Conduplicatio (con-du-pli-ca’-ti-o): The repetition of a word or words. A general term for repetition sometimes carrying the more specific meaning of repetition of words in adjacent phrases or clauses. Sometimes used to name either ploce or epizeuxis.
“Baby, baby, baby, be my loving baby.” Stung Blanchard
It was post World War Two. Baby’s were being born left and right, and down the middle. It was referred to as a “baby boom” and the babies were called the “baby boomer generation.”
Given the times it was only natural that “baby” would become a general term of endearment and desire. In 1948 stung Blanchard was the first composer to use “baby” figuratively to bear the weight of affection for a loved one who would be thought of as a “baby” demanding coddling, and hugging—all the behaviors of innocent love and affection, and, referring mostly to woman, the aura of helplessness demanding protection from the woes of the world, fitting perfectly with the “breadwinner syndrome” operative for men of the late 40s through the early 60s.
Blanchard’s “baby” caught on and became a standard for the emergent rock n roll music. Virtually all love songs of the time were centered on “babies,” almost as if there were no other apt images with a poetic turn that could substitute for “girl.” Girl was actually frequently used, but it was less effective and much less frequently invoked than “baby” which was more resonant with the zeitgeist.
After his smashing success with “baby,” Blanchard tried to branch out. He opened a burger franchise called “Baby Burgers.” He sold small bags of “baby burgers,” small burgers the size of a silver dollar. The business failed when the rumor spread that the burgers were made from ground up babies. Blanchard was actually arrested and investigated for buying and grinding up babies for his burgers. He was vindicated and went back to writing baby-themed love songs. He struck it rich with “Baby on my Lap” a haunting ballad about an elderly man who has trouble getting off the couch and finds love just sitting there. It won a Grammy Award and catapulted Blanchard into the land of fame and fortune as “Baby Man.” Right around then, “baby” became a catch phrase in everyday speech, as in “Go baby!”
In his twilight years in the “Slow Goin’ Nursing Home,” Blanchard carried a baby rattle and shook it whenever he needed something. For example, three shakes was a request to fill his sippy cup.
He died quietly with his rattle by his side. They played a medley of “baby “ songs at his funeral. Even though it was too late, they played “Baby Please Don’t Go,” and everybody cried.
