ABSTRACT
The refrains in folk songs that are often sung in chorus by the audience in folk storytelling events often have been described as “meaningless” or “nonsense” phrases largely because they comprise strings of sounds that supposedly do not have any current lexical status. But when one listens between the lines of some of the texts in which such descriptions occur, one is often struck by the wide range of expressive value that the so-called meaningless refrains have been recognized to carry. Indeed, when one closely examines these refrains, one finds that they are not only the most archaic and meaningful elements of the folk songs but by far the most critical in defining the lyrical quality and musicality of the songs. Isidore Okpewho (1992) comes more or less to these conclusions after examining the refrain of the following Igbo folk song, which he recalls from his childhood: Little bird, little bird Tuluzamzam tuluzam What are you doing there? Tuluzamzam tuluzam I'm up there fetching wood Tuluzamzam tuluzam After fetching what will you do? Tuluzamzam tuluzam After fetching I'll light a fire Tuluzamzam tuluzam
