"Belle Isle Waltz" - Jimmy Choates

Fiddler Jimmie (Jimmy) Choate was born in Bancker, Louisiana, not far from Abbeville.  He grew up playing music at an early age, similar to many of his siblings.  Quick to latch on to the success of famed Texas fiddler Harry Choates, Jimmie and his brother Pete decided to make a music career.  Jimmy's Melody Boys accommodated Ronald Ray "Pee Wee" Lyons on steel guitar, possibly Blackie Dartez on guitar, and Charles ‘Pete’ Choate on bass guitar.

Hé, petite, mais, moi j'm'en vas à Belle Isle,

Oh, chérie, mais, moi j'connais j'mérite pas ça.

Hé, petite, mais, moi j'connais, jolie fille,

Hé, chérie, mais, moi j'connais tu vas brailler.

Hé, petite, mais, moi j'connais, mais, moi j'm'en vas,

Au Belle Isle pour t'en aller, t'en aller, mais, loin d'ici.

Daily Advertiser
May 20, 1949

In 1950, Jimmy and his Melody boys recorded the "Belle Isle Waltz" (#608) in Lake Charles; a story of a lover going to Belle Isle.   It's a region of open fields located in the marsh lands, along the Gulf Coast, far away from most of the Cajun prairies.  On the highland areas, cattle ranching was the way of life in the 1930s for most residents, including families such as the Sagreras and Broussards.  Ernest Broussard recalled there were no roads at all in Belle Isle.  "It was open prairie, just a trail to go to [Abbeville]."1  

Hey, little one, well, i'm going to Belle Isle,

Oh, dearie, well, I'm know I don't deserve that.

Hey, little one, well, I know, pretty girl,

Oh, dearie, well, I know you're going to wail.

Hey, little one, well, I know, well, I'm going,

At Belle Isle you left, you left to go, well, far from here.

1. http://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/creole_art_ranching_trad.html
2. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:
Lonesome For You | Khoury's KH 608-A
Belle Isle Waltz | Khoury's KH 608-B

Find:
Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings Vol. 2 (Arhoolie, 2013)