"Since The Age Of 14" - Joe Manuel

Joe Manuel and his brother Abe Manuel became one of the early Cajun string band groups before WWII.  Their father, Adam Manuel, was an accordion player who taught his sons some of the early Cajun songs he had learned. They had their first stint working alongside Leo Soileau's group and meeting people like Harry Choates, particularly in places like the Avalon Club in Basile.1  However, Joe's major claim to music was his beginnings playing guitar with Leo's contemporary, Harry Choates.   He recorded with Harry from 1946 to 1948, singing and playing banjo.  His wife, Johnny Smirle Manuel, played piano.

Depuis l'âge de quatorze ans,

Moi, j'ai roulé manche à manche,

(Avec) ma jug au plombeau,

Oh, mais, malheureuse.

Eh, 'tite fille, 

Le soleil après se coucher,

Mon cheval, il est p'us là,

Et parti à Grande Chenière.

Quand, moi, j'étais petit,

Mais, moi je braillais pour les patates,

Asteur, moi, je suis grand, 

Mais, moi, je brailles pour les veuves.

Eh, p'tite fille,

Toi, t'après m'quitter,

Moi, je mérite pas ça

oh, mais, malheureuse.

Oh that sounds good,

Come in ((boys??)...

That's pretty.

Quand, moi, j'étais petit,

Mais, moi je braillais, mais, pour les patates,

Asteur, moi, je suis grand, 

Mais, moi, je brailles, mais, pour ces veuves.

Eh, p'tite fille,

Toi, t'après m'laisser,

Moi, je mérite pas ça,

oh, mais, malheureuse.

B.D. Williams, Ralph Richardson, Abe Manuel,
Lenny Benoit, Pop Benoit, Joe Manuel 1
Courtesy of Ron Yule

However, after a falling-out with Harry, the group fell apart, and Joe went on his own forming his Melody Boys during the 1950s.   Once formed, the group would record an old Cajun tune called "Since The Age Of 14" (# 102) on Eddie Shuler's Folk-Star label. His brother, Abe Manuel Sr., toured alongside Lefty Frizzel around Nashville.  Manuel's tune was a play on Leo Soileau's "Quand Je Suis Bleu".  It was a song borrowed from the lyrics of Dennis McGee's 1930 recording of "Les Blues Du Texas" and captured by Alan Lomax in 1934 as "Depuis L'âge de Quinze Ans" during a field session.  The French word 'manche' translates directly to 'handle' or 'sleeve', however, in this context, the unique Cajun phrase "manche à manche" is understood to mean "from road to road", alluding to someone wandering around aimlessly, like a hobo.

Since the age of 14,

Well, I have rambled,

From one road to another,

(With) my pommel jug,

Oh, well, oh my.

Hey, little girl,

The sun has gone this evening,

My horse, he's no longer there,

And I am leaving for Grande Chenière.

When I was small, well,

I would beg for potatoes,

Now, that I'm grown,

Well, I beg, well, for the older women.

Hey, little girl,

You, yourself, have left me,

I don't deserve that,

Oh, well, oh my.

When I was small,

Well, I would beg, well, for potatoes,

Now, that I'm grown,

Well, I beg, well, for the older women.

Hey, little girl,

You, yourself, have left me,

I don't deserve that,

Oh, well, oh my.

Grande Chenière is a small villiage in south Louisiana located in Cameron Parish situated on the Mermentau River.  While the name directly translates to "oak grove", in Louisiana, the term "chenière" applies to a ridge of relatively high ground surrounded by swampland and covered with oak trees.2  "Les veuves" directly translates to "the widows", but in Cajun French, it often refers to lonely, single, and often older women.  By the 1950s, Leo's tune became Elise Deshotel and Dewey Balfa's "La Valse De Bon Baurche".  Manuel's tune is not to be confused with Dennis McGee's "Two Step De La Ville Platte", more commonly known as "Depuis L'âge de Quinze Ans". 

1. "Cajun Dancehall Heyday" by Ron Yule
2. Louisiana Place Names: Popular, Unusual, and Forgotten Stories of Towns ... By Clare D'Artois Leeper
3. Lyrics by Jordy A and Stephane F