"Tu Peus Pas Me Faire Ce (You Can't Put That Monkey On My Back)" - Alley Boys of Abbeville

While traditional Cajun music began to take a backseat to western Texas swing and big band jazz orchestras, a handful of Cajun musicians from Abbeville landed a spot on KVOL performing some of their favorite jazz tunes as a string band group in 1938.  Lead by Sidney Guidry on vocals and guitar, he and fiddler Frankie Mailhes formed the group called the Alley Boys of Abbeville.  Named after the street in which they rehearsed frequently, it consisted of Murphy Guidry on guitar, Lourse Touchet on steel guitar and Maxie Touchet on drums. 

Tu peux pas me faire accroire que ca c'est tout vrai,

Tu peux pas me faire accroire la neige est noire,

Tu peux m'dire y'a un ouragan quand le soleil est bien chaud

Mais, tu peux pas m'mettre ce macaque sur mon dos.

Tu me quittes moi seul presque tous les jors,

Et tu vas ici et là-bas avec un et l'autre,

Après toi t'as été amuser, tu dis moi j'suis le seul,

Mais, tu peux pas m'mettre ce macaque sur mon dos.

J't'ai vue a un café avec un autre,

Et tu m'as dit t'avais été juste visiter,

Et c't'homme c'était ton cousin, mais, ton cousin il est mort,

Ca fait tu peux pas m'mettre ce macaque sur mon dos.

Tu m'as dit t'avais ete voir ta grand maman,

Mais, ta grand maman reste pas l'autre bord du ch'min d'fer,

Ecoute ici c'est une autre chose, je donne pas de bague en argent,

Ca fait tu peux pas m'mettre ce macaque sur mon dos.

Tu m'aimes quand j'ai un tas de l'argent,

Mais la l'argent est court les visites sont rares,

Tu m'as dit ca aurait ette vrai, mais, j'connais ca tu vas faire,

Ca fait tu peux pas m'mettre ce macaque sur mon dos.

J'ai dit mon dernier "Bonjour" et la j'men vas,

Mon vieux linge, mes souliers j'vas emporter,

Parce que tes cousins y rient c'est exu, ca après m'tuer,

Ca fait j'ai après tout m'mettre ce macaque sur mon dos.

Abbeville Meridional
Nov 18, 1939

Recorded at the Gayoso Hotel, Memphis, TN in 1939, the Alley Boys performed their Cajun rendition of the song "You Can't Put That Monkey On My Back" entitled "Tu Peus Pas Me Faire Ce" (#05058).  The song is a popular tune first recorded by the Shelton Brother the previous year in 1938 and then again in 1939 for Decca records.  The tune was composed by Marshall Walker and written by Hy Heath. It was also made popular by the jazz musician Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon the same year. 

You can't make me believe that's all true,

You can't make me believe the snow is black,

You can tell me there's a hurricane when the sun is shining,

Well, you can't put that monkey on my back.

You leave me alone almost every day,

And you go here and there with one and another,

After you have your fun, you tell me I'm the only one,

Well, you can't put that monkey on my back.

I saw you at a cafe with another,

And you told me you were just visiting,

And this man was your cousin but your cousin, he died,

You can't put that monkey on my back.

You told me you had been to see your grandma,

But, your grandmother does not stay on the other side of the iron road,

Listen here, another thing, I'm not giving a silver ring,

You can't put that monkey on my back.

You love me when I have a bunch of money,

But the money is short, visits are rare,

You told me that would have been true, but, I know what you're going to do,

You can't put that monkey on my back.

I said my last "Good day" and I'm going,

My old laundry, my shoes, I'll take them, 

Because your cousins ​​laugh at them, it's over, it's killing me,

I did, after all, put this monkey on my back.

Later the recording would be covered by other musicians such as Riley Puckett and Hank Thompson.  According to David Savoy, 

My grandfather played steel guitar on this classic track. But his name is misspelled above. It's actually Lourse Touchet (pronounced "Lauw-us" but everyone called him "Mockay" anyway). He was an awesome man and musician. The Alley Boys came to end due to WWII. A cannon fired in close vicinity to my grandfather during the war and he lost hearing in one ear. He gave up music from that point but I still remember that beautiful steel guitar always hanging in his closet.2  

1. Lyrics by 'ericajun'
2. Discussions with David Savoy

Release Info:

MEM-9-1 Tu Peus Pas Me Faire Ce (You Can't Put That Monkey On My Back) | Vocalion 05058

MEM-6-1 Se Toute Sain Cinne Moi Ma Saine (I Wonder If You Feel The Way I Do) | Vocalion 05058

Find:
Cajun Country, Vol. 2, More Hits from the Swamp (JSP, 2005)
Cajun Capers: Cajun Music 1928-1954 (Proper, 2005)
The Best Of Cajun & Zydeco (Not Now, 2010)
The Very Best of Cajun: La Stomp Creole, Vol. 1 (Viper, 2016)