"Point De Lou" - Nathan Abshire

Nathan Abshire was born in the small town of Gueydan and his father, mother and uncle all played insturments.  Although his father was an accordionist, Abshire claimed nobody taught him, he just picked it up himself.  Abshire spoke little English.  He was unable to sign his own name, yet he composed many wonderful Cajun songs, and was right at the top of the tree as a singer, accordionist and bandleader.1   

J’étais à là, z-au bal, j'ai fait le serment de p(l)us te voir, 

Courtiser les veuves, j'connais ça fait du bien,

Dans la courtise* cousins, 'tit monde, mais, je suis comme ça, 

Toi, qui veux m'aimer, j'connais ça me fait du mal.

J’étais à là, z-au bal, mais, j'suis-z-habillé encore, 

J'vais seulement pas te voir pour courtiser les veuves,

Toujour courtise*, j'suis comme ça pas, toi tu veux me rejoindre,

Mais, ça fait du mal, j'connais ça peut pas durer.

Nathan Abshire

The song was likely an ode to a small community in Acadia Parish named Pointe Aux Loups, between Iota and Eunice.  It translated to Wolf Point because of all the wild wolves that roamed the area.   Recorded between 1953 and 1954, "Point De Lou" (#645) was influenced by one of the earliest versions of the melody, Iry Lejeune's "J'ai Ete Z Au Bal". It's based off of a children's tune known as ""The Rabbit Stole The Pumpkin" by John Bertrand & Milton Pitre in 1929, with words added by Joe Falcon in his 1934 recording of "Ne Buvez Plus Jamais (Never Drink No More)".   

I was there, at the dance, I swore I'd see you some more,

Courting all the single ladies, I know that it's good,

Courting your cousin*, my little everything, well, I'm like that,

You, who wants me to love you, I know it feels bad.

I was there, at the dance, well, all dressed up again,

I'm not only there to see you, but, to court the single ladies,

Always courting*, I am not like that, you want to join me,

Well, it hurts, I know that it cannot last.

Nathan changed the name from the Musical Five and his band became the Rhythm Five after several of his band members left.  He had to put together a rag tag team of musicians and friends in order to keep playing, mostly due to the Kegleys leaving the group.  Because of the nature of Nathan's lineup changing, it's quite difficult to pin down the musicians during this period.  The session possibly had Cleveland Deshotel on fiddle, Atlas Fruge on steel guitar, Ernest Thibodeaux on guitar, possibly Jim Baker on bass and Shelton Manuel on drums.  Yet, to this day, the vocalist of this wild and raucous recording is unknown.  

1. Boppin' By The Bayou - Rock Me Mama.  Liner Notes.
2. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:

2258 Texas Waltz | Khoury KH-645-A
2259 Point De Lou | Khoury KH-645-B

Find:
Nathan Abshire & the Pine Grove Boys - French Blues (Arhoolie, 1993)

"Jay Pas Pour Restez" - The Singing Frenchman

Known as "The Singing Frenchman", Johnny William "J.W." Billiot was born in Hamshire, Texas and raised in Louisiana with exposure to the music filling the dancehalls of east Texas and southwest Louisiana.  He played Cajun music standards alongside country and western classics and by 1949, his band landed a recording opportunity with DeLuxe Records in Sulphur, Louisiana.   Mimicking the songs of the Cajuns further east, he recorded "Jay Pas Pour Restez (I Ain't Gonna Stay)" (#6043), better known known as the "Waltz That Carried Me To My Grave" by Joe Falcon.  It was a melody that influenced other recordings such as Dewey Balfa and Elise Deshotel's "La Valse Da Courage". His daughter Mary recalled:

He continued to write music, but never published anything. If someone ask him to play a song on the accordion, we knew we were going to be there a while. It might be four or five hours before he would quit and go home.[1]  

The Orange Leader
May 15, 1964

Ton papa et ta maman, (m'a) toujours dit, fille,

Ton papa et ta maman, (à ton vieux nègre).

Ah, asteure j'ai toujours dit pour revenir, fille,

Asteure, j'ai toujours dit, mais, malheureuse.

Ton papa et ta maman, malheureuse,

Ton papa et ta maman, eh, moi j'connais,

Rappelle-toi à quel avenir, que (...) fille,

Et toi, quel avenir, moi, je peux avoir?

His band consisted of Johnny on accordion and vocals, his wife Bessie “Grace” Billiot watching nearby, possibly Bill Guillory or Nick Guidry on fiddle and Billy Rayon or Lloyd Gilbert on guitar.  At the dances he would step on the dance floor and find a lady to dance with him, and these extended bellows allowed him to put the accordion around her and play it while they danced. Johnny like to party, so he built a compartment on the bass side of his accordion for a “jo-jo” (a half pint flask of whiskey) in case they would run out of something to drink. He was known to play all day, all night, and into the morning, many times resulting in sore fingers and a bleeding thumb.[1]  

Your father and your mom, what they always said, girl,

Your father and your mom, (to your old man).

Now, I've always said I'd return, girl,

Now, I've always said, well, oh my.

Your father and your mom, oh my,

Your father and your mom, eh, I don't know anymore,

Remember what future you have, girl,

And you, what future can I have?

The Liberty Vindicator
Jun 30, 1949

In the early 1950s country music star George Jones, to whom Bessie gave singing lessons, played in the band, but did not play on the radio shows with Johnny. They remained friends after George became a country star. In 1955, the Billiots moved to Evadale, Texas, where he owned a garage and filling station. Mary recounts:

George Jones used to come by our house in Evadale and sit and talk for hours with Johnny. Most of the time drunk, and always had women trouble.[1]   

Release Info:

999 Jay Pas Pour Restez | Deluxe 6043-A

997 Valse De Beaumont | Deluxe 6043-B

References

1. Cajun Dancehall Heyday by Ron Yule
2. Lyrics by Stephane F

"I Woke Up One Morning In May" - Didier Hebert

Didier Hébert (pronounced DEE-djay AY-bear) was a blind guitarist from Louisiana who accompanied the accordion player Dewey Segura on one Columbia recording session on December 10, 1929. The two men recorded three French numbers together and Hébert (misspelled as Herbert) recorded one solo song, "I Woke Up One Morning in May" (#40511), a Cajun French lament of a woman that married a gambling and drinking man who abandon her and their children.[1]  

Je me suis levé matin dans Mai,

Mais, bien de bon matin,

C’était pour passer,

Mais, un beau jour dans ma vie.

Oh j’ai trouvé mon père en train de pleurer,

Ma mère qui pleurait dans ses bras,

C’est adieu pour longtemps,

Je me donnes à un jeune garçon.

Oh moi je l’aimais beaucoup,

Beaucoup plus que ma vie,

Il m’avait fait une promesse,

Et cette promesse c’est d’être sa femme

Oh j’ons ferait des enfants,

Il m’a quitté d’un abandon,

Moi bien malade dans mon lit,

Et mes enfants là crèvent de faim

Et mon mari à la table après gambler,

Et moi je ne souhaît que la mort,

C’est tous ces jeunes bébés, grand Dieu,

Dans les jambes de moi

Oh mettez-vous tous vous autres à méfier

De tous ces jeunes garçons,

Ça, ça conte autant de menteries,

Qu’en a d’étoiles dans le ciel.

Oh depuis dans l’âge de quatorze ans

J’après misèré avec toi,

Et dès de jour en jour,

Mais moi je m’en vas dans l’abandon.

Oh moi je connais je m’en vas dans ces grands chemins,

Misereux moi toute seule,

Et dès je suis une délaissée,

Mais que personne en veut de moi.

Didier Hébert represent an older tradition of Cajun musicians that sang old songs and ballads, so rarely heard on recordings.  His music was authentic enough that John and Alan Lomax chose to record Didier in June of 1934 performing "C'est Bien Le Mois D'Avril".  Growing up, Didier went blind due to a gun accident when he was eight years old but it never prevented him from learning the guitar.      Although the melody of the song is unique in Cajun music, the theme of Hebert's tune is common in other genres.  According to Alexander M. Stern, 

The detail of the husband spending his time in a tavern rather than with his wife and family recalls the story of the female suicide in Buell Kazee's 'The Butcher's Boy.' The warning to other young girls to avoid the same fate also recalls 'The House of the Rising Sun,' famously recorded by Dave Van Ronk, Bob Dylan, and the Animals.[2]  

I got up early in the morning in May

Well, very early in the morning,

It was to pass the time,

Well, a beautiful day in my life.

Oh, I found my father crying,

My mother crying in his arms,

It's goodbye for a long time,

I gave myself to a young boy.

Oh, I loved him very much,

Much more than my life,

He made me a promise,

And that promise was to be his wife.

Oh, I had children,

He left me with abandonment,

I was very sick in my bed,

And my children there are dying of hunger.

And my husband at the table, gambling,

And I wish only death,

It's all these young babies, good God,

At my feet.

Oh, all of you, start being wary,

Of all these young boys,

That tells as many lies,

As there are stars in the sky.

Oh, since I was fourteen,

I've been miserable with you,

And, from day to day,

But, I'm leaving, abandoned.

Oh, I know, I'm going away on these highways,

A mistress all alone,

And now I'm abandoned,

Well, no one wants me.

Allen Hebert, Didier's son, felt his father was embarrassed by the recording.   Didier claimed he was sick that day and it didn't turn out well.  He married in 1930 and gave up having a recording career.  However, the haunting nature of the recording has been appreciated by many over the years.  In 1952, it famously made the cut on the acclaimed Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music LP in which guitarist and archivist John Fahey described his feelings about the song: "Love it, Wonderfully out of tune."[3]    According to Matt Ryan's Strange Currencies Music,

Hébert’s lone solo recording expresses a profound sadness, even before one attempts to translate its lyrics. Among the eighty-four songs on the Anthology, “I Woke Up One Morning” has one of the hardest codes to crack, but when it hits you, it becomes a clear favorite.[4]  

1. https://oldweirdamerica.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/60-i-woke-up-one-morning-in-may-by-didier-hebert/
2. https://theanthologyofamericanfolkmusic.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-woke-up-one-morning-in-may-didier.html
3. https://folkways-media.si.edu/docs/folkways/artwork/SFW40090.pdf
4. http://strangecurrenciesmusic.com/harry-smiths-america-part-3-songs/

Release Info:

W111390-1 I Woke Up One Morning In May | Columbia 40517-F | Okeh 90017

W111391-2 Far Away From Home Blues | Columbia 40517-F | Okeh 90017

Find: 
ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC – VOLUME THREE (Folkways, 1966)

Les Cajuns Best Of 2002 Les Triomphes De La Country Volume 12 (Habana, 2002)
Cajun Country 2: More Hits From The Swamp (JSP, 2005)

"Acadian Two Step" - Amede Breaux

During WWII, Cajun artists such as the Breaux Brothers saw their opportunities to record dwindle and remain stagnant.  Their instrument was seen as old-fashioned once again and it wouldn't be until the late 1940s when jukeboxes began resurrecting the accordion sound across Cajun dancehalls. 

Ton papa et ta maman, quand je vois la galerie. 

Malheureux, moi je vois, mais (...)

A yéyaie, r'garde ici, c'est pour voir ton vieux nègre. 

Ta maman, elle est partie, oui, nous rejoindre, jusqu'à nous autre.

R'garde ici, dans ma maison, hier au soir, tu fais ça,

Quand tu viens chez nous autre, mais, prenez pas, m'en j'moi va.

Hey, petite!

Crowley
Daily Signal
Dec 1949

By 1950s, Amede Breaux's music opportunities seemed to increase.  With the popularity of Nathan Abshire, Aldus Roger and Lawrence Walker bringing the accordion music back on the scene, not only did Amede find an audience with occasional radio shows on KSIG, he garnered the attention of J.D. Miller and his studio in Crowley.  With local backup musicians such as Amos Leger and Sidney Leblanc, Miller recorded Amede performing an old Angelas Lejeune song "Petit Tes Canaigh" entitled "Acadian Two Step" (#1023) around 1951.   It was covered as a string band recording in the 1930s by Leo Soileau as "Attrape Moi, Je Tombe".  While it's possible Miller pulled in popular Crowley artists such as his brother Ophy Breaux on triangle or Happy Fats on bass or either Bradley Stutes or Papa Cairo on steel guitar, however, the personnel are unknown.  

Your dad and your mom, when I saw the porch,

Oh my, I saw you, but, (...)

Aye ye yaille, look here, in order to see your old man,

Your mom, she left, yes, the rest of us to stay together.

Look here, in my house, last night (at) what you've done,

When you came to our house, well, I can't handle that, I'm leaving. 

Hey, little one!

By the mid 50s, other Cajun artists, such as Iry Lejeune, popularized the melody as "Donnez Moi Mon Chapeau".  By the 1960s, Amede's brother-in-law, accordionist Joe Falcon recorded it as "Joe's Breakdown".  

1. Lyrics by Stephane F and Tristan H

Release Info:

Jole Blon | Feature Records F-1023-A

Acadian Two Step | Feature Records F-1023-B

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

"Le Pond De Nante" - John Bertrand & Roy Gonzales

Before the arrival of the Acadians in 1764, Louisiana had a fair share of Frenchmen that arrived and resided along the Mississippi River as explorers, either from New France provinces near the Great Lakes or as French soldiers stationed along the river in places such as Natchez, Pointe Coupee, and New Orleans.  Many of these Frenchmen would travel westward, away from the flooded watershed and find farming opportunities in the prairies of present-day St. Landry and Evangeline Parishes. They carried with them the songs of French European life.   By the end of the Napoleonic Era, more Frenchman would settle in south Louisiana, bringing with them other European melodies alongside Appalachian tunes pouring into the region.  Accordionist John H. Bertrand, of St. Landry parish, grew up exposed to these songs by his daughter who learned them from his mother, Nora Boone.  In 1929, he had the rare opportunity to record these seminal songs on wax alongside guitar player Roy Gonzales and his fiddling son, Anthony.  

Un jour en me promenant dessus le pont de Nantes,

J'ai rencontré la belle et j'ai voulu l'embrasser,

Hélas, le tribunal m'a rendu prisonnier.

Et quand ma belle a eu de mes nouvelles, 

Elle s'était habillée dedans une grande robe noire,

Et droit dans la prison, la belle est bien allée. 

...

Crowley Daily Signal
Jul 5, 1929

Bertrand's songs like "Le Pond de Nante" (#12776) is a loose interpretation of a classic classic old world French song from Brittany called "Dans les prisons de Nantes".   According to Wikipedia, it's a song featuring the story of the jailer 's daughter who helps a prisoner escape from a prison in Nantes.  It can be found almost everywhere in the French-speaking world thanks to the sailors going up the Loire or to the exiles who arrived in New France.   This particular story is of a lost love that dressed as a page, in a dark robe, pretending to be a man.  She begs the prison guards to let her in to see her lover.  Once in, she hands her lover the clothes, directs him to her horse, and instructs him to escape to freedom.1 

One day, while walking along the Nantes bridge,

I met the beauty and wanted to kiss her.

Alas, the court held me prisoner.

And when my beauty heard from me,

She had dressed in a long black dress.

And straight to prison, the beauty went.

...

1. https://books.openedition.org/editionsbnf/490?lang=fr
2. Lyrics by Tristan H

Release Info:

Le Pond De Nante | Paramount 12776

La Delaisser | Paramount 12776

"La Vieux Vals An' Onc Mack" - Thibodeaux Boys

Most of what people know about Joe Werner comes from his recording career however, even in his earliest years, he was always an entertainer.   He began playing the harmonica as a small boy after receiving one as a Christmas gift.   

In school, he turned his attention to the stage.  His earliest attempt at minstrel shows was in 1928 during a school play.  He participated in the production "Help Yourself" which took place at the Crowley Opera House.   In the performance, he participated in "negro conversations" portrayed as "Alimony Brown". According to the newspaper, "the choruses were well trained and rendered dainty dances and songs througout the production".1 By the summer of 1928, he was performing on the Legion Blackface Show as a clerk of court in the skit called "Eliza Rosewater's Divorce Case".2 

Rayne Tribune
Apr 1, 1932

J'vas demander à ton père, 

J'vas demander à ta mère,

Pour laisser te voir chère,

Et pour venir avec moi, 

Moi je m'en vas aujourd'hui,

Toi, tu vas venir avec moi, joli cœur. 

Si tu viens pas avec moi, mais,

Comment-donc t(u)i crois,

Moi, j'vas faire, chérie,

À la maison, moi tout seul, je peux finir mes vieux jours, (avec) tou(te)s,

Jolie les petits filles que moi, j'aime tant.

Si t(u)i viens pas avec moi, 

Comment-donc tu crois moi j'vas faire. Jolie! 

À la maison, moi tout seul, j'vais finir mes vieux jours (avec) tou(te)s,

Jolie les petit(e)s filles que moi, j'aime tant, chère!

By 1935, he continued amazing audiences of his multiple talents until he joined up with the Hackberry Ramblers and then the Thibodeaux Boys in 1938 recording the tune "La Vieux Vals An Onc Mack" (#2038).  It was likely an ode to his father, known as Uncle Max Werner, who had immigrated from Suhl, Thüringen, Deutschland (Germany) in the 1880s.   Max served in the Spanish American war before settling near Rayne where he raised his children.  

Rayne Tribune
Sep 28, 1934

I'm going to ask your father,

I'm going to ask your mother,

To let me see you, dear,

And to come with me,

I'm leaving today,

You're going to come with me, pretty sweetheart.

If you don't come with me, well,

How do you think,

I'm going to handle it, darling?

At home, all by myself, I can finish my last days, (with) all the,

Pretty little girls that I love so much.

If you don't come with me,

How do you think I'm going to handle it? Pretty!

At home, all by myself, I'm going to finish my last days, (with) all the,

Pretty little girls that I love so much, dear!

1. "School Play Is Big Success" RT 4-14-1928
2. "Work Complete On Legion Blackface Show" RT 8-4-1928
3. RT.  6-7-1929
4. Lost Rayne By Tony Olinger
5. Lyrics by Stephane F

Find:
Raise Your Window: A Cajun Music Anthology 1928 - 1941 (The Historic Victor-Bluebird Sessions Vol. 2) (CMF, 1993)

Cajun Country, Vol. 2, More Hits from the Swamp (JSP, 2005)

"Jack Lafiance On De Crawfish" - Joseph Pierre Landry

Joseph Pierre Landry was born July 9, 1877 in Bayou Goula, Iberville Parish.  His father, Volney, was a veteran of the Civil War and his mother Harriet was a home maker. At the turn of the century, Joseph worked as a store salesman near White Castle and it was during this period of his life that Joseph spent time crafting his talent as a stage and voice actor.  

After moving to Beaumont, he married Anna Eileen Cunningham, an Irish woman and native of Illinois, and the couple started a family.   During the 1920s, he worked as a "commercial trucker" however, he began traveling to various towns between Texas and Louisiana, entertaining audiences with a number of "humorous stories and charming sketches that fairly brought down the house." Often these monologues were in conjunction with other musical acts that performed either before or after his stage shows. 

Either possibly discovered on one of his many performances in Louisiana or possibly connected to the Wilferts of Opelousas, the Victor Recording Company invited the humorist in November of 1929 to record two of his most popular monologues, "Jack LaFiance At The Telephone" and "Jack LaFiance On De Crawfish".(#22212).   While in New Orleans, other Cajun musicians that awaiting their turn in front of the microphone were Artelus Mistric, Columbus "Boy" Fruge and Moise Robin of Arnaudville, Alius Soileau & Leo Soileau of Ville Platte, Berthmost Montet & Joswell Dupuis of Henderson, Delin Guillory & Lewis Lafleur of Eunice, and Bixy Guidry & Percy Babineaux of Carencro. According to record collector/dealer Malcolm Vidrine, 

"The A-side is even done completely in French. B-side is in English and Jack LaFiance makes a decent case on replacing the Louisiana Pelican with a Crawfish (and put him on the dollar as well!)."  

LaFiance was a caricature figure, popularized in late 19th century New Orleans literature, and represented in literary newspaper columns by James J. McLaughlin, who told of fictional stories of creole courtship in New Orleans.   

After the Great Depression, Landry's career stalled.  Victor released his recordings in February of 1930, during the depths of the Depression, killing any chance of success Landry may have expected.  His recording seems to have been mostly forgotten and the distribution of the monologue, only 804 copies, succumbed to the effects of the economic situation.   

Outside of his day job in real estate sales, Joseph spent much of his time acting and impersonating in various talent shows and social events both in Beaumont and in Houston.  He would often demonstrate "great versatility as an imitator of various dialects," performing for the Kiwanis Club and Knights of Columbus; an organization in which he had deep involvement.

He became president of a real estate company after WWII and lived the rest of his life in Beaumont.  Joseph passed away April 24, 1957.

References

1. The Houston Post Houston, Texas · Wednesday, December 24, 1919
2. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/167722299/joseph-pierre-landry
3. Discussions with Malcolm V

Release Info:
Jack Lafiance At The Telephone | Victor 22212

Jack Lafiance On De Crawfish | Victor 22212

"Je Pasa Durvan'Ta Port (I'll Pass In Front Of Your Door)" - Harry Choates

In 1947, Harry Choates recorded for Jimmy Mercer’s Swing Records in Paris, Texas on his new label, Cajun Classics, created just for Choates.1 In his early days, Mercer was pressing on highly fragile, reclaimed shellac -- he ground up used 78s, cooked them, dried them, and pressed new records out of them, just as Bill Quinn had done. In light of this, combined with the fact that distribution was probably limited to Dallas and Fort Worth, it's a miracle that even one copy exists today.2  

J’ai passé devant ta porte,

J’ai crié, “Bye-bye la belle.”

Y'a personne qui m'as pas répondu,

O yé yaille, mon cœur fait mal.

J’avais vu une petite chandelle allumée,

J'avais été courir z-à la porte,

Ils m'ont dit que ma belle était "gone",

O yé yaille, mon cœur fait mal.

J'avais vu une (...) la blonde dans la porte,

J'avais été (...) pour la belle,

Ils m'ont dit que la belle était "gone",

O yé yaille, mon cœur fait mal.

J’ai passé devant ta porte,

J’ai crié, “Bye-bye la belle.”

Y a personne qui m'a pas répondu,

O yé yaille, mon cœur fait mal.

poss. Grady Mann, Curzy Roy,
Johnnie Manuel, Harry Choates,
Joe Manuel, Eddy Pursley,
Ronald Ray "Pee Wee" Lyons

His group consisted Ronald Ray "Pee Wee" Lyons on steel guitar, Esmond "Eddie" Pursley on guitar, B D Williams on bass, Curzy "Porkchop" Roy on drums, Johnnie Ruth Manuel on piano and her husband Joe Manuel on banjo. Joe, from southwest Louisiana, had originally created his group for hillbilly music when they added Harry to the mix.   In this tune, Harry stepped back from the vocals and let Joe sing an old Cajun classic originally recorded by Cleoma Breaux in 1929 as "Mon Coeur T'Appelle".  It was entitled "Je Pasa Durvan Ta Port" (#1005), a corrupted spelling of the phrase "j'ai passé devant ta porte" or "I walked passed your door".   

I walked past your door,

I shouted, "Bye-bye, beautiful."

No one answered me,

Oh yeah, come on, my heart hurts.

I saw a small lit candle,

I ran to the door,

They told me my beauty was gone,

Oh yeah, my heart hurts.

I saw a (...) in the door,

I had (...) for my beauty,

They told me my beauty was gone,

Oh yeah, my heart hurts.

I walked past your door,

I shouted, "Bye-bye, beautiful."

No one answered me,

Oh yeah, my heart hurts.

1. http://www.amoeba.com/music/artist/64745/bio
2. http://wired-for-sound.blogspot.com/2010_12_17_archive.html
3. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:
Je Pasa Durvan Ta Port | Cajun Classics 1005
Tip-E-Te-Tip-E-Ta Ameon | Cajun Classics 1006

Find:
Harry Choates ‎– The Fiddle King Of Cajun Swing (Arhoolie, 1982, 1993)
Cajun Fiddle King (AIM, 1999)
Devil In The Bayou - The Gold Star Recordings (Bear Family, 2002)