As is the case with most traditional folk songs , not many specifics are known about the history of the song. It is generally posited, though, that the melody is much older than the lyrics, as its modal sound and melodic form are indicative of old Breton (French Celtic) melodies, which could've easily been brought along by the Acadians through their journey from France to Canada to Southwest Louisiana. The lyrics are clearly more recent, though also likely well over 100 years old, and are not fully standardized -- different groups will sing them with slight variations. The tune is played in a minor mode not generally found in other Cajun music.
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| Eunice Mardi Gras, 1919 Courtesy of City of Eunice |
Author and historian Dr. Barry Ancelet explains that in the early 1950s, a group of cultural activists in the Mamou area, under the leadership of Paul Tate and Revon Reed, undertook to revive the traditional Mardi Gras run. They sought guidance from older members of the community who remembered running Mardi Gras and even remembered the words of that community's version of the traditional Mardi Gras song.
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| Oster in New Orleans, 1958 |
The first of these versions to be recorded seems to be by different people, including Bee Deshotels, Terry Clement and Austin Pitre, during field recording sessions. These sessions, recorded by folklorist Dr. Harry Oster, were done between 1956 and 1959 around Mamou and Eunice, Louisiana. Clement's version would be released in 1957 as field recordings on Oster's own Louisiana Folklore Society label. Bee Deshotels would be accompanied by Angelus Manuel and Savy Augustine during Mardi Gras, February, 1958. When Oster recorded the song, dance tunes had become largely the province of the older members of the community; many of their children and grandchildren were drawn, as were their peers elsewhere, to commercial, popular American culture. According to Rocky Sexton:
[the Clement version] is a combination of the Tee Mamou/Lejeune Cove song that then shifts into the tune of the Big Mamou Mardi Gras song at certain points. The lyrics are a combination of Tee Mamou/Lejeune Cove with a little of Big Mamou lyrics thrown in. The song also has some improvisation in the lyrics. I'm pretty sure that is the case with the part about the whiskey and the Mardi Gras being hungover.12
Mardi Gras, ayoù tu viens, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver,
On vient de l'Angleterre, ouais, mon cher, ouais, mon cher.
On vient de l'Angleterre, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver.
Mardi Gras, quoi porte tu sont, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver,
On porte les jogues d'whisky, ouais, mon cher, ouais, mon cher,
On porte les jogues d'whisky, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver.Mardi Gras, quoi faire t'es saoul, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver,Est ce que d'le jug est vide, ouais, mon cher, ouais, mon cher,Parce que d'le jug et biere, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver.Mardi Gras, tu semble malade, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver,Est-ce qu'on sue du trop, ouais, mon cher, ouais, mon cher,Parce qu'on sue du trop, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver.Mardi Gras, quoi t'as besoin, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver,Donne-nous des grands poules grasses, ouais, mon cher, ouais, mon cher,Donne-nous des grands poules grasses, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver.Mardi Gras, t'es vient de faire, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver,On faire un grand gumbo ouais, mon cher, ouais, mon cher,On faire un grand gumbo ouais, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver.Mardi Gras, ayoù tu viens, tout le temps l'autour la fin l'hiver.....
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| Cajun Mardi Gras, 1935 Ray E Babineaux, Cleobule Thibodeaux Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA |
The song features a call-and-response set of lyrics, where someone questions their manners and the participants try to explain why.
Mardi Gras, where do you come from, always around the end of winter,
We come from all over the land, yeah, my dear, yeah, my dear,
We come from all over the land, always around the end of winter.
Mardi Gras, what are you carrying , always around the end of winter,
We carry jugs of whiskey, yeah, my dear, yeah, my dear,
We carry jugs of whiskey, always around the end of winter.Mardi Gras, why are you drunk, always around the end of winter,It's because the jugs are empty, yeah, my dear, yeah, my dear,Because the jugs are empty, always around the end of winter.Marid Gras, you are sick, always around the end of winter,It's cause we're sweating too much, yeah, my dear, yeah, my dear,Because we're sweating too much, always around the end of winter.Mardi Gras, what do you need, always around the end of winter,Give us a big fat hen, yeah, my dear, yeah, my dear,Give us a big fat hen, always around the end of winter.Mardi Gras, what've you come to do, always around the end of winter,We made a big gumbo, yeah, my dear, yeah, my dear,We made a big gumbo, always around the end of winter.Mardi Gras, where do you come from, always around the end of winter...
However, the most iconic version of the Mardi Gras song would be recorded during a field session between 1964 and 1966 by the Balfa Brothers and released on Miller's Kajun label (#502), "The Mardi Gras Song". The recording, with Nathan Abshire and Dewey Balfa, involves using a pair of coconuts to simulate the sound of galloping horses. The Balfas would enter the Swallow studio and record the song again between 1973 and 1974, "La Danse de Mardi Gras", and since then, the song has flourished. Their version is probably the most popular and commonly sung during the Mardi Gras season. Here's that version:
Les Mardi Gras s'en vient de tout partoutTout le tour autour du moyeuÇa passe eine fois par anDemander la charitéQuand même si c'est une patateUne patate et des grattonsLes Mardi Gras sont d'sus un grand voyageTout le tour autour du moyeuÇa passe une fois par anDemander la charitéQuand même si c'est une poule maigreEt trois ou quatre coton de maïsCapitaine, Capitaine voyage ton flagAllons chez l'aut' voisinD'mander la charitéPour les'autres v'nez nous joindrePour les'autres vous v'nez nous joindreOuais au gumbo ce soir
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| 1920 Eunice, LA |
"Mardi Gras" (pronounced here as 'grahz') in this sense is a plural nickname referring to the actual participants in the courir event. Dewey goes through an explanation and a simple rendition for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings in 1977.
The "Mardi Gras" are coming from all overTogether, we'll gather aroundIt happens each yearAsk for donationsEven if it's a potatoA potato and pork rindsThe "Mardi Gras" have made a long tripTogether, we'll gather aroundIt happens each yearAsk for donationsEven if it's a skinny chickenAnd three or four corncobsCaptain, Captain raise your flagLet's go to the neighbor's andAsk for donationsFor everyone else, come join usFor everyone else, come join usYeah, at the gumbo tonight
- Cajun Women and Mardi Gras: Reading the Rules Backward By Carolyn Ware
- http://worldmusic.about.com/od/northamerican/a/CajunMardiGrasSong.htm
- http://www.gumbopages.com/music/beau-notes.html
- Disenchanting Les Bons Temps: Identity and Authenticity in Cajun Music and Dance By Charles J. Stivale
- Ancelet, Barry Jean. 1989. "Capitaine Voyage Ton Flag": The Traditional Cajun Country Mardi Gras.
- http://www.arhoolie.com/cajun-and-zydeco/folksongs-of-the-louisiana-acadians-various-artists.html?sl=EN
- South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous By John Broven
- Roger D. Abrahams; Nick Spitzer; John Szwed; Robert Farris Thompson (2006-02-09). Blues for New Orleans: Mardi Gras and America's Creole soul
- Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues By Shane K. Bernard
- http://louisianafolklife.nsula.edu/
- http://www.wirz.de/music/osterfrm.htm
- https://folkways.si.edu/dewey-balfa/description-of-mardi-gras-ceremony-mardi-gras-song/cajun-music-instruction/music/track/smithsonian
- Discussions with Rocky S
- Lyrics by Carol B and Stephane F
I am Terry Clement’s daughter and I appreciate you recognizing him in this article.
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