"Hey, Mom!" - Amedie Breaux

The Breaux Brothers consisting of Amede Breaux, Ophy Breaux and Clifford Breaux had a short recording career between 1929 and 1934.   However, they recorded some of the earliest versions of Cajun music standards alongside their contemporaries such as Joe Falcon, Amede Ardoin and Mayuse Lafleur.

Oh mam, éyoù toi t'es?

Chère mam, j’aimerais te voir,

Une fois avant de mourir,

Chère mam, j'aimerais te voir yaille.

Oh mam, éyoù toi t'es?

Chère mam, j’aimerais te voir,

Une fois avant de mourir,

Chère mam, hé yé yaille. 

Oh mam, éyoù toi t'es?

Chère mam, j’aimerais voir,

Chere mam, éyoù toi t'es?

Chère mam, j'aimerais te voir yaille.

Amede Breaux and Ophy Breaux
Courtesy of Chris Strachwitz

In the late 1930s, record producer J.D. Miller had teamed up with the Breauxs as a string band.  There, he worked with Amede Breaux for a short time until he got married and went into the service.  After his recording label Feature Records had been established and the accordion had made a resurgence in independent Cajun recordings, Miller gathered Amede and his brother Ophy to record with his studio group in 1953.   The band recorded the iconic 1928 Mayuse Lafleur song "Mama Where You At?", re-titled as "Hey, Mom!" (#1056).  

Oh, mom, where are you?

Dear mom, I'd love to see you,

Once before dying,

Dear mom, I'd love to see you.

Oh, mom, where are you?

Dear mom, I'd love to see you,

Once before dying,

Oh, mom, oh ye yaille.

Oh, mom, where are you?

Dear mom, I'd love to see you,

Oh, mom, where are you?

Dear mom, I'd love to see you, yaille.

When Miller shipped off his master tapes along with his session notes to the production facility, either he or the pressing plant accidentally mis-associated the songs.  Apparently, due to a mix-up involving a future unknown Mire session, "Hey Mom" was accidentally titled "Bosco Waltz" by Cleveland Mire.  When the records arrived at his store, Miller had to painstakingly apply adhesive stickers to correct the mistake and blackout any vocal credits on each pressing.  Unfortunately, the Mire sides were never issued. By the 1960s, Huey Meaux of Crazy Cajun productions out of Conroe, TX re-released several recordings, including this one, on 45 RPM.  Miller and Chris Strachwitz teamed up in 1968 and had Amedie perform the song at field recording session at Miller's house.

1. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:
Hey Mom | Feature 1056-A
Hard Luck Waltz | Feature 1056-B

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