Bog Down in the Valley
(Cameroonian Version)
Bog Down in the Valley
(Cameroonian Version)
Children's Song
(Chorus)
Down in the valley-o
Down in the valley-o
Down in the valley-o
And bog down in the valley-o.
Once there was a tree
A redling tree, a redling tree,
The tree was in the bush
And the bush was in the bog
And bog down in the valley-o.
(Chorus)
Once there was a branch
A redling branch, a redling branch,
The branch was on the tree
And the tree was in the bush
And the bush was in the bog
And bog down in the valley-o.
(Chorus)
Once there was a leaf,
A redling leaf, a redling leaf,
The leaf was on the branch
And the branch was on the tree
And the tree was in the bush
And the bush was in the bog
And bog down in the valley-o.
(Chorus)
Once there was a nest,
A redling nest, a redling nest,
The nest was on the leaf
And the leaf was on the branch
And the branch was on the tree
And the tree was in the bush
And the bush was in the bog
And bog down in the valley-o.
(Chorus)
Once there was an egg,
A redling egg, a redling egg,
The egg was in the nest
And the nest was on the leaf
And the leaf was on the branch
And the branch was on the tree
And the tree was in the bush
And the bush was in the bog
And bog down in the valley-o.
(Chorus)
Once there was a bird,
A redling bird, a redling bird,
The bird was in the egg
And the egg was in the nest
And the nest was on the leaf
And the leaf was on the branch
And the branch was on the tree
And the tree was in the bush
And the bush was in the bog
And bog down in the valley-o.
(Chorus)
 - Cameroonian Children's Songs - Cameroon - Mama Lisa's World: Children's Songs and Rhymes from Around the World
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Notes
Nyango Melissa wrote, "I'm not sure what bog down in the valley means. I guess it's this…
'An area having a wet, spongy, acidic substrate composed chiefly of sphagnum moss and peat in which characteristic shrubs and herbs and sometimes trees usually grow.
Any of certain other wetland areas, such as a fen, having a peat substrate. Also called peat bog.'
An area of soft, naturally waterlogged ground.
As to 'redling', I think we were pronouncing it wrong. According to this version I found online, it is an Irish song and should be 'rattling'. 'Rattling' = extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers."
Many thanks to Nyango M. Nambangi of the Minnesota African Women's Association for contributing this song, for singing it for us, and for telling us about the singing traditions in Cameroon.
