"Mamie That I Love So Much". Raised in Breaux Bridge, Patrick Dak Pellerin's love for music was cemented when he became a national vocal celebrity, touring the country with other contemporary vocal artists. His professional music reputation was founded upon his ability to cover French pop songs of the era for large socialite gatherings. Pellerin's rural upbringing and the driving force behind his professional recording were seemingly at odds. Having spent time traveling the country learning French ballads to perform, Brunswick picked him up for a mix session of Cajun accordion songs, comedic monologues, and crooning vocal and banjo songs. Given the song choices at hand, it seems that Brunswick wanted more native and creolized performances, regardless of the jazz crooning style he was so accustomed.
His mixture of old world folk songs commonly sung in Cajun prairies with Americanized jazz forms heard on the radio produced this unique, albeit curious, piece entitled "Mamie Que J'aime Tant" (#510). In the song, the author is late for a gathering and has nothing to wear, though a friend has promised a variety of clothes to wear: some shoes, a tie, some underwear, a hat, a shirt, and a belt. Until this friend arrives, no one is going anywhere.1
Si j’aurais mes souliers,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Si j’aurais mes souliers,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Mes souliers sont ronds, (oh, j't'aime),Ma'mie, que j'aime tant.Si j’aurais les chaussons,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Si j’aurais les chaussons,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Mes chausson sont égamés,Mes souliers sont ronds, (oh, j't'aime),Ma'mie, que j'aime tant.Si j’aurais les culottes,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Si j’aurais les culottes,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Mes culottes est défoncée,Mes chausson sont égamés,Mes souliers sont ronds, (oh, j't'aime),Ma'mie, que j'aime tant.Si j’avais les ceintures,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Si j’avais les ceintures,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Mes ceinture est débouclée,Mes culottes est défoncée,Mes chausson sont égamés,Mes souliers sont ronds, (oh, j't'aime),Ma'mie, que j'aime tant.(crooning scat)Si j’avais les caleçons,Que ma'mie ma donné,Si j’avais les caleçons,Que ma'mie ma donnéMes caleçons n'ont pas de cordeMes ceinture est débouclée,Mes culottes est défoncée,Mes chausson sont égamés,Mes souliers sont ronds, (oh, j't'aime),Ma'mie, que j'aime tant.Si j’avais les chemise,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Si j’avais les chemise,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Mes chemise à courte fine,Mes caleçons n'ont pas de corde,Mes ceinture est débouclée,Mes culottes est défoncée,Mes chausson sont égamés,Mes souliers sont ronds, (oh, j't'aime),Ma'mie, que j'aime tant.Si j’avais la cravate,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Si j’avais la cravate,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Ma cravate est crique et craque,Mes chemise à courte fine,Mes caleçons n'ont pas de corde,Mes ceinture est débouclée,Mes culottes est défoncée,Mes chausson sont égamés,Mes souliers sont ronds, oh, (j't'aime),Ma'mie, que j'aime tant.Si j’avais les chapeaus,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Si j’avais les chapeaus,Que ma'mie ma donnés,Mon chapeau est défoncé,Ma'mie, que j'aime tant.
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| Lucille and Patrick Dak Pellerin St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1935 |
Four years later, the Hoffpauir sisters, Julien and Elida, were found in New Iberia, Louisiana by folklorist Alan Lomax. He recorded them during a field session in 1934 where they sang "Si J'Avais Les Souliers", also known as "La Cravate". Their interpretation differed slightly from Pellerin's commercialized version, however, the theme is clearly sourced from some primitive tune. During the 30s, Ann Buchanan of Lafayette collected Acadian folk songs, including the lyrics to "Mamie Que J'aimais Tant", in which she thought were over a hundred years old.2 Author Josh Caffery explains some of the aspects of possible origins:
This song is an example of what [French Canadian scholar] Conrad Laforte calls an "énumération à reprises récapitulative": an enumerative song in which the enumerated elements are recapitulated with each verse. Evidence indicates that this song was performed at charivaris in rural France and it may have originated as a wedding sons, which later passed into the children's song and round dance repertoire.
Lyrically speaking, the older songs are, as the Lomaxes perceived, meticulously rendered and pristinely metered examples of European song, with little linguistic divergence from nineteenth-century sources.1
Other iterations of this song as "La Cravate" can be found in recordings by Marie Pellerin, Louis Noel, Caesar Vincent & David Courvert, Elizabeth Brandon & Corinne Saucier, and Harrison Fontenot.1If I had my shoes,That my friend gave me,If I had my shoes,That my friend gave me,My shoes are worn, oh I like,My friend, that I like so much.If I had my socks,That my friend gave me,If I had my socks,That my friend gave me,My socks are shredded,My shoes are worn, oh I like,My friend, that I like so much.If I had my trousers,That my friend gave me,If I had my trousers,That my friend gave me,My trousers are torn,My socks are shredded,My shoes are worn, oh I like,My friend, that I like so much.If I had belts,That my friend gave me,If I had belts,That my friend gave me,My belts are without buckles,My trousers are torn,My socks are shredded,My shoes are worn, oh I like,My friend, that I like so much.(crooning scat)If I had drawers (boxers),That my friend gave me,If I had drawers (boxers),That my friend gave me,My drawers don't have a drawcord,My belts are without buckles,My trousers are torn,My socks are shredded,My shoes are worn, oh I like,My friend, that I like so much.If I had shirts,That my friend gave me,If I had shirts,That my friend gave me,My shirts are short (thin),My drawers don't have a drawcord,My belts are without buckles,My trousers are torn,My socks are shredded,My shoes are worn, oh I like,My friend, that I like so much.If I had the tie,That my friend gave me,If I had the tie,That my friend gave me,My tie is cricked and cracked (crooked),My shirts are short (thin),My drawers don't have a drawcord,My belts are without buckles,My trousers are torn,My socks are shredded,My shoes are worn, oh I like,My friend, that I like so much.If I had some hats,That my friend gave me,If I had some hats,That my friend gave me,My hat is smashed,My friend, that I like so much.
Listen to sample: Mamie Que J'Aime Tant
- Traditional Music in Coastal Louisiana: The 1934 Lomax Recordings By Joshua Clegg Caffery
- https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/state-lwp%3A4939
- Lyrics by Herman M and Stephane F
NO-6702 Mamie Que J'Aime Tant (Mamie I Love So Much) | Brunswick 510
NO-6705 Le Garcon Boulanger (The Baker Boy) | Brunswick 510
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