Yah Mo B There = God Will Be There?

[Mr. Furious]

Hey, folks.

Recently, my wife and I heard the Michael McDonald/James Ingram song "Yah Mo B There," and she remarked that the song's title meant "God will be there." Now, I'd never heard anything like that before, and a quick-and-dirty search on Wikipedia only produced the same statement, but no citation to back it up. The song's lyrics are certainly Goddy, so I could see it being the case. FWIW (not much), I'd always thought that the title was a corruption of "Yeah, I'm Gonna Be There."

So is there any information to confirm or deny it? My Google-fu appears to be weak on this one.

I remember hearing that explanation when the song came out but just can't recall whether it was in a quasi-official source or just something the DJs used to say. (I'd prefer not to remember the song at all.)

It's not impossible that the line is from some dialect of English or English-based creole. It's also not impossible that the writer thought it was but had no clue. (People believe the weirdest things about dialects/creoles they don't speak and have had limited contact with.)

I'm afraid I can't confirm or deny directly, but a determined researcher might look for interviews with Ingram or McDonald from around the time the song came out and look for any mention of what variety of English they think the song is in - then find a reference book for that variety from their friendly neighborhood university library. There tend to be lots of print references for creoles and dialects, but they don't necessarily turn up online.

[Nick Theodorakis]

Originally Posted by Mr. Furious

Hey, folks.

Recently, my wife and I heard the Michael McDonald/James Ingram song "Yah Mo B There," and she remarked that the song's title meant "God will be there." Now, I'd never heard anything like that before, and a quick-and-dirty search on Wikipedia only produced the same statement, but no citation to back it up. The song's lyrics are certainly Goddy, so I could see it being the case. FWIW (not much), I'd always thought that the title was a corruption of "Yeah, I'm Gonna Be There."

So is there any information to confirm or deny it? My Google-fu appears to be weak on this one.

Rastafarian's refer to God as "Jah." Could it have come form some sort of rasta-influenced reggae lingo?

Nick

Jamaican Creole (aka patois) doesn't use "mo" as a future marker, so far as I know; they use "go."

It could still be the songwriter's impression of patois, or some other creole. It just doesn't seem to be genuine Jamaican Creole. (Unless, of course, my sources are wrong. Creoles aren't my linguistic specialty.)

[hambubba]

It seems like I heard the phrase in another song, but it was a long time ago and it may well have been this particular song. I'm searching for the memory... and using google. I remember the title phrase, but none of the other lyrics for the Ingram song.

ETA: found! This is the one I heard, same song, different artist. Jon Gibson.

[Thera]

I always thought it was a heavily contracted "yes I'm going to be there."

I'm southern (US) and have heard it all my life.

The song, on the surface, is about calling out for the singer and that they will be there to help. In actuality, it's intended as a metaphor for God's omnipresence.

It's pretty clear from the lyrics that the intent is that "God Will Be There". I've always translated it in my head as "And He'll Be There".

I have no idea what the literal meaning of it is, though.

-Tim

[zman977]

I believe I heard the "God Will Be There" explanation on American Top Forty when the song was a hit. Not that it makes it true. I"m sure Cassey Kasum has given out some UL's on the show.