"Jolie Jou Rose" - Austin Pitre

"My Pretty, Rosy Cheeks".  Cajun musician Austin Pitre was surrounded by house parties and the emerging dancehall scene growing up.  All of the area's musicians had a profound influence on Austin's sound.  Austin's fiddle-playing father gave him an accordion in hopes that his six-year-old son would learn to accompany him at the local house dances.  In his spare time he made himself a fiddle from a cigar box and at the age of ten, he won a real child size fiddle by selling flower and vegetable seeds from a catalog.1   

Malheureuse, chère joue rose, 

Fais pas ça, malheureuse, tu me fais du mal.

Chère joue rose, ça t'as fait (a)vec moi, malheureuse, 

Tu m'as pris de la maison, comme un pauvre orphelin,

...

Malheureuse, ça fait d'la peine de pour toi.

Parce que toi, ouais, changé, malheureuse, un grand vaurien.

...

Austin Pitre

During WWII, when the accordion popularity slacked off, he formed a string band to please the out-of-state soldiers who floodied the area's bars and dancehalls on the "leave" nights from Fort Polk.  By 1948, it is believed that Crowley record producer, J.D. Miller setup Austin with the a recording session.  That taped session may have been sent to Bill McCall in Los Angelas producing the record containing "Jolie Jou Rose" (#1341).    According to his wife Dorothy, his fiddle mentor, besides his father, was the brilliant Leo Soiileau of Ville Platte.  Austin kept a box of well-used 78RPM records of Amede Ardoin, Douglas Bellard, and Leo Soileau.1  Given his love for Leo's songs, it's no surprise that "Jolie Jou Rose" (referred to as "Chere Joues Rose") was just an adaptation of Leo's "Quand Je Suis Bleu".

Miserable woman, dear rosy cheeks,

Don't do that, miserable woman, you're hurting me.

Dear rosy cheeks, what you've done to me, miserable woman,

You took me away from home like a poor orphan,

...

Miserable woman, it's painful for you,

Because you, yeah, changed, miserable woman, into a big scoundrel. 

...

By the early 1950s,  Austin was forming a new band and asked a young insurance salesman and his brothers to come play with him.  That young man was Dewey Balfa.  According to Dorothy, Austin showed Dewey his style and Dewey learned "Chere Joues Rose" from Austin.1  It wouldn't be long before Dewey changed the lyrical theme based on Dennis McGee's "Les Blues Du Texas" and re-titled the melody as "La Valse Du Bambocheur".  in 1971, Austin re-recorded the song as "Cheres Joues Rose" with Alan Ardoin, Preston Manuel and James Pitre at Pitre's Garage. 

1. Austin Pitre CD liner notes.  https://folkways-media.si.edu/liner_notes/arhoolie/ARH00452.pdf
2. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:
3196 Jolie Jou Rose | 4-Star 1341
3197 Gueydan Two Step | 4-Star 1341