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The song "Union Dixie" (the very opposite of "Dixie") sings: "Away down South in the land of traitors, rattlesnakes and alligators. Right away! Come away! Right away! Come away!"

I'm designing a video game and I need a parody of the two lines (not the whole song, only the two lines) as a part of a few lines/quotes for one unit (a jet), which also says some other lines (which have nothing to do with "Dixie" or "Union Dixie").

The alternative words to "traitors, rattlesnakes and alligators" are: Initiate, Archer, Spook, Bloatick, Brute, Dunerider, Libra Clone, Hijacker, Stalker, Infiltrator, Virus. (All of them are infantry belonging to the same faction in the video game, while the jet belongs to another faction.)

There's no need for the word-play to have much connotative alignment with "Union Dixie" (let alone "Dixie"), except implying that the jets will defeat enemy infantry just as the Union defeated the Confederation. Euphony is the most important.

@Aaron Bell thinks "Away down South in the land of 'Jackers, Infiltrators, and Duneriders. Right away! Come away! Right away! Come away!"is the best.

I'm considering "Away down south in the land of Stalkers, Duneriders, and Infiltrators. Right away! Come away! Right away! Come away!"

Anyone else has other ideas?

related question: Why is “Dunerider” 4 syllables instead of 3 syllables?

Zhang Jian
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  • Unfortunately this kind of question is off-topic because there can be no definitive right answer- what I consider better may not be what you consider better. – Jim Feb 26 '21 at 05:29
  • You do want to parody "Union Dixie", which I think must be a parody of "Dixie"? "Dixie" must be far better known. – tgdavies Feb 26 '21 at 05:39
  • "Union Dixie" parodied "Dixie", and I parody "Union Dixie". @tgdavies – Zhang Jian Feb 26 '21 at 05:43
  • I know little about rhythm (scansion). With so many available alternative words (which I have already listed), I have no idea at all which word-play is better. @Jim – Zhang Jian Feb 26 '21 at 05:47
  • Given that your “Union Dixie” lyrics keep no rhymes or rhythms of the original, your parody could keep no rhymes or rhythms either. It’s not clear to me why anyone would recognize your version as a parody of a parody and not a parody of the original. – Jim Feb 26 '21 at 06:02
  • It's tricky because the first and last should rhyme, and you don't have a pair which rhymes properly. – tgdavies Feb 26 '21 at 06:03
  • "Union Dixie" seems to rhyme "traitors" and "alligators" as the original rhymed "cotton" and "forgotten". – tgdavies Feb 26 '21 at 06:04
  • “Union Dixie” rhymes "traitors" and "alligators". And I have “Archer, Dunerider, Hijacker, Stalker, Infiltrator” which also end up with er/or. What I don’t know is whether "Hijackers, Archers, Stalkers" is better or “Stalkers, Infiltrator, Duneriders” is better or some other combination is better. @tgdavies – Zhang Jian Feb 26 '21 at 06:10
  • I think I'd go with “Stalkers, Infiltrators and Duneriders”. It's a bit awkward but that helps make the point that the words are from your game. – tgdavies Feb 26 '21 at 06:14
  • Compared to “Union Dixie”, I only alter three words. So my parody is much closer to “Union Dixie” than “Dixie”. @Jim – Zhang Jian Feb 26 '21 at 06:18
  • Awkward... Of course, I want a beautiful sentence. After all, there're 11 words available. And I wish this discussion here would be my first lesson on English rhythm. @tgdavies – Zhang Jian Feb 26 '21 at 06:31
  • Will your video game include the tune from "Dixie" or is this just a poem? That is, will your game players hear the tune 531,1,12345,5,5,3 (where 5 is the fifth of the scale, 1 is the root of the scale)? As I noted in the original Q on literature.SE, I still think the use of this song is extremely problematic. – shoover Feb 26 '21 at 16:42
  • @shoover There is no tune at all. – Zhang Jian Feb 26 '21 at 23:53

2 Answers2

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Listening to it, I feel like "Hijackers, Infiltrators, and Duneriders" would work.

But whatever you do, I vote for thematic consistency.

  • Disconcerting theme: "Viri, Stalkers, and Spooks".

  • Tactical theme: "Stalkers, Infiltrators, Hijackers"

  • Alien(?) theme: "Bloaticks, Duneriders, Libra Clones"

  • Newbie theme: "Archers, Initiates, and Brutes"

If you're looking for "connotive alignment" with Union Dixie:

Archers are emphatically not connoted with traitors, as traitors are anyone who "follow one allegience and then change it", where archers are "marksman who can strike with an arrow from a distance".

  • Hijacker aligns more closely to traitor.

  • Stalker or Spook aligns more closely to rattlesnake, in my eyes.

  • Brute aligns with alligator.

So for connotive alignment, "Hijacker, Stalker, and Brute" is technically right, but "Spooks, Stalkers, and Brutes" rolls off the tongue easier, and one could make a case that "spook" aligns with "traitor", though that's a stretch.

Aaron Bell
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    There's no need to have connotative alignment with "Union Dixie" (let alone "Dixie"). Euphony is the most important, and thematic consistency is the second most important. – Zhang Jian Feb 26 '21 at 06:58
  • I have a little doubt. "traitors" has two syllables, while "Hijackers" has three syllables. – Zhang Jian Feb 26 '21 at 07:08
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    Maybe shorten "Hijackers" to " 'Jackers" – Aaron Bell Feb 26 '21 at 07:10
  • "Archers" and "Stalkers" have two syllables. Why not use either of them instead of "'Jackers"? How about "Stalkers, Infiltrators, and Duneriders"? – Zhang Jian Feb 26 '21 at 07:26
  • As far as thematic consistency is concerned, all the infantry belong to the same faction in the video game, while the jet (which uses the two lines) belongs to another faction. – Zhang Jian Feb 26 '21 at 07:31
  • What's your game about? – Aaron Bell Feb 26 '21 at 07:33
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    My MOD for "Mental Omega" (which is a MOD for "Red Alert 2"). Here is my paper (I'm reversing my paper, so the jet hasn't been included yet): https://forums.revora.net/topic/106991-mo-33-feedback-suggestions-balance-new-features-modifications-etc/page-236#entry1103653 – Zhang Jian Feb 26 '21 at 07:38
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    Please do not use the word "Spook" in a parody of "Dixie." "Dixie" is a problematic song with racist baggage that is associated with the Confederate States of America, who fought to preserve the system of enslavement of Black people. "Dixie" is also associated with blackface minstrelsy, an offensive practice by which white people painted their faces black and performed caricatures of Black people. "Spook" has been used as an offensive slang term for Black people. If you put the word "Spook" in a "Dixie" parody, people will find it offensive. – shoover Feb 26 '21 at 16:38
  • @shoover 1 Thanks for the information "Spook has been used as an offensive slang term for Black people", which I didn't know. In the game, Spook is https://moapyr.fandom.com/wiki/Spook 2 Euphonically, “Archer, Dunerider, Hijacker, Stalker, Infiltrator”, which end up with er/or, are more suitable for parodying "traitors, rattlesnakes and alligators". 3 Please tell me which arrangement sounds best. – Zhang Jian Feb 27 '21 at 00:34
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Thank @DM_with_secrets a lot for his/her method. And I did my homework.

[ˈtreɪ.tə], [ˈræt.l̩.sneɪk], and [ˈæl.ə.ɡeɪ.tə] are 2 syllables, 3 syllables, and 4 syllables respectively.

Among the five -er/or words, 2 syllable words are [ˈɑː.tʃə] and [ˈstɔː.kə]. Considering “traitor” begins with a consonant, “Stalker” seems more suitable than “Archer”.

3 syllable words are [ˈhaɪ.dʒæk.ə] and [ˈd(j)uːn.raɪ.də]. Considering "ˈrattleˌsnake" and "ˈDuneˌrider" are both close compound nouns with a secondary stress, "Dunerider" may be better than "Hijacker".

4 syllable word is “Infiltrator”, pronouncing [ˈɪn.fɪl.treɪ.tə] or [ɪnˈfɪl.treɪ.tə].

So the whole sentence would be "Away down south in the land of Stalkers, Duneriders, and Infiltrators. Right away! Come away! Right away! Come away!"

Thank @DM_with_secrets again for pointing out "the problem with both Duneriders and Hijackers is that you're left with stress on the unimportant 'ers' syllable at the end. I would say Libra Clones is the only option that really fits in place of rattlesnakes"

Bless you, @DM_with_secrets

Zhang Jian
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