When I see you up there well who’s dat down there

Who dat inside who’s dat outside
Who’s dat inside who dat well outside
Who’s dat inside, singin’ who’s dat outside
When I see up there well who’s dat out there

Button up your lip there big boy
Stop answerin’ back
Give you a tip there big boy
Announce yourself jack

Who dat up there who’s dat down there
Who dat up there who dat, well down there
Who’s dat up there, singin’ who’s dat down there
When I see you up there you bum
Well who’s dat down there

Who dat

Staged minstrel skits had frightened black people saying "who dat" when they encountered a ghost, or someone imitating a ghost. Then, the "who dat"..."who dat say who dat"...skit would play itself out. This skit was done frequently in short reels from the 1930s - 1950s and in some early TV shows too. Even the Marx Brothers had a "who dat" routine, which they included in their film A Day at the Races.[1] Often, a ghost was called a "who dat." An animated character, now banished to the archives as being racist, MGM's Bosko had such an encounter in a toon called "Lil Ol Bosko in Bagdad" in 1938.

"Who Dat?" became a familiar joke with soldiers during World War II.

Back in WWII, US fighter squadron pilots would often fly under radio silence. But things get lonely up there in the cockpit, so after a while there'd be a crackle of static as someone keyed his mike. Then a disembodied voice would reply, "Who dat?" An answer would come, "Who dat say who dat?" And another, "Who dat say who dat say who dat?" After a few rounds of this, the squadron commander would grab his microphone and yell, "Cut it out, you guys!" A few moments of silence. Then... "Who dat?"[cite this quote]

The "Who Dat?" cheer

"Who Dat" became part of a chant for fans cheering on their favorite team. It has been debated exactly where it started, but some claim it began with Southern University fans either in the late 1960s or early 1970s and went "Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Jags" - Southern University being nicknamed the Jaguars.[2] Another claim is that around the same time it began at St. Augustine High School, a historically African-American all boys Catholic high school in New Orleans, and then spread to the New Orleans Public Schools. Another claim is that the cheer originated at Patterson High School in Patterson, Louisiana (home of Saints running back Dalton Hilliard).[1] In the late 70's fans at Louisiana State University picked up on the cheer. By 1983, the New Orleans Saints organization officially adopted it during the tenure of coach Bum Phillips, and Aaron Neville (along with local musicians Sal and Steve Monistere and Carlo Nuccio) recorded a version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" that incorporated the chant (performed by a group of Saints players) that became a major local hit, due in part to the support of sportscaster Ron Swoboda and the fact that Saints fans had been using the chant already.[1]

In 1981, the Cincinnati Bengals fans and players had started with their similar "Who Dey" cheer.[3] It was also adopted by wrestling fans of the Junkyard Dog, who wrestled locally in the Mid South Wrestling area in the early to mid 1980s.[citation needed]

After the Saints won the 2009 NFC Championship on January 24, 2010, against the Minnesota Vikings in the Superdome, fans from all across New Orleans, including fans who were exiting the game, started a Mardi Gras style "Who Dat" on Bourbon Street with modified lyrics, chanting, "Who Dat, Who Dat, Who Dat in the Super Bowl!" This of course being because the New Orleans Saints were advancing to the Super Bowl for the first time ever in their (at the time) 43 year history.[4][5]

Who Dat Nation

In recent years the phrase "Who Dat Nation" has become a popular term for the community of Saints fans.[6][7] According to Bobby Hebert, formerly a Saints quarterback and currently a sports commentator in New Orleans, the term "Who Dat Nation" originated after a highly anticipated 2006 game between the Saints and the favored Dallas Cowboys, which the Saints won; after the game, listeners from a wide geographic range called in to Hebert's radio show on WWL (AM), and Hebert commented, "Man, there's a whole Who Dat Nation out there."[8]

Ownership Controversy

In January of 2010, the NFL sent cease and desist letters to several Louisiana t-shirt shop owners ordering them to cease producing t-shirts bearing the phrase "Who dat". The NFL claimed to own the trademark to the term "Who dat". (The Monisteres were also reported to claim rights in the phrase.) The NFL also claimed that unlicensed t-shirts bearing the phrase would cause confusion among fans of the Saints about the official status of the merchandise.[9]

Recorded versions

(A play list of over 50 "Who Dat" and "New Orleans Saints songs"

can be heard here
  • Who Dat? - Aaron Neville
  • Who Dat - Royal Crown Revue
  • Who Dat? - JV (Jimmie Vestal) Two different versions recorded
  • Who Dat 2006 - Ghost & Birdfinger
  • Are You A Who Dat? - Mike Grothues
  • Dat "Who Dat" Jazz - Olympia Brass Band
  • A Who Dat Christmas - Who Dat Children's Choir
  • Who Let the Dogs Out (Who Dat remix) - Baha Men/Clear Channel New Orleans
  • Who Dat is coming out- Keith Reagan
  • Who Dat Fever - [Weathered - [1]

In hip hop

"Who Dat" is the name of the 4th single off of The Recession by Young Jeezy. They say who dat?

A variation of the "Who dat" chant was also used in the Lil' Wayne single "A Milli". Who dat say they gon beat Lil Wayne?

JT Money has a 1999 single called "Who Dat." The song was a hit, but was likely not intended to have any relation to the Saints or Vaudeville.

"Who dat" is also used in the song "Holla Back" by New Orleans-based rapper Juvenile "They want a pimp to give them some money, but I don't do that. But baby I'm a Saints fan that's why I say who dat."


References

  1. ^ a b c d e Dave Walker, "'Who dat?' popularized by New Orleans Saints fans when 'everybody was looking for the sign'"
    , Times-Picayune, January 12, 2010, pp. A1, A10 (Saint Tammany Edition).
  2. ^ George Morris, "Saints cheer predates team; not much more history known"
    , The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.), December 30, 2009.
  3. ^ "Building tradition"
    , AP, August 22, 2003.
  4. ^ Rob Longley (25 January, 2010). "Saints bound for first Super Bowl"
    . Toronto Sun. http://www.torontosun.com/sports/football/2010/01/24/12595326.html#/sports/columnists/rob_longley/2010/01/24/pf-12597771.html
    . Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  5. ^ "Who date nation erupts with joy"
    . http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/01/who_dat_nation_erupts_with_joy.html
    . Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  6. ^ "Who Dat Nation"
    , Times-Picayune, January 21, 2007.
  7. ^ Blair Soden, "Saints Praying, and Playing, for the Super Bowl"
    , ABC News, January 20, 2007.
  8. ^ "Saints Must Protect the Football"
    , ESPN interview with Bobby Hebert, November 25, 2009 (at 2:35).
  9. ^ Katie Moore, "NFL orders shops to stop selling 'Who Dat' gear
    , WWL-TV, January 27, 2010.

External links


Bibliographic details for "Who Dat?"


at 5:31 PM
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