For piano quartet

Original composition by Alice Hong

2024
Length - 6:00
Written for the Rapido! Composition Contest 2024

Pop! is a play on the traditional American song “Pop! Goes The Weasel” and a traditional ritual tune of the Lakota Native American tribe. Whether one believes the song is a playful children’s tune or a fun dance for adults from the 1850s, the meaning behind the lyrics of the songs is often debated. One general theme shared throughout the verses is money and work: in order to afford what is needed in life, one needs to constantly work, work, work. If not - pop! goes the weasel. While Americans were focused on the corporate grind, the Lakota Native American tribe endeavored to forge a deep and meaningful connection with nature. The ritual tune quoted in Pop! was played on the lakota flute in order to bless and ask for protection for the land on which they lived around the same time “Pop! Goes The Weasel” was composed and popularized.

In modern America, many find themselves still ensnared in the relentless cycle of constant work. Many long for a deeper connection with nature, something the Lakota Native American tribe have long understood. The conclusion of Pop! brings together both themes to illustrate this yearning while struggling to escape the frenetic, ruthless - but thrilling! - modern American rat race.