* With apologies to the Makis for nicking their title.
Bonjoower mes Amys.
I am a feeling a little low at the moment and, as is often the case, I turn to music to add a little “Cherry uppyness” to the day.
Last night I was trawling through my i-pod looking for cheery tunes ( Nick Cave…nope…Lenny Cohen…nope..) and began to play a some Cajun songs.
I noticed , after a few mins, that my feet were involuntarily tapping away ( old age, possibly). There is something about Cajun music that bypasses my “brain” (as I like to think of it) and goes straight to the toes.
So I thought I’d dig a few out for anyone else in need of some cheering up. Here are some of my faves from my collection.
We’ll start with what may be described as the “Cajun national anthem” as song that is, pretty much, in the DNA of every Cajun musician . I refer, of course to Jole Blon and here it is in it’s original incarnation by Harry Choates. Harry had a pretty tough life and, sadly, like Hank Williams drank his talent and life away far to young.
Next up the first of two from a chap who has been called “The Cajun Hank Williams”, not on account of his boozing but because his songs are, possibly, a bit more “lyrical” than the average Cajun song . Cajun music is dance music on the whole. It comes in two flavours “Waltz” ( 1.2.3-1.2.3) and “Two Step” which tends to be the faster of the two.
Here , then is D.L Menard and the Louisiana Aces with “The Back Door”. Probably my all time top Cajun song, it tells the tale of a miscreant creeping home in the morning after a night on the tiles and using the back door in the hope that the missus won’t notice.
I think it fair to say that the people of the Cajun country regard themselves as a little special. Somewhat different from the average American and, and I hope they won’t mind me saying this, should any be reading, a little on the wild side.
This, I think, is reflected in their songs. They are very much “backwater” tunes, dealing with rural matters, love, fishing and having a good time. One of the wildest tunes in my collection is Hee Haw Breakdown by Nolan Cormier which, I think I can safely say, contains the best impression of an ass that I have ever heard in a recorded work. Absolutely bonquers.
On artist that always cheers me when I am down in the dumps is Nathan Abshire. This is kind of ironic because Nathan’s day job was custodian of the town dump in Basile , Louisiana where he lived most of his life. His was the first Cajun record I ever bought, a single that attracted me, even though I was in full “punk” mode at the time, by looking so out of place and strange among all the others in Virgin Records. I’ve still got it, blue Swallow label looking like something from the 1950s and the weird titles. Here he is with another all time “hit”, a song played by nearly every Cajun band J’ai etai au balle. I defy anyone to keep their toes still when this song plays.
Somewhat different in style and closer, perhaps, to Rock and Roll than trad Cajun , we next have Johnnie Allen with South to Louisiana ( or Seeoufff to Lousianne, as it’s sung) a take on Johnny Horton’s North to Alaska which I love because of the daft lyrics. This is the only one of our songs today that doesn’t use the traditional Cajun band instruments ( fiddle, accordian, triangle *)
Back to D.L Menard and the Aces now for a lovely song which I have always had a soft spot for. This is more “ballad” in style and tells of a lovely Cajun girl who is, alas, too young to get married. It’s called Rebecca Anne. My wife speaks fluent French and has tried to translate the words to some of the songs by Cajun French is unique and she can’t always get the full meaning.
Last up, a song that had I been playing, would have made the nominations for this weeks Mothership. Carney Doucet with Hold my false teeth and I’ll show you how to dance. Unsurprisingly this is a lively number and very typical of Cajun dance music.
Hope you enjoyed them and , as they say down on the Bayou “Laissez les bons temps rouler”
* Yes, really.
Droit sur!
This kind of music always reminds me of this:
HI Mr P ! ! !
Actually I really enjoy Cajun music maybe because Miyakojima (my home Island) is alone in the Ryukyuan Islands by having a tradition of accordion playing.
This comes from a long time ago, in 1873 the German ship Robertson was catch in a terrible Typhoon and was sinking by the coast of Miyakojima. There is a brotherhood of the sea that is very powerful and of course Ryukyuans are sailors and fishermen, so they were very upset to see the ship sinking and the men in danger. So even if it was very dangerous the men from my island went out in the storm in their boats and saved the German sailors. They brought them back to the island and cared for them until a ship was sent (from Shanghai actually) to take the sailors home.
The king of Germany was really grateful and sent a monument from Germany called the monument of Philanthropy which is in the main square of the capital of Miyakojima, and later he built the German cultural center on our Island and even today if important German people come to Japan they always come to Miyakojima. Chancellor Schroeder came a while ago.
So anyway, when the German sailors were here they taught us the accordion…..(my dad has never forgiven them….he says the difference between heaven and hell is that in heaven the angles play a harp and in hell the demons play accordions)
But whenever I hear accordions I feel something special. And I love how they are used in Cajun music.
I really enjoyed listening to your selection and I really know what you mean when you say it goes directly to the feet and misses the brain ! ! !
Unfortunately I can not find any examples of accordion playing form Miyakojima on Youtube (or anywhere else actually)
I am so sorry you are not so happy at the moment. I am sure that Mrs P and Ubuette will cheer you up ! ! !
But here is a little track that I hope will make you smile ! ! !
If that does not make you smile then I hope this one does ! ! !
AKB 48 always make me smile ! ! ! This is such a cheerful track ! ! ! (there is the usual few minutes of “acting” before the track starts but that is part of the charm ! ! !
I do hope you feel better soon ! ! !
Love
Sakura xx
That’s very interesting. I’ve come across a couple of Japanese bands who use accordions to good effect ( Bu*li and the Kokesshies, for example).
I really like that Dessert Junkys track ( can’t find anything much about them though), not so keen on AK47.
Thanks for your kind words.
Thanks for this pairubu. I got to see Steve Riley this summer (generally considered the pre-eminent modern Cajun player and composer) and had doing a post on my to-do list.
He talked a lot in his concert about the old-timers and I spent a lot of time the next few weeks digging up their recordings and having a listen. Mostly it was for perspective on Riley; I have 4 of his albums now and his playing – especially the effortless precision in his phrasing and the interplay between accordian and fiddle – is mind boggling good.
Here’s an NPR Tiny Desk concert. Zydeco is so vulgar(unrefined) in comparison:
I hadn’t understood before that it’s the only American roots music that has its origins in the traditional folk tales of France. The rest of folk evolved from old Scottish, Irish and English songs, and there’s a discernable difference in approach.
Nice to know that the old squeeze boxes are still being squeezed. I saw a documentary a few years back that intimated that the younger Cajuns weren’t really interested in the music or even the language.
‘Twould be a great loss if they died out, I think.
Thanks Pairubu, I really like Cajun music and this is a very cheerful end to the evening. I do hope you are feeling happier.
Thanks Pairubu. I didn’t need cheering up (and sorry to hear you did), but this took my cheeriness to a higher level, as Cajun always does. I love almost all down home rural dance music, whether it be Irish, Balkan, or whatever. Fiddles and accordians seem to carry the subliminal message of a simpler time when entertainment was invariably live in the village hall or square. And as you say, it’s toe tapping stuff. As you know, I am also very partial to the black counterpart, Zydeco. Hope this is a regular feature, and look forward to Tinnie’s Steve Riley post too.
You can’t beat a good fiddle, that’s what I say.
I think I may dig out some other old timey stuff for my next post, about time we had some backwoods fiddlers on the Spill.
Rusty & Doug Kershaw – Louisiana Man (1961)
Allegedly a million-seller. One of the first Cajun songs sung by actual Cajuns to become a big C&W and pop crossover hit.
Your blog won’t display correctly on my droid – you might wanna try and fix that