"Cow Island Special" - Cliff Lemaire

A native of Cow Island, George Clifford "Cliff" Lemaire led a group during the late 1940s, playing Cajun music in the western swing style.  By 1950, he assembled a backup band called "The Swingsters" made up of local musicians from New Iberia.  Cliff and the Romeros arranged a shuffle-style tune called "Cow Island Special" (#104).  Cow Island (also known as Ile des Vache) is a small community in Vermilion Parish that got it's name from a hill in the midst of a marsh where herds of wild cattle roamed.2  

Musician Harold Romero Sr. learned at a young age to make fiddles and by the time he was a teenager, he was learning to build and repair guitars and mandolins. Harold recalled the early years,

We were pretty popular, I guess.  There was a demand for string bands.  I remember the first Saturday night we played we got $20 a piece—that was a lot of money back then.3  

Toutes mes chères catins,

Quoi faire tu brailles tout les temps?

...

...

J’ai fait des nuits ennuyant,

Et c’est toujours la cause,

De jouer l’accordéon,

Là-bas à Chez Ménard's.

Quand j’étais garçon,

C’est la, j’ai passé mon temps,

Et courtiser,

J’attend l’accordéon.

Asteure, j’sus marié,

Mais, ina une dizaine,

Que j’ai la moyère coullion,

Mais, ma vielle dit,

“J’vas t’aimer tout les temps”.

Et c’est toujours la cause,

Eh, des nuits ennuyant,

Jouer l’accordeon,

Là-bas à Chez Ménard's.

Quand j’étais garçon, 

C’est la, j’ai passé mon temps,

Et courtiser,

J’attend l’accordéon.

Asteure, j’sus marié,

Mais, ina une dizaine,

Que j’ai la moyère coullion,

Mais, ma vielle dit,

“J’vas t’aimer tout les temps”.

J’ai fait des nuits ennuyant,

Et c’est toujours la cause,

De jouer l’accordéon,

Là-bas à Chez Ménard's.

Quand j’étais garçon,

C’est la, j’ai passé,

Et courtiser,

Et aimer les filles.

Cliff Lemaire

Hot Rod record producer Virgil Bozman brought the group to the Harold Romero's Music Shop in downtown New Iberia and recorded a song entitled "Cow Island Hop".  It was an ode to the Cliff's hometown and the small club known as Menard's.  Located between HWY 82 and the Forked Island bridge, the small dance-hall was just south of the more well known Rock-A-Bye Club.  

"The Swingsters" comprised of Harold Romero Sr. on fiddle, Johnny Romero on drums, and Louis "Bee" Romero on bass.   Cliff owned a nightclub in Kaplan, owned an amusement company, became good friends with George Jones, and according to musicologist and author Lyle Ferbrache,

At one time, he played at the Louisiana Hayride and was on the bill the night Elvis changed the course of country music.1  

Cliff recorded for Khoury's of Lake Charles in the mid 1950s but left the music business soon after for a career in auto sales.

All my dearest dolls,

Why do you cry all the time,

...

...

I have lonely nights,

And it's always the reason,

To play the accordion,

Down there at Chez Menard's

When I was a boy,

It's there, I passed my time,

And courted,

Waiting for an accordion.

Right now, I'm married,

Well, it's been 10 years,

Since I've had foolish ways,

But, my old lady says,

"I'm going to love you forever."

And it's always the reason,

On these lonely nights,

To play the accordion,

Down there at Chez Menard's.

When I was a boy,

It's there, I passed my time,

And courted,

Waiting for an accordion.

Right now, I'm married,

Well, it's been 10 years,

Since I've had foolish ways,

But, my old lady says,

"I'm going to love you forever."

I have lonely nights,

And it's always the reason,

To play the accordion,

Down there at Chez Menard's

When I was a boy,

It's there, I passed by,

And courted,

And loved the girls.

Harold Romero

While running their music store during the day, the three Romero brothers later created their own group called the "Teche Playboys" which played everything from country music to rock n roll.  They played at places such as the Showboat Club in New Iberia an the Lafitte Club in Abbeville.3   Bee Romero would continue on throughout the 50s playing rockabilly music with his band called the Down Beats. 

1. Discussions with Lyle F
2. http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/vermilion/history/cowisl.txt
3. The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana) 20 Mar 1996
4. Lyrics by Smith S

Release Info:

Rou Li Aie | Hot Rod 104

Cow Island Special | Hot Rod 104

"Rou Li Aie" - Cliff Lemaire

Rôdailler!  A native of Cow Island, George Clifford "Cliff" Lemaire led a group called the Kaplan Swingmasters during the late 1940s, playing Cajun music in the western swing style.  Cliff worked as a car salesman during the day but led the Swingmasters at night from the town of Kaplan, Louisiana. 

"Bye bye," jolie blonde et "bye bye," jolie brune,

C’est tout pour la blonde et ina rien pour la brune,

J’arrive à la prairie, mon cheval est bien là,

J’ai soif et j’ai faim et j’sus si loin de ma famille.

Je demande à mama, "Si je fais ça, si c’est dur?"

Elle a répondu, "C’est rôdailler les chemins."

C’est rôdailler les chemins,

Avec le jogue au plombeau,

Et avec les patates dans la poche,

Et la bouteille dans la main.

C’est rôdailler les chemins,

Avec le jogue au plombeau,

Et avec les patates dans la poche,

Et la bouteille dans la main.

Cliff Lemaire

"Rôdailler", from the French verb "rôder" directly translates to "roaming around".  Having a certain dialect from the area, Neal Pomea explains:

The song's French title should have been spelled "Roulailler", but he definitely sings "Rôdailler" as they would have in Vermilion parish.1  

The song features a lively performance with one of the musicians clapping loudly in the background, maybe to represent the feel of a honky-tonk crowd.  The fiddle leads the tune with the background filled with slide steel guitar and electric lead guitar.  These backup musicians were three Romero brothers of New Iberia.  "The Swingsters" comprised of Harold Romero on fiddle, Johnny Romero on drums, and Louis "Bee" Romero on bass.  With record producer Virgil Bozman at the helm, the Cliff and the Romeros recorded the songs around 1950 at the Romero Music Store.  The place was one of the first in the state to have access to magnetic tape medium and a tape recorder.2     

Bye bye, pretty blonde and bye bye pretty brunette,

It's all for the blonde and nothing for the brunette,

I arrived at the prairie, my horse is there,

I'm thirsty and hungry and I'm so far from my family.

I asked mama, "If I do this, is it hard?"

She replied, "It's like roaming the roads."

It's like roaming the roads,

With a whiskey pommel jug,

And with potatoes in the pocket, 

And a bottle in hand.

It's like roaming the roads,

With a whiskey pommel jug,

And with potatoes in the pocket, 

And a bottle in hand.

1. Discussions with Neal P
2. Discussions with Lyle F
3. Lyrics by Smith S

Release Info:

Rou Li Aie | Hot Rod 104
Cow Island Special | Hot Rod 104