"Home Sweet Home" - Breaux Brothers

Another great cajun musician from the old days, Amedie Breaux, along with his brothers Ophy, Clifford, and his sister Cléoma were sons and daughter of a great accordion player, Auguste Breaux. Auguste was never recorded but his sons made many sides under the name "Breaux Frères" from 1929 through 1934. The Breauxs were one of those big Louisiana family where Cajun music was passed down from father to son and all the children learned to play at a very young age. Amedie was the one who took the accordion.  He learned the instrument quickly, started to play at house-parties at age 14 and became a great player like his father.1

Amedie Breaux

In the fall of 1934, the Breaux brothers traveled to San Antonio, Texas for a recording session for Vocalion where they cut several titles, including this version of "Home Sweet Home."   Clifford Breaux is listed as the lead vocalist, with his brothers credited as additional vocalists.  According to Anthology of American Folk Music author Harry Smith, he points out that this version of the popular song is performed in waltz time:

A well known popular song is here played in waltz time, a dance of much greater importance to the French speaking rural population. The freedom with which the melody is treated, particularly in incorporating long downward runs, is also very typical of Louisiana.

Moi, j'm’en vas de la maison, 

Moi tout seul comme un pauvre, 

Malheureux, mais, c’est toi, 

R’garde, c’est dur après tout ça, 

Oh, c’est dur d'quitter,

Hé mignonne, petite fille,

De m’en aller, hé, tout seul,

Oh malheureux, oh chère, chagrin.

Ah,moi, j'm’en vas de la maison.

Ça c'est dur de m'en aller d'la maison, moi tout seul, 

En tournant , en disant c'tte mignonne fille, "Chère petite fille,

Ça c'est dur, j'ai quitté, chère mignonne, 

Petite fille, m'en aller à la maison, hé, pour ça!"

Ta maman et ton papan étaient contre moi,

Et c’est toi, par rapport à les conseils.

The “Home Sweet Home” (#02961) played by the Breaux Brothers is a very “Cajun-ized” version of a very famous song written in 1823 by dramatist and actor John Howard Payne with a melody by English composer Sir Henry Bishop (the later claimed that it was originally a “sieilian air”, a traditional melody from Sicily). Composed for Payne’s opera “Clari, maid of Milan”, the song became very popular throughout America and even abroad (It is known in Japan as “Hanyū no Yado”). With its beautiful and simple melody and its nostalgic lyrics (“There’s no place like home…”) it was a favorite among soldiers from both sides during the Civil War and of Abraham Lincoln and his wife.2 French-Canadian Joseph Allard recorded a version in 1928, set as a reel entitled "Quadrille de chez nous (Our House/Home Quadrille)", and again in 1945, this time as "Reel de Tadoussac."4  Like the Breauxs, songs like this influenced other Cajun musicians such as Leo Soileau.  He stated: 

When I first started playing, I learned "Home Sweet Home" and "Dixieland" like nobody's business.  I used to play that in school.5 

I'm going home,

All alone like a poor person,

Oh my, well, it's because of you.

Look, it's hard after all that

Oh, it's hard to leave,

Hey cuitie, little girl,

I'm leaving, hey, all alone,

Oh my, oh dear, it's sorrowful.

It's hard to go home alone,

Turning around, saying to that cute girl, "Dear little girl,

All of that is hard, I am leaving, dear cutie,

Little girl, I'm going away to the house, hey, because of all that."

Your mom and your dad were against me,

With you, because of the advice given.

Cowboys and frontier people loved to sing the song too and even made their own versions. It was also a favorite among opera singers and many versions were put on records during the early years of the phonograph.  The song was heard as well in many rural homes and entered the folk repertoire, both as a song and as an instrumental piece. In the South, it became a favorite number to play on the 5-string banjo, and bluegrass players included it in their repertoire.1

The Breaux Frères were not the only Cajun band to record “Home Sweet Home”. Versions can be found by Creole players like Alphonse “Bois Sec” Ardoin and the Carrière Brothers.

1. https://oldweirdamerica.wordpress.com/2010/08/29/39-home-sweet-home-by-the-breaux-freres/
2. http://theanthologyofamericanfolkmusic.blogspot.com/2010/03/home-sweet-home-breaux-freres-clifford.html
3. Harry Smith.  Anthology of American Folk Music.  Liner notes.
4. http://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Home_Sweet_Home_(1)
5. http://arhoolie.org/leo-soileau-interview/
6. Lyrics by Jordy A
7. NOTE:  Only a few Vocalion labels with the black lettering on a gold box design were ever issued.   This design only appears with a few issues and was short lived.  It is shown at the top.

Find:
Anthology Of American Folk Music Volume Two: Social Music (Folkways, 1967)
Pioneers of the Cajun Accordion (Arhoolie, 1989)

Cajun Vol. 1 Abbeville Breakdown 1929-1939 (Columbia, 1990)
Les Triomphes De La Country Music (Habana, 2002)
Shine on Me - Classic American Folk Songs and Anthems (Get Gone, 2014)

"C'est Mauvais De Dire Un Mensonge (It's A Sin To Tell A Lie)" - Cleoma Breaux

Much of recorded Cajun music had converted from accordion-led bands to Cajun string bands by 1935.   In fact, the Falcons were the last Cajun recording artists to still use the accordion in their sessions.   Almost all others had either converted over to the contemporary style or retired from recording all together.   Given their unique position and popularity, Cleoma and Joe not only adopted regional folk songs into their string band sound, but also covered popular radio tunes of the day. 

Peut-être c’est vrai quand tu dis que tu m’aimais,

C’est un péché de dire une menterie,

Une million de cœur qu’a été cassé,

Par la parole a été parlée,

"Ouais je t’aime, ouais que je t’aime

Tu connais que je t’aime",

Si tu casses mon cœur, ça va me tuer,

T’es sûr que c’est vrai quand tu dis que tu m’aimes?

C’est un péché de dire une menterie.

Peut-être c’est vrai quand tu dis que tu m’aimais,

C’est un péché de dire une menterie,

Une million de cœur qu’a été cassé,

Par la parole a été parlée,

"Ouais, je t’aime, tu connais que j't’aime, chère",

Si tu casses mon cœur, ça va me tuer,

T’es sûr que c’est vrai quand tu dis ouais tu m’aimes?

C’est un péché de dire une menterie.

Cleoma Breaux and Joe Falcon

"It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" is a popular 1936 Fats Waller song originally created by Billy Mayhew.2   Billy was featured on singer Kate Smith's popular Washington D.C. radio show where the tune was introduced to the world.1  Waller's rendition was produced early that year on records with many dance bands including Dick Robertson.2  By 1937, Cleoma, probably along with her brother Clifford, was covering Waller's "Lulu's Back In Town" and as well as this classic "C'est Mauvais De Dire Un Mensonge (It's A Sin To Tell A Lie)" for Decca (#17028)

Maybe it's true when you say you loved me,

It is a sin to tell a lie,

One million hearts that have been broken,

By the words that were spoken,

"Yes, I love you, yes, I love you,

You know I love you",

If you break my heart, it will kill me,

Are you sure it's true when you say you love me?

It is a sin to tell a lie.

Maybe it's true when you say you loved me,

It is a sin to tell a lie,

One million hearts that have been broken,

By the words that were spoken,

"Yes, I love you, you know that I love you, dear",

If you break my heart, it will kill me,

Are you sure it's true when you say you love me?

It is a sin to tell a lie.

Daily Advertiser
Jun 7, 1937

A version by Somethin Smith and the Redheads reached #7 on Billboard's 1955 listings.1  Other artists who have recorded versions include Billie Holiday, The Ink Spots, and Tony Bennett.2  

1. Hit Songs, 1900-1955: American Popular Music of the Pre-Rock Era By Don Tyler
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Sin_to_Tell_a_Lie
3. Lyrics by Jordy A

Release:
61910-A C'est Mauvais De Dire Un Mensonge (It's A Sin To Tell A Lie) DE 17028 A
61906-A Prairie De Pin (Pine Prairie) DE 17028 B

Find: 
Cajun Early Recordings (JSP, 2004)

"Le Blues De Petit Chien" - Breaux Brothers

By 1929, the Breaux Brothers were following in the footsteps of their sister, Cleoma.   They were recording tunes for major labels and playing music alongside many other musicians throughout the countryside prairies.  In June of 1934, John Avery Lomax began touring the Cajun prairies in search of musicians to record for the Library of Congress.  He found the Breaux Brothers in Crowley and setup his portable recording machine, probably at one of their homes.   There, he recorded a tune with the brothers on fiddle, accordion and guitar.  You can make out the bluesy rhythm backed by the first line of English vocals "Let me be your little dog, mama, till your big dog come".   Apparently the recording cuts the song short, but does demonstrate the brother's abilities to sing and play the blues.   Lomax entitled it "Little Dog Blues".1,2 

Oh, laisse moi être ton p'tit chien

Jusqu'à le gros chien vient.

Oh, laisse moi être ton p'tit chien

Jusqu'à le gros chien vient.

Là je voulais t'dire 'tite fille

Tout ça ton gros chien t'a fait.

Oh 'yoù t'as resté hier au soir?

Oh 'yoù t'as resté hier au soir?

T'as des cheveux tous mêlés,

Et ton linge te fait pas bien.

Oh moi j'ai peur, ton père est après filer.

Oh moi j'ai peur, ton père est après filer.

Si t'as pas un père,

Tout à perdre d'un bord.

1934 Lomax Session Notes

The sexual innuendo is obvious, especially in the insinuation that the lover is actually a whore, leaving for the night, coming back with her clothes all tattered.   According to French musician Marc Chaveau, the term is even more scandalous:

Petit Chien, or "little dog", is sometimes used to refer to a [male] prostitute. 

By October that year, the Breaux Brothers (known as Breaux Freres), left for San Antonio and re-recorded the tune "Le Blues De Petit Chien" (#03053), this time in it's complete form for Vocalion Records and in their native Cajun French.   It is this song that most likely became the main inspiration for the Nathan Abshire's melody in "Pine Grove Blues".3 

Oh, let me be your little dog,

Until the big dog comes,

Oh, let me be your little dog,

Until the big dog comes,

I wanted to tell you, little girl,

All that your big dog has done.

Oh, where were you sleeping last night?

Oh, where were you sleeping last night?

You have your hair all messed up,

And your clothes are not good. 

Oh, I'm afraid your father has taken off,

Oh, I'm afraid your father has taken off,

If you have no father,

You'll lose everything over the edge.

The Breaux's last verse is quite confusing and mysterious.   In one version, the returned lover is being told her father has fled and she might lose her mind.  In another interpretation, there's no father at all.  He's interpreted as "Oh, moi j’ai faim, t’as fait ça pour m’quitter, si t’as pas de cœur, tout à perdre d'un bord" meaning he's hungry, wondering why she left him and that he's going to lose his mind. Other artists used similar droning melodies and blues scales on accordion, such as Lawrence Walker and his 1935 recording of "What’s the Matter Now".

According to author Josh Caffery, the fact that the Breaux brothers performed an English version for a folkloric collection and a French one for a commercial recording could be because record companies were marketing to a French speaking region and Lomax saw this sort of music commercialized enough to only want it sung in English; a version of the song he may have considered "more authentic".3

1. http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.afc.afc9999005.27151/default.html
2. http://www.lomax1934.com/little-dog-blues.html
3. Traditional Music in Coastal Louisiana: The 1934 Lomax Recordings By Joshua Clegg Caffery
4. Lyrics by Marc C and Bryan L

Find:
Cajun Dance Party: Fais Do-Do (Legacy/Columbia, 1994)
Cajun Early Recordings (JSP, 2004)

"Tiger Rag Blues" - Breaux Brothers

The Breaux Brothers (listed as "Breaux Freres") became one of the earliest to record standard Cajun tunes on with an accordion led group.   Many of the brothers played several instruments, often switching out during house dances.  

"Tiger Rag" by Charles Dornberger & His Orchestra had become very popular in 1927 and while there's no similarity between the two songs, it's possible this was an ode to the group and their popular song. 

Like the original "Tiger Rag", it's a quick pace accordion-led song, labeled as "blues", yet becoming one of the first Cajun interpretations of New Orleans jazz.

The Vocalion session in San Antonio in 1934 really produced the largest single set of songs by the Breauxs that they ever attempted to record.  The following year, his brother-in-law Warnes "T-Neg" Schexnayder backed up Happy Fats and Nathan Abshire on guitar with their version entitled "Gueydan Breakdown".  

Amede Breaux and Ophy Breaux1

One has to question why the brothers never recorded for a major label again after this point. Their family issues became well known and most likely had an effect on their future music career.  

1. Image by Chris Strachwitz

Find:
Louisiana Cajun Music Vol. 2: The Early 30s (Old Timey/Arhoolie, 1971)
Cajun Dance Party: Fais Do-Do (Legacy/Columbia, 1994)
Cajun Origins (Catfish, 2001)
The Perfect Roots & Blues Collection (Sony, 2015)

"Fais Do Do Negre" - Breaux Brothers

Once the Breaux brothers (listed as Breaux Freres) showed the recording industry the type of success they could generate by recording "Ma Blonde Est Partie" in 1929 for Columbia, the Vocalion label had them come to San Antonio in 1934 for a marathon recording session. There without Cleoma, they laid down many tracks which would become standards in years following. One of the tunes they recorded in October that year was "Fais Do Do Negre" (#2857) with Ophy Breaux on fiddle, Amadie Breaux on accordion and vocals, and Clifford Breaux on guitar.  

Fais do-do, fais do-do mon nègre,

Dans les bras de ta chère vieille maman.  

Va donc là-bas, réveille toi, 

C’est l’heure d’aller à l’ouvrage. 

Hey, vaurien !

Pour la cause tu connais (?) 

‘Tit nègre mais chère maman  

Réveille-toi, bon matin, 

C’est l’heure d’aller à l’ouvrage.

Fais do-do ‘tit nègre, 

Dans la bras d’ta mam, 

Fais do-do, ‘tit nègre, 

Réveille-toi. 

Hey, hey.

Réveille-toi ils disent.

The song is a fast paced waltz, casually asking a little boy to sleep in his mother's arms followed by waking him up to go to work.  It's one of the earliest Cajun songs to have developed in the prairies. It became one of the most favorite waltzes during the 1920s outside of "Jolie Blonde" and "Allons A Lafayette".3  

Fais do-do is also a name for a Cajun dance party, originating before World War II. According to Mark Humphrey, the parties were named for "the gentle command (‘go to sleep’) young mothers offered bawling infants.” He quotes early Cajun musician Edwin Duhon of the Hackberry Ramblers, 

“She’d go to the cry room, give the baby a nipple and say, ‘Fais do-do.’ She’d want the baby to go to sleep fast, ’cause she’s worried about her husband dancing with somebody else out there.” 

Do-do itself is a shortening of the French verb dormir (to sleep), used primarily in speaking to small children. Comparable to the American English ‘”beddy-bye”, it is still commonly used by French-speaking people. According to author Stivale, "neg" and "negresse" are corrupted forms of the word "negre" which in Cajun french has an endearing meaning such as "hey, my man" or "hey, honey", completely void of racial tones.

Sleep, sleep, my little boy, 

In the arms of your dear old mom. 

Now, get out there! Wake up! 

It's time to go to work. 

Hey, ya rascal!

You know the reason, 

Little boy, for your dear mother, 

Wake up! It's morning!  

It's time to go to work.

Sleep, my little boy,

In the arms of your mom.

Sleep, my little boy,

Wake up!

Hey, hey!

Wake up, we said!

1. https://oldweirdamerica.wordpress.com/2010/08/29/39-home-sweet-home-by-the-breaux-freres/
2. Disenchanting Les Bons Temps: Identity and Authenticity in Cajun Music and Dance by Charles J. Stivale 
3. The Eunice News (Eunice, Louisiana) 30 Aug 1962

Find:
Louisiana Cajun Music Vol. 2: The Early 30s (Old Timey/Arhoolie, 1971)
Cajun Dance Party: Fais Do-Do (Legacy/Columbia, 1994)
The Perfect Roots & Blues Collection (Sony, 2015)

"Continuez De Sonner" - Clifford Breaux

After the Breaux's recorded "Ma Blonde Est Partie" in 1929 (which i covered earlier), they would head to Dallas, TX in 1937 for their last recording session ever where Clifford would record 2 songs accompanied by his sister Cleoma for Decca. One of these would be a Cajun french take on the song "Keep A Knocking But You Can't Come In" called "Continuez de Sonner" (#17043). 

Moi, j'sus la ayou tu peux pas rentrer

Moi, j'sus la ayou tu peux pas rentrer

Moi, J'ai un cadenas sur la porte en avant

Moi, j'sus la ayou tu peux pas rentrer

Toi, tu la cogner mais tu peux pas rentrer

Toi, tu la cogner mais tu peux pas rentrer

Moi j'ai un cadenas sur las porte en arriere

Toi, tu la cogner mais tu peux pas rentrer

(Oh boy!)

Moi, j'sus la ayou tu peux pas rentrer

Moi, j'sus la ayou tu peux pas rentrer

Moi, j'connais t'aime ton pauvre vieux nègre

Non, tu peux pas rentrer

Clifford sings jazz-like scat with a raw, lazy charm along with his swinging fiddle solos. It's the only known Cajun song with a scat style incorporated (that I know of). The first recording of this song seems to be the James "Boodle It" Wiggins version done on Paramount in 1928. This shows some of the influence jazz and blues had on early Cajun music.  Between 1953 and 1954, Nathan Abshire records the same tune but calls it "Tee Per Coine". 

Clifford Breaux and Joe Falcon

I'm in a place where you can't come in

I'm in a place where you can't come in

I already put a lock on the door

I'm in a place where you can't come in

You keep a knocking but you can't come in

You keep a knocking but you can't come in

I have a lock on the back door

You keep a knocking but you can't come in

(Oh boy!)

I'm in a place where you can't come in

I'm in a place where you can't come in

I know you love your little boy

No, you can't come in

Clifford would go on to play with Joe Falcon and his band well into the 1960s and by all accounts, he was actually a much better musician all around.

1. http://www.allmusic.com/album/cajun-string-bands-1930s-cajun-breakdown-mw0000031115
2. http://npmusic.org/artists.html
3. Lyrics by N Pomea

Find:

Cajun String Bands 1930's: Cajun Breakdown (Arhoolie, 1997)