"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)