"Casa Blanca Waltz" - Nathan Abshire

Nathan Abshire made his first recording debut in 1935 alongside Happy Fats' string band.   He resurrected his recording career in 1949 with his famed "Pine Grove Blues" recording which carried him through the 1950s.  As Nathan Abshire's recording career with Lake Charles record salesman George Khoury was winding down, so was George's interest in Cajun music.   By 1956, the band continued to market itself as the Pine Grove Boys and found themselves covering popular tunes to keep the crowds coming.  Named after the small Casa Blanca Bar in Westlake, Louisiana, "Casa Blanca Waltz" (#647) was an ode to this short lived place that Nathan and his band frequented.  

Eh, 'tite monde, tu m'a quitté, 

Tu m'a quitté, pour t'en aller avec un autre,

Eh, chère, ça m'fais du mal,

Je parti mon aller sur les lames.

Eh, 'tite monde, c'est pas la peine,

Si jamais quoi te reviens pour m'rejoindre,

Mon je vu peux jamais, tous t'es voir, catin,

Les paroles tu m'a dis sont trop dur.

Eh, 'tite monde, tu m'a dis,

Pouvez p'us jamais veux, mais, te m'rejoindre,

Eh, catin, j'ai pris ça,

J'ai pris ça c'est dur que j'ai parti.

Eh, 'tite monde, j'ai parti,

Moi aller, sur le lames dans les misères,

Aujourd'hui, 'tite monde, tu voudrais mon cœur,

T'es trop tard, mon je veux plus jamais tu voir.

His band in 1956 consisted of possibly Jake Miere on steel guitar, Ernest Thibodeaux on guitar, Cleveland Deshotel on bass, and Shelton Manuel on drums.  Fiddler and vocalist Dewey Balfa, relatively unknown at this time, helped the band recreate the old classic melody entitled "Over The Waves".  It had entered the Cajun dance-hall repertoire eight years prior with Oklahoma Tornadoes fiddler, Floyd Leblanc.  It's popularity peaked in south Louisiana in the 1960s as Joe Bonsall's closing song each night. 

Nathan Abshire with the Balfas

Hey, my little world, you left me,

You left me, to go away with another,

Hey, dear, that makes me feel bad,

I left to go over the waves.

Hey, my little world, it's not worth it,

If you ever come back to join me,

I'll never ever see you, pretty doll,

The words you told me are too harsh. 

Hey, my little world, you told me,

You could never want, well, to join me,

Hey, little doll, I took it,

I took it hard, therefore, I left.

Hey, my little world, I left,

I'm going over the waves into misery,

Today, my little world, you would like my heart,

You're too late, I never want to see you again.

Eunice News
June 22, 1961

The dance-hall era of Cajun music began to fade in the late 1950s.  To keep the music going, Nathan purchased a nightclub in 1960 with Dorselee Deshotel called the Rainbow Club in Basile, Louisiana.  With the arrival of rock and roll, Cajun music as a whole had little chance of being heard much beyond Louisiana until 1964, when fiddler Dewey Balfa very reluctantly agreed to appear at the Newport Folk Festival. To his great surprise, he received not scorn but adulation from the huge audience, and he returned home convinced that Cajun music was not something just for the old folks back home, but potentially had great international appeal.  Nathan would go on to record more tunes with the Balfa Brothers for several years afterwards.

 

1. http://louisianadancehalls.com/dance_hall/casa-blanca-club/
2. http://www.fiddlingaround.co.uk/cajun/
3. Lyrics by Herman M

Release Info:

647-A Lu Lu Boogie | Khoury's KH-647-A

647-B Casa Blanca Waltz | Khoury's KH-647-B