"Eunice Waltz" - Veteran Playboys

When the Second World War finally came to a close, the returning veterans of southwest Louisiana wanted to hear the music of their youth.  One of the leading bands of that era was Alphée Bergeron and the Original Veteran Playboys.  They played traditional Cajun music every night of the week for three years straight.  Alphée was a sharecropper by day and accordion player by night. He was from the community of Pointe Noir, near Church Point in Acadia Parish.1  

Moi j'm'en va d'la maison, 

J’suis parti en larme, mais, tu vas voir encore,

Toi, 'tite fille, toi, tes ma pardonné, 

C'est de la peine que j'ai (pour) toi pour toujours.

J’suis parti en larme, mais, tu vas voir encore,

J'suis condamné par les paroles de ma catin

Te condamné pour quatre-vingt-dix neuf ans,

Dans les bals*, chere-là, m'joindre pas jamais.

T'as jonglé tout mes parents,

(Je) pense à toi, c'est des mauvaises paroles, catin,

Faudra je prends mes chagrin pour mourir,

Toi, tite fille, t’es peut remercier ton papa et ta maman.

Shirley and Alphee Bergeron

At the age of eight he, he started playing the accordion and at the age of twelve, he was playing house dances.  He played his first house dance with Joe Cormier in the Tasso community.  He was a close neighbor with accordion player Angelas Lejeune.4 

Alphée son, Shirley, was a quick study and soon joined his father’s band while still in school.  Shirley was eager to learn and soon began singing in his father’s band.  He also learned to play the electric steel guitar—his favorite instrument.  The typical week would start Tuesday nights with a short performance at KSLO radio, then to the Deuce Club in Lewisburg.  Shirley recalled,

"The second night, Wednesday, was the Rose Garden Club in Nuba. Thursday night, we'd perform at the Side Inn in Church Point.  Friday night's performance was at Jake's Place in Church Point, and on Saturday night....man, there's so many places. I was going through high school at the time. Man it was rough. "2  

In 1948, Alphée and fiddler/vocalist Adam Hebert formed a band called the Veteran Playboys because of two of the group members were veterans.3  They recorded one pressing on J.D. Miller's Fais Do Do label including song "Eunice Waltz" (#1012), a version of Amede Ardoin's 1929 recording "La Valse Ah Abe".  The rest of band included Raymond Lafleur on guitar, Wallace Lafleur on guitar, Bill Matt on drums and possibly Willard Matt.

Daily World
Mar 23, 1951

I'm going back home,

I left in tears, well, you will eventually see,

You, little girl, you've forgiven me,

It's because of the pain that you've given me forever.

I left in tears, well, you will eventually see,

I'm condemned by the words you said, pretty doll?

You've condemned me for ninety-nine years,

Good riddance, dearest, never join me again.

I'm reminiscing about all my parents,

Thinking of you, because of the terrible words, my pretty doll,

I have to keep my sorrows until I die,

You, little girl, you can thank your father and your mother. 

Shirley Ray Bergeron became one of the best singer-songwriters of Cajun Music.  Adam Hebert would continue on, forming a group called the Country Playboys. 

 

1.  J’AI FAIT MON IDEE (I MADE-UP MY MIND) By William Thibodeaux 11/12/2013
2. Daily World (Opelousas, Louisiana )12 Apr 1991
3. The Ville Platte Gazette (Ville Platte, Louisiana) 10 Jun 1993
4. https://www.cajunfrenchmusic.org/documents/8AlpheeBergeron.pdf
5. Lyrics by Herman M and Stephane F

Release Info:

Eunice Waltz | Fais Do Do F-1012-A

Chinaball Special | Fais Do Do F-1012-B

Find:

Acadian All Star Special - The Pioneering Cajun Recordings Of J.D. Miller (Bear, 2011)