They Call the Wind Pariah…
PARIAH…Now here’s a well known word. Little used, and hardly ever in normal conversation, most of us recognize the word when we see it. A few may even remember from time to time what it means.
pariah — n.
1. A social outcast. 2. An untouchable.
(Ref. dictionary.com)
I think I remember him from my 7th grade class. Anyway…according to “The Word Origin Calendar“, Sat/Sun Nov 19/20, 2005, “English occupiers absorbed this word from the Tamil language in India. In that country, rigid systems of caste segregated the society; the paraiyan was one of the lowest castes. Members of this group were forbidden from participating in public functions.” With that rare origin, pariah becomes one of a small handful of English usage words that have roots in an Indian language or dialect.
And yes, I know that the song’s title includes the word “Maria”…with a long I. The haunting melody and lyrics of They Call the Wind Maria have been performed and recorded by a wide variety of artists from Art Blakey to Stan Wilson, from Sam Cooke to 101 Strings, The Browns and Vaughn Monroe.
POP QUIZ: What Lerner and Loewe Broadway Show yielded this enduring hit song, which was then widely popularized by what recording artist?
10 Comments so far
Paint Your Wagon. Easy one. Ask something harder next time . . .
Sorry - left off recording artist. I’m guessing Robert Goulet.
MaryB - Correct on the show, wrong on the artist. You could have just cheated and looked it up like the next one will probably do…
Lorna said it was Paint Your Wagon.
And the artist was McKray, Macray, or something like that.
“It wasn’t Andy Williams, it was someone more butch.”
She’s sitting over there, singing it now.
Personally, I would have said the song was from West Side Story.
PS - Lorna wants to know NOW, this very second, who it was.
She’s driving me nuts.
Gordon McCrae? Naw. Joel McCrae? Naw (he wasn’t a singer). John Raitt? BUT - in my defense - Goulet DID have a popular version of the song.
Damn MaryB! She’s too fast!
Prevented from taking part in public functions? Do you mean that the American People as a whole are pariahs?
Time is up…Kingston Trio. Couple of others may have had earlier recordings but the one by the Trio was the chart climber and the one that made the song so popular and enduring.
To Joel, the only one who bothered with the meat of this post instead of going straight for the dessert, we’re sure as hell getting there fast!
Well, Winston - I’m a dessert kinda gal (and still to full of turkey to go for the meat of anything right now).
You DID say “recording artist” as opposed to “artists” - I stayed away from the KT on that. I’ll be more careful next time!
And once the turkey wears off, I promise to go for the post-meat.
Make that TOO full of turkey - and not full enough of previewing my comments.