ANDY BEY / “Drume Negrita”
“Drume Negrita” is an Afro-Cuban lullabye written by Eliseo Ernesto (see comment below) Grenet. It is a classic of Cuban music. I don’t remember when I first heard it but I do remember that Andy Bey’s version was the one that grabbed by ear and stayed in my consciousness. Bey’s brilliant baritone rendition became my measuring rod for all subsequent encounters. Here is a translation of the lyrics done by Evelyn Shem Tov.
Drume negrita Canción infantil (Spanish)Drume negrita Que yo va a comprar nueva cunita Que tendrá capite' y también ca'cabe' Si tu drume yo te traigo un mamey muy colorao Si no drume yo te traigo un babalao Que da pau pau A la negrita se le salen Los pies de la cunita Y la negra Merce' ya no sabe que hace' Drume negrita Que yo va a compra' nueva cunita Que tendrá capite' y también ca'cabe' Si tú drume yo te traigo un mamey muy colorao' Si no drume yo te traigo un babalao' Que da pau pau. Sleep My Little Black Baby Children's Song (English) Sleep my little black baby And I will buy for you a new baby crib That should have a top cap and also a bell If you sleep I will bring you a very red mamey* If you don't I will bring you a babalao** That will give you pau pau*** The feet of the little black baby Come out of her crib And the black Merce' doesn't know what to do Sleep my little black baby And I will buy for you a new baby crib That should have a top cap and also a bell If you sleep I will bring you a very red mamey If you don't I will bring you a babalao That will give you pau pau. *A mamey is a type of fruit that grows in Cuba **A babalao is a Santeria priest ***Pau may mean a stick, or bread. Dar pau pau means to wack. I was surprised by how often the song has been recorded and delighted to find the wide variety of artists and approaches to the song. We in America have a huge blind spot. We seldom think of popular music that is not in English or is not brought to us through mainstream American media. “Drume Negrita” is well known throughout the Americas, from its origins in the Caribbean throughout Central and South America. Here are 14 versions ranging from guitar and voice to big band to percussion and voice. Some versions are dance oriented, some are meditative, all of them are beautiful. Enjoy.
![badi assad 01.jpg badi assad 01.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/badi%20assad%2001.jpg)
![el negro ojeda.jpg el negro ojeda.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/el%20negro%20ojeda.jpg)
![omara portuondo 01.jpg omara portuondo 01.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/omara%20portuondo%2001.jpg)
![francisco cespedes 01.jpg francisco cespedes 01.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/francisco%20cespedes%2001.jpg)
![jeanne lee 01.jpg jeanne lee 01.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/jeanne%20lee%2001.jpg)
![emilio santiago 01.jpg emilio santiago 01.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/emilio%20santiago%2001.jpg)
![gloria la nina rivera 01.jpg gloria la nina rivera 01.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/gloria%20la%20nina%20rivera%2001.jpg)
![chucho valdes 01.jpg chucho valdes 01.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/chucho%20valdes%2001.jpg)
![haila 03.jpg haila 03.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/haila%2003.jpg)
![ray barretto 05.jpg ray barretto 05.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/ray%20barretto%2005.jpg)
![joyce 01.jpg joyce 01.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/joyce%2001.jpg)
![bola de nieve.jpg bola de nieve.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/bola%20de%20nieve.jpg)
![selma reis 01.jpg selma reis 01.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/selma%20reis%2001.jpg)
![andy bey 17.jpg andy bey 17.jpg](https://www.kalamu.com/bol/wp-content/content/images/andy%20bey%2017.jpg)
This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 1:55 am and is filed under Cover. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
7 Responses to “ANDY BEY / “Drume Negrita””
January 26th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Thanks again. I only recently ran upon Andy Bey. It’s great hearing different interpretations of the same song.
April 15th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
I adore this melody. It has become my favorite. Imagine my joy and delight to discover 14 different versions on BOL. Although I initially heard this haunting melody from a Marissa Tomei film, “The Perez Family,” I had not made the connection to Andy Bey’s interpretation, which I purchased a few years after seeing the movie, until hearing it hear. How weird is that. And I consider myself such a music buff. Not paying attention here. Humbling isn’t it? I love all the featured versions and particularly think that Barretto’s is a creative wonder. It would be nice to get 14 on one disc. Any suggestions?
July 24th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Everything is perfect except that the author of Drume Negrita was not Eliseo Grenet but his brother Ernesto Grenet. I am sure of this, because they were both my great uncles.
kalamu sez
thank you very much for the correction. it has been changed in the article and your helpful comment has also been noted.
January 20th, 2009 at 12:48 am
Thanks so much for putting this site together. I am a guitar student working on the “Dos Temas Populares” of Leo Brouwer, the major Cuban composer. ‘Cancion de Cuna” is of course the “Drume Negrita”, but harmonized in a somewhat different way. Mtume’s comment is spot on– I played it for several years, even in a concert, without really getting the feel of it. Your website convinced me to download a LOT of versions and listen more carefully–really this simple melody is the soul of Cuban music to me. The other theme in Brouwer’s work is “Ojos Brujos” which is not nearly as popular, but a good example of the older, pre-war style of Criollo.
And Omara Portuondo is my favorite version of all. She is a living legend.
July 8th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Hello! I found this blog when I looked for the song Drume Negrita because of a version I have — the only one I’ve heard — by Ry Cooder and Manuel Galban. It’s a very slow Afro-Cuban groove with great percussion. Instrumental with jazz guitars taking the melody. Album: Mambo Sinuendo. Enjoy!
March 5th, 2012 at 7:16 am
Lydia Garcia is right. This song belongs to my father, Ernesto, and not my uncle, Eliseo. Even though Eliseo was the better known author, my father has a few well known songs and Drume Negrita is one of them. As Charles mentions above, Cdlia Cruz sung it in the Perez Family movie as ell as in one of her CDs. And just as an FYI, it is not a “mamey”, it’s a “melon”. I don’t know how these singers have sung it, but I am 100% sure it’s a melon, since the song was constantly sung to me by my father. Check out Celia Cruz’ version.
July 13th, 2012 at 4:19 am
I have been playing this Song for a number of years and was inspired by the version by the famous George Shearing Quintet. My band played it in The Guinea Gourmet in Southampton. U.K. We were joined by a Guatemalan who play the Toomba.It’s still in my repetoire.even now.
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