“Throw me something, mister!” (Mardi Gras parade cry)
“Throw me something, mister!” is a popular cry of the Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana. Parade watchers want to receive throws of trinkets from the parade floats. The saying “Throw me something, mister/sister!” has been printed on many images.
The song “Throw Me a Rose” (1915) was nationally popular, and possibly influenced the saying. “Throw me one, mister, throw me one” was printed in the New Orleans (LA) Item on February 8, 1921. “The theme Rex chose was ‘Music of the Ages,’ with each float representing various types of music, each greeted by cries from the children and pleas to ‘throw me something, mister!’” was printed in The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) on March 6, 1927. “Oh, mister, throw me something!” was printed in The Times-Picayune New Orleans States (New Orleans, LA) on February 4, 1934.
“Mister” is often replaced in the cry. “Throw Me Something, Lady” was printed in Boxoffice (New York, NY) on March 12, 1962. “And for one parade, Venus, the chant of ‘Throw me something, mister,’ will be modified to ‘Throw me something, lady,’ as it is a women’s krewe” was printed in The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) on February 5, 1967. “‘Throw me something, sister’ was the watchword of the day, since all the floats were staffed by glamorous members of this women’s krewe (Krewe of Venus—ed.)” was printed in The Times-Picayune on February 6, 1967.
Wikipedia: Mardi Gras throws
Mardi Gras throws are strings of beads, doubloons, cups, or other trinkets passed out or thrown from the floats in the New Orleans Mardi Gras, the Mobile Mardi Gras and parades all throughout the Gulf Coast of the United States, to spectators lining the streets. The “gaudy plastic jewelry, toys, and other mementos [are] tossed to the crowds from parading floats”. “The goodies, or ‘throws,’ consist of necklaces of plastic beads, coins called doubloons, which are stamped with krewes’ logos, parade themes and the year, plus an array of plastic cups and toys such as Frisbees or figurines”. The cups that are used as throws are sometimes referred to as New Orleans dinnerware.
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Spectators have traditionally shouted to the krewe members, “Throw me something, mister!”, a phrase that is iconic in New Orleans’ Mardi Gras street argot.
8 February 1921, New Orleans (LA) Item, “Sidelights On Parade,” pg. 2, col. 6:
“O-o-o-h, Mama, lift me up so I can—.”
“Is that really the king, pa, or jes’”
“Throw me one, mister, throw me one. Be a sport. I didn’t.”
6 March 1927, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), “Entre Nous,” sec. 3, pg. 3, col. 4:
The theme Rex chose was “Music of the Ages,” with each float representing various types of music, each greeted by cries from the children and pleas to “throw me something, mister!”
4 February 1934, The Times-Picayune New Orleans States (New Orleans, LA), “Aunt Jane’s Letter Club” by Chris Marice, The Young People’s Paper sec., pg. 4, col. 3:
Oh, the children are getting very excited! Why, the Rex parade is coming! Good old King Rex! Hear the cries of the joyous boys and girls—“Oh, mister, throw me something!” And notice the happy smile on the recipient’s face if he is lucky enough to catch a trinket!
(Written by Lillian Alexander.—ed.)
25 February 1938, New Orleans (LA) Item, pg. 1, col. 8:
Mardi Gras On The Float:
A labas up there! Throw me something, please. Don’t fool me with a rubber band, like you did last year. Throw plenty, will you, mister? It makes me so happy just to get one little trinket. I’m Peafy’s grandchild. Piterpat.
A. Labao
18 February 1936, New Orleans (LA) Item, pg. 1, col. 8:
Rex:
(...)
You’ll see me Rexie: I’ll be in the crowd on Canal street—throw me something, you hear.
A. Labao
4 February 1940, The Sunday Item-Tribune (New Orleans, LA), “The Item-Tribune Girls and Boys Page,” pg. 17, col. 6:
Hurray for Carnival!
All so gay, this Carnival day,
We know not one from another!
Oh, you should see how differently
The costumes are in color!
Parades are coming, children running,
“Hey, throw me something too!”
We can tell, by your yell,
Little Mardi Gras, we know you!
Gay romance, fun as we dance,
Greeting all with a smile,
Till the end, let’s all be friends,
And make Carnival worthwhile!
1 February 1948, The Times-Picayune New Orleans States (New Orleans,, LA), “This Was Mardi Gras,” Magazine sec., pg. 8, col. 2:
“TARA, TARA!,” “If Ever I Cease to Love,” and “Throw me something, mister!”—the sound and fury, the hue and cry which is Mardi Gras.
20 January 1949, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), “Up and Down the Street” by the Want-Ad Reporter, pg. 39, col. 5:
CARNIVAL BEADS
Trinkets to toss off Mardi Gras floats are being advertised in quantity. When the crowd yells “Mister, throw me something!” maskers in the parades can comply.
20 February 1949, The Times-Picayune New Orleans States (New Orleans, LA), “Carnival Parade Series to Start,” pg. 1, col. 6:
Novelty shops are brim with trinkets, and the universal cry “Throw me something, mister!” shouild hardly ever go unheeded.
8 February 1950, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), “Up and Down the Street” by the Want-Ad Reporter, pg. 37, col. 5:
Many a little child is heartbroken, after begging every float that goes by, “Mister, throw me something!” and then not catching a thing.
7 February 1951, The Sun (Baltimore, MD), “Mardi Gras Revelers Poke Fun At ‘Kee-Fauver’ Probe,” pg. 1, col. 7:
New Orleans, Feb. 6 (AP)—
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Children clamored, “Hold me up so I can see,” and from everywhere came the yell to maskers tossing trinkets from the floats, “Mister, throw me something.”
12 March 1962, Boxoffice (New York, NY), “New Orleans,” pg. SE-2, col. 2:
Jane was one of the aggregation, dishing out trinkets along the way to the cries of the spectators, “Throw Me Something, Lady.”
27 December 1963, Capitol Journal (Salem, OR), “Some in New Orleans, but Not Many, Can’t Stand Mardi Gras” by Louis Milliner (AP), sec. 1, pg. 4, col. 2:
When thousands along the parade route yell at maskers on floats: “Throw me something!” and then scramble childlike for Japanese gewgaws and Czech baubles, the Mardi-Gras haters are absent.
21 February 1966, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), “Venus Brings Merrymaking,” sec. 3, pg. 1, col. 8:
The favorite cry of Carnival spectators was altered to “Throw me something, Lady,” as float after float of richly-clad maidens waved and showered their supplicants with gifts.
5 February 1967, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), “City’s Mardi Gras Fervor on Upswing,” pg. 1, col. 7:
And for one parade, Venus, the chant of “Throw me something, mister,” will be modified to “Throw me something, lady,” as it is a women’s krewe.
6 February 1967, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), “Downpour Fails to Daunt Venus,” sec. 3, pg. 1, col. 8:
“Throw me something, sister” was the watchword of the day, since all the floats were staffed by glamorous members of this women’s krewe (Krewe of Venus—ed.).
Google Books
The Folklore of American Holidays
By Hennig Cohen and Tristram Potter Coffin
Detroit, MI: Gale Research Co.
1987
Pg. 79:
Mister, throw me something: The traditional catch phrase of spectators at a parade requesting carnival throws from the maskers on floats.
8 January 1974, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), “Remoulade” by Howard Jacobs, sec. 1, pg. 9, col. 2:
AWARE that women Mardi Gras paraders will some day be outstripping the men (numerically, that is) Elks Krewe of Orleanians organizer Chris R. Valley has incorporated on his picturesque 1974 Carnival Calendar the variation THROW ME SOMETHING, SISTER.
OCLC WorldCat record
Throw me somethin’ mister
Author: Chuck Brackman; Napoleon Martin; Jerome Thomassie; Bruce Brackman; Frank Williams; All authors
Publisher: New Orleans, LA : Sweet Kathmeen Music, ℗1998.
Edition/Format: Music CD : CD audio : English
21 February 2003, Florida Today (Melbourne, FL), “Mardi Gras fun rolls into Cocoa Village” by Megan Nading, pg. 18:
Throw me something, sister: From high atop a float, Mardi Gras partiers Stella Lewis, left, and Sara Milburn have plenty of beads ready to toss to parade-watchers at a recent Mardi Gras celebration in Cocoa Village.
OCLC WorldCat record
Throw me something mister : two young children see their first Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans
Author: Malcolm Wright; Meggin Davenport
Publisher: Bloomington, Ind. : AuthorHouse, ©2006.
Edition/Format: Print book : Fiction : Juvenile audience : English
Summary:
This is the story of two young children, Erin and Nathan, who live far away from New Orleans. They are visiting the big city with their parents and grandparents and seeing their very first Mardi Gras parade. They are wearing costumes their grandmother made so they are as colorful as other parade goers are. They hear the big marching bands, Dixieland jazz and Cajun Music. They smell spicy foods - crawfish pie, jambalaya, red beans and rice. They learn to catch beads, doubloons and other favors.
OCLC WorldCat record
The 22nd annual Tennessee Williams / New Orleans Literary Festival. Archival disc 32. Throw me something mister (all on a Mardi Gras day).
Author: Errol Laborde; Royce Osborn; Carolyn Ware; Peggy Scott Laborde; Tennessee Williams; All authors
Publisher: New Orleans, LA. : Second Circle Productions, 2008.
Edition/Format: Audiobook on CD : CD audio : English
Twitter
DEONTRAY.com
@iAmDeontray
#uknowufromneworleans when your first sentence was, “Throw me somethin’ mistah,” and your first drink was from a go-cup.
11:00 PM - 3 Sep 2009
OCLC WorldCat record
“Throw me something, Mister” : the history of carnival throws in New Orleans
Author: Lissa Capo; University of New Orleans.
Publisher: 2011.
Dissertation: Thesis (M.A.)—University of New Orleans, May 2011.
Edition/Format: Thesis/dissertation : Thesis/dissertation : Manuscript Archival Material : English
Summary:
“Mardi Gras draws millions of tourists to New Orleans yearly, contributing to the economy of the city. Visitors soon discover the thrill of catching “throws” tossed to parade goers by members of parade organizations‟ riding floats. For tourists and locals alike, throws become the cultural currency of New Orleans during Carnival. Beads, doubloons, coconuts, cups and other throws develop an inherent value, enticing crowds. People esteem throws enough to compete for them, with varying levels of intensity, along parade routes and on the streets of the French Quarter. The purchase of throws by Carnival krewes also brings revenue into New Orleans. Scholars have written many studies on Mardi Gras, including studies on individual organizations, tourism and economy. However, no study examines the history of Mardi Gras throws. This thesis seeks to fill that void, and establishes an earlier date for the first time beads were thrown from floats.”
Twitter
Krewe of Muses
@KreweOfMuses
@dirtycoast is selling “Throw Me Something Sister” shirts just for Muses fans. Buy yours at http://www.dirtycoast.com http://twitpic.com/42cncw
5:19 PM - 21 Feb 2011
Twitter
cissy petty
@cissypetty
@tbump We see pearl beads in YOUR future! Collecting now. @craigbeebe @amyjoboyle @cajuncactus Throw me somethin’ Sistah! SAwomenlead
9:31 AM - 8 Mar 2011
YouTube
Throw Me Something, Mister
Buckwheat Zydeco - Topic
Published on Dec 10, 2014
Provided to YouTube by The state51 Conspiracy
Throw Me Something, Mister · Buckwheat Zydeco
Twitter
Martha Carr, DDS
@marthacarrdds
Eve Parade watch & music jam. Friday, 17th. Roads close at 6pm.
Throw me somethin’, Sistah! “Laissez les bon temps rouler!” New Office!
7:36 PM - 11 Feb 2017
Daily World (Opelousas, LA)
24 February 2017, The Daily World (Opelousas, LA), “Throw me something, sister!” by Rev. Jerome LeDoux, pg. A2:
In New Orleans where the line between secular and religious celebrations is quite thin, a new high is about to be hit. Courtesy of the Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale, the Crescent City, home of the Jazz Funeral and the Gospel/Jazz Mass, is poised to add the Gospel/Jazz Sisters of the Holy Family in full dress and parade.
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“Throw me something, Sister!” will replace the time-honored “Throw me something, Mister!” The televised humongous crowds of Mardi Gras will give the Sisters a public relations and advertisement boost beyond their wildest dreams.
Twitter
Bryan & Tammi Durfee
@durfeeEOE
Throw Me Somethin’ Mistah! https://mousinaroundtravel.com/2019/03/03/throw-me-somethin-mistah/ …
8:44 PM - 5 Mar 2019