And while we're on the subject of music from Marash Girl's fatherland, allow her to tell you of the strange convergence of that music with oriental rugs and Provincetown. Yes, from the loudspeakers of the first shop Marash Girl entered in this famous Cape Cod town wafted the distinctly oriental strains of Uskudara Gideriken, a favorite of the boys of Provincetown, a song Marash Girl's father knew from the time he was a child in Marash, a song he used to sing, albeit laughingly, (and sometimes along with Eartha Kitt) as he explained that the lyrics were NOT about a romance between a man and a woman, as men and women would NOT be traveling together unchaperoned in the world of Marash OR Uskudar.
Turning the corner, Marash Girl (now for all intents and purposes in Uskudar), discovered an outdoor bazaar where she found not a kerchief, but a kilim, an antique flat weave oriental rug, all rolled up, beckoning to her from under the cover of an ancient blanket chest. Yes, the proprietor said, that rug is for sale. I was just using it to prop up the cover of that old wooden box. I'll take it, said Marash Girl, as she handed him 45 kurush.
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| Thanks to abcnotation.com for the above musical notation of Uskudar as Marash Girl remembers it. |
Marash Girl,
ReplyDeleteI have a copy of the Eartha Kitt ten-inch LP (RCA, circa 1952) on which her version of this song appears, although she spells it slightly differently: "Uska Dara." I've always loved this tune. Thanks for the history and music lesson.
RF