My Mama’s Calling Me

This is a song that is sung while playing a call and response game in a circle.  Call and response is deeply rooted in African traditions in religious, cultural and musical contexts. In the African-American tradition it was also found in plantation life during slavery.

This song provides a simple example of the ‘call and response’ technique, which is an exchange between a leader (soloist) and the group (chorus). The child in the center of the ring is the leader and sings the ‘call.’ The other players sing the ‘response.’” “My mama’s calling me” and the “What shall I do?” is sung by the caller; the responses are sung by the rest of the students.

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