"Alons A Ville Platte" - Leo Soileau

As the Depression began to subside, RCA used their new Bluebird label to coax earlier Cajun musicians back into the studio.  In the winter of 1935, they reached back out to fiddler Leo Soileau and offered him to kick off a session in New Orleans.  It would be the first time Soileau stepped foot back in a studio and this time things would be different.  No longer did he front an accordion-led duo.   He was now the lead vocalist and fiddler in a four piece group called Leo Soileau And His Three Aces.  Originally a family ensemble lead by guitarists Floyd Shreve, Danny Shreve and their father, Olaf "O.P." Shreve, as their manager, they convinced Soileau with his RCA connections to lead the group. 

Allons à la Ville Platte,

Mais, jolie, jolie fille,

J'(ai) envie de s'en aller,

Là bas-à la Ville Platte.

Jolie, mais, jolie fille,

Jolie, mais jolie cœur,

Allons donc s'en aller,

Là bas à la Ville Platte.

[Mais], de la Ville Platte,

Ça dit que ça m'aime plus,

Moi, j'connais bien tout ça,

Jolie, mais, jolie fille. 

Oh, joli cœur,

Tu crois t'es très jolie,

Comment moi tu rejoindre toi,

Jolie, jolie fille.

Tu voudrais t'en revenir,

Avec, mais, ton vieux nègre?

Jolie, jolie fille.

Jolie, mais, jolie fille,

Après j'aimerais mon chère,

Tout ça juste faire pour toi,

Tout ça, je mérite encore.

Jolie, mais, jolie fille,

Pourquoi, mais, t'as fait ça,

Avec, ouais, ton vieux nègre?

Jolie, mais jolie cœur.

Jolie, 'tite fille,

Pourquoi, t'as fait ça,

Avec ton vieux nègre,

Jolie, mais, jolie cœur.

Soileau, a master of "French music" understood the importance of the Texas-style string band phase that was sweeping the area.  In a first for the genre, Soileau and the Shreves incorporated a jazz drummer, Tony Gonzales, in the group and invited Bill "Dewey" Landry on guitar.  

The Daily Advertiser
Aug 09, 1935

Down here, me and the Hackberry Ramblers were the only bands.  I noticed by the rhythm that the people were dancing.  When I was playing with accordion, we'd notice the "English" (style) was a bit more popular. I began to understand that's what they wanted. They wanted that guitar.  They wanted that rhythm. So, I started with two guitars, a standard and a straight rhythm guitar.... and a drum.  I sold that like hot cakes.1 

Riding on the influences of the popular Cajun tunes of the day, he took his drum-backed group to New Orleans in 1935 and they kicked off the entire session with a reworked version of Joe Falcon's 1928 "Lafayette" into "Alons A Ville Platte" (#2196), an ode to his home town.

Let's go to Ville Platte,

Well, pretty, pretty girl

I want to go away,

Over there to Ville Platte.

Pretty one, well, pretty girl,

Pretty one, well, pretty sweetheart,

Let's go away then,

Over there to Ville Platte.

Well, in Ville Platte,

She says that she doesn't love me anymore,

I know all of that well,

Pretty one, well, pretty girl.

Oh, pretty sweetheart,

You think you're very pretty,

How can I get back with you?

Pretty one, pretty girl.

You want to come back, 

Well, with your old man,

Pretty one, pretty girl.

Pretty one, well, pretty girl,

Well, why have you done that,

Yeah, with your old man?

Pretty one, well, pretty sweetheart.

Pretty one, pretty girl,

Why did you do that,

With your old man?

Pretty one, well, pretty sweetheart. 

References

1. http://arhoolie.org/leo-soileau-interview/
2. Lyrics by Stephane F

"Je Te Recontrai De La Broulier" - Leo Soileau & Moise Robin

I Had Met You In The Fog!  Fiddler Leo Soileau was exposed to music at an early age. His father was an amateur fiddler who was very adept at playing many French Cajun songs.  By age 12, Leo, too, could ably handle a fiddle and bow and play the traditional music learned from his father.1  Leo recalled,

My papa and his brother would plough all day and come in and play music every night.  My papa used to take his fiddle out after supper.  I can see him now.2  

Moi, j'connais, moi j'ai vu, dans le brouillard, hier matin,

J'ai demandé à ton papa pourquoi tu viens pas à la maison.

Ton papa et ta maman z'é (?)m'as dit, malheureuse,

C'est trop jeune pour tu t'aimé avec ton neg', oh, yé yaille,

Quelles nouvelles que moi j'attends, chère 'tite fille, ça crève mon cœur,

Mais comment donc  moi j'vas faire, moi tout seul, malheureuse.

C'est la danse que j’étais z'avec toi, mais malheureuse. 

Mais (re)garde encore qui sont aprés faire avec nous autre aujourd'hui. 

Ecoute pas ton papa (et) de ta maman, oh, chere 'tite fille. 

Et tu vas venir dans la maison z'avec moi d'un jour à venir.

Moise Robin

Cajun musician Moise Robin was the second accordionist that Leo chose to work with.  The two began performing together in 1928, shortly after Soileau’s first partner, Mayeus LaFleur, was shot and killed.  During the summer and fall of 1929, they recorded for three different companies: Paramount, Victor, and Vocalion.  Together, they traveled to the Gennett Recording Studio, Starr Piano Company Building, Whitewater Gorge Park in Richmond, Indiana around July of 1929.  The session produced "Je T'ai Recontre Dans Le Brouillard" (#12908). The accordion melody could have been inspired by John Bertrand's "Rabbit Stole The Pumpkin", however, the vocals are unique on their own. Misspelled as "Je Te Recontrai de la Broulier", Moise sings of young girl chasing an older man, a song most likely self-composed.   Moise recalled,

I made the songs myself, when I was young. My dances and my tunes and my songs, I would write in French and understand my own language, you see. So I would compose my songs and write them down and practice them.4  

I know, I saw through the fog, yesterday morning,

I asked your dad why you didn't come home.

Your dad and your mom told me they're unhappy,

That's too young for you to be in love with an older man, oh yé yaille,

That news I awaited for, dear little girl, burst my heart,

Well, how am I going to make it all by myself, oh my.

This is the dance I had with you, well oh my,

Well, look who's still with us after another day,

Don't listen to your dad and your mom, oh dear little girl,

And come to the house with me another day in the future.

When the recording session was done, the engineers began producing the recordings on 78 RPM records.  Unfortunately, when it was time to press the previous song "La Valse De La Rue Canal", Paramount engineers mistakenly replaced it with audio of "Je Te Recontrai De La Broulier".   Today, the original Soileau and Robin recording of "La Valse De La Rue Canal" has yet to surface.  

1. The Ville Platte Gazette (Ville Platte, Louisiana) 06 Feb 1969
2. Times Picayune. Leo Soileau. 1975.
3. Image courtesy of the Arhoolie Foundation
4. https://arhoolie.org/moise-robin/

Release Info:
15345-A Ce Pas La Pienne Tu Pleur | Paramount 12908-A

15348-A Je Te Recontrai De La Broulier | Paramount 12908-B

Find:

The Early Recordings of Leo Soileau (Yazoo, 2006)

"A Ute" - Leo Soileau

Cajun fiddler Leo Soileau made a name for himself after waxing four sides for Victor Records in 1928.  He became the second Cajun recording artist after the Falcons and was the first fiddler to record for a major label.  After his partner Mayuse Lafleur died in a senseless tragedy, he continued to record until the Great Depression took hold.

Eh, bébé, éyoù toi t'es?

Pourquoi-donc toi t'es fais,

Jolie fille, avec moi,

Jolie fille, pour ton vieux nègre?

Eh, bébé, pourquoi-donc,

T'as fait ça à ton vieux nègre,

Jolie 'tite fille, faudra que tu viens,

Pour faire t'as fait avant longtemps.

Eh, chère, comment ç(a) se fait,

Ma jolie, t'as jamais vu,

J'vu jaimais, jolie fille, 

Pourquoi-donc tu t'en reviens pas?

Oh, chère, éyoù toi t'es,

Jolie 'tite fille, ton vieux nègre,

Cher tit monde, pour trop tard,

Tu viens pas t'en revoir ton nègre.

Ah, mon nègre, moi j'm'en va,

Oui, là-bas, z'à grand Crowley,

Oh, mon nègre, pour te rejoindre,

Pourquoi-donc tu fais tout ça?

Crowley Post Signal
Dec 9, 1935

By 1935, RCA's new Bluebird recording division contacted Leo about recording again and this time he assembled a string band group.  By 1936, Leo had been switched over from Bluebird to Decca Records where he used the opportunity to re-record two of his original Victor pieces, one entitled "A Ute (Where Are You)" (#17017).   A clear mis-spelling of the phrase éyoù toi, the song was a string band version of the classic Mayuse Lafleur song "Mama Where You At?".

Leo was backed by fellow guitarists Bill Landry, Floyd Shreve and probably drummer Tony Gonzales, all billed as the Four Aces of Crowley. The melody remained in the popular Cajun repertoire among area musicians until after WWII, when the song became more commonly known as "Hey Mom". 

Hey, baby, where are you at?

So, what have you done,

Pretty girl, with me,

Pretty girl, with your old man?

Hey, baby, so what,

You'd done that to your old man,

Pretty little girl, you have to return,

To do what you've done before long.

Hey, dear, how that feels,

My pretty one, you'll never see,

I'll never see, pretty girl,

So why don't you return.

Oh, dear, where are you at?

Pretty little girl, you old man,

Dearest everything, it's too late,

You won't return to see your man.

Ah, my friend, I'm leaving to ,

Yea, over there, to big Crowley,

Oh, my friend, you'll come back,

So why have you done all that?

1. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:

NO-60795 A Ute (Where Are You) | Decca 17017 A

NO-60792 Je M'Ennui Ce Soir (I'm Lonesome Tonight) | Decca 17017 B

"La Valse De La Rosa" - Leo Soileau

Leo Soileau was one of the dominant Cajun musicians of the 1930s and early '40s. His more than 100 recordings included such influential tunes as "Hackberry Hop," "La Gran Mamou," La Valse De Gueydan," and his greatest hit, "Jolie Blonde." Taught the fiddle by influential Cajun fiddlers Dennis McGee and Sady Courville, Soileau made his recording debut, in 1928, when he joined with accordionist Mayeus Lafleur to record the second Cajun record ever, "He Mon." Following Lafleur's death, nine days later, he teamed with accordionist Moise Robin. He also recorded, in the late '20s, with the Soileau Couzens.2  

Oh chère, promets moi, mais, juste pour moi, jolie fille,

Jusqu'à jour de ta mort, bébé.

Oh chère, moi, j'connais, mais, toi pas venir jusqu'à moi,

Toi pas venir, mais, tu t'sauve* de ton nègre*, bébé.

Oh chère, promets moi de pas m'quitter jusqu'à la mort,

Jolie cœur, pour ton nègre, chère.

Oh chère, moi, j'connais, mais, moi, j'm'en va,

C'est pour te rejoindre, jolie cœur,

Pourquoi-donc tu veux pas d'moi, jolie?

Port Arthur News
Sep 20, 1946

Forming his own band, the Three Aces, with rhythm guitarists Floyd Shreve or Dewey Landry and bassist/drummer Tony Gonzalez in the early '30s, Soileau expanded the group into a quartet, the Four Aces, in 1934. They later became the Rhythm Boys by 1937, backed by piano player Harold "Popeye" Broussard and steel guitarist Julius ‘Papa Cairo’ Lamperez.2  In his last session with the Four Aces, Leo recorded a version of Joe Falcon's "Aimer Et Perdre" entitled "La Valse De La Rosa" (#17047), a melody he had reworked earlier in his career as "Ce Pas La Pienne Tu Pleur".   It would be his last recorded Cajun piece ever.  Although this marked the end of Leo's recording career, he claimed the reason was because of the onset of WWII.

When the war declared, that's when my contract expired with Decca.1   

Oh dear, promise me, well, (you're) just for me, pretty girl,

Until the day you die, baby.

Oh dear, I know, well, you didn't come to me,

You didn't come, well, you stayed away from your man, baby.

Oh dear, promise me not to leave me until death,

Pretty sweetheart, for your man, dear.

Oh dear, I know, well, I'm leaving,

It's to join you, pretty sweetheart,

So, why do you not want me, pretty girl?

The group continued to perform at the Silver Star Club in Lake Charles for eight years. Shifting to the Showboat Club in Orange, TX and other places like the Harvest Club, the band continued to play together for another two years. Although Soileau and the group appeared frequently on the radio, they never recorded again. In the late '40s, Soileau left music to work with his brothers in a general contracting firm in Ville Platte. He died in August 1980.2  

1. http://arhoolie.org/leo-soileau-interview/
2. https://www.pandora.com/artist/full-bio/leo-soileau/ARZbKjv4drvdfqc 
3. Lyrics by Martin S

Release Info:

63070-A Chere Liza | Decca 17047 A

63070-A La Valse De La Rosa | Decca 17047 B

Find:
Leo Soileau: Louisiana Cajun Music Vol. 7 (Old Timey, 1982)

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

"La Valse De Pecaniere" - Leo Soileau & Moise Robin

Evangeline Parish native Leo Soileau made his first recordings with Mayuse Lafleur for Victor records in 1928.  Shortly afterwards, Lafleur was killed.  After Leo lost his partner, he asked Maxine Ledoux to take over the accordion duties again at the dance-hall.5  Meanwhile, Leo tried to reinvent the sound he had forged with his childhood friend by hiring seventeen year old accordionist and LaFleur-admirer Moise Robin.  The two began playing once Robin could mimic the stylings of Lafleur.  Robin recalls:

I saw Mayuse play a house dance for the Richard family in Pecaniere.  It was Christmas day.  I was five years younger than he was and he inspired me.  He had a big red accordion and he would cry on that thing.2  

Malheureuse, je t’ai demandé pour tu veins mais avec moi, 

C’est finir tes bons jours avec ton negre,

Dit bye bye, chère, dit bye bye, mais chers amis, 

Mais pour t’en venir, pour venir, un bon jour, chère.

Chere tit fille, (donc, jamais tant par ce que)* pour t’en venir 

Avec ton neg, là-bas, là-bas à la maison, yé yaille. 

Oh, mom, malheureuse, oh.

Oh yé yaille, comment-donc, mais, moi j’vas faire, mais, moi tout seule?

J't'veux promenner-z-avec ton nèg, oh chérie.

Mais, écoute pas tes paroles pour tes amis, mais malheureuse, 

Ils vont pleurer s’ils les écouteraient, chère.

Silver Slipper
Courtesy of LouisianaDanceHalls.com

The 1929 New Orleans recording "La Valse De Pecaniere" (#15852) is an ode to the community of Pecaniere in St. Landry Parish.  Located between the towns of Port Barre and Arnaudville, Pecaniere was originally named Prairie Gros Chevreuil.  It was founded by one of Moise's earliest colonial French ancestors, Dr. Francois Robin, and was renamed after large pecan groves in the area.6  

Moise's melody found it's way into other songs that year such as Bartmon Montet & Joswell Dupuis's  "L'Abandonner (The Forsaken)" and  Amede Ardoin's "La Valse A Abe".  During the 1920s, Pecaniere was home to a popular dance-hall called the "Silver Slipper" owned by the Dupuis Brothers, Herman and Clayton.4  Moise recalls:

When I was young, Amede Ardoin was playing with Leo Soileau at my brother-in-law's Pecaniere dance hall and he would bring crowds that the people couldn't come in.1  

Clarion News
Oct 10, 1929

Poor woman, I begged you to come back, well, with me,

It's the end for your good days with your man,

Say "Bye bye", dear, say "Bye bye", well, dear friends,

Well, for you're coming back, coming back, it's a good day, dear.

Dear little girl, so, never believed that you'd come back,

With your man, over there, over there to the house, ye yaille.

Oh, ye yaille, so, how, well, will I handle this, well, all alone?

I want you to walk with your man, oh dearie.

Well, I won't listen to your words (you told) your friends, well, poor woman,

They would cry if they heard, dear.

Post-war zydeco musician Clifton Chenier, who grew up next to the Silver Slipper in Pecaniere, recalled the segregated "two-room dance club".  Chenier would perform on the white side of the club one week, and for the black side the next.3  

1. http://arhoolie.org/moise-robin/
2. Cajun Breakdown: The Emergence of an American-Made Music By Ryan Andre Brasseaux
3. The Kingdom of Zydeco By Michael Tisserand
4. Daily World (Opelousas, Louisiana) 09 Sep 1977
5. The Ville Platte Gazette (Ville Platte, Louisiana) 21 Nov 1985
6. Discussions with Fr. Jason Vidrine
7. Lyrics by Smith S

Release Info:
NO263 La Valse De Pecaniere | Vocalion 15852
NO264 Le Cleuses De Negre Francaise | Vocalion 15852

Find:

The Early Recordings of Leo Soileau (Yazoo, 2006)

"Ma Jolie Petite Fille" - Leo Soileau

Cajun fiddler Leo Soileau got his start playing alongside Cajun accordion players such as Mayuse Lafleur and Moise Robin.   Once the string band craze took over the music scene after the Depression in south Louisiana, he adapted and created a new string band group.  The Four Aces was managed by the Shreve family with Olaf Shreve as their booking manager.   By 1936, as his fame spread and his group became better known, they were paid up to $800 for a session, plus all travel expenses and "room and board at those big hotels."1  

Oh, toi, mon nèg, chérie,

Pourquoi-donc, tu fais ça, oui,

Avec, oui, mais, ta negresse?

Oh, toi, mon nèg, chérie,

Tu connais, chérie,

Tu as prends, mais, oui, ton bebe.

(Tu) connais, toi, mon nèg, chérie,

Tu vas, toi, là-bas chérie,

Quand, mais ton nèg, il est pas là.

Ton nèg est pas là, mon nèg.

Tu fais, oui, la mal à jamb,

Mais, quand ton nèg est là, mon nèg.

Daily Advertiser

Apr 30, 1937

It had been almost an entire year before the Shreve brothers decided to leave the Aces.  Leo had to form a new group which he called the Rhythm Boys.  Recorded in 1937 in Dallas, Texas at the Adolphus Hotel, Leo was possibly accompanied with Johnny Baker and Buel Hoffpauir on guitars.   In the background, you can hear Crowley native and former jazz drummer Tony Gonzales trying to project his raucous drum sound from across the room. 

Oh, you, my dearest friend,

So why have you done that, yes,

With, yes, well, your woman?

Oh, you, my dearest friend,

You know, dearie,

You have, well, yes, your baby.

You know, my dearest friend,

You went over there, dearie,

When, well, your friend, he's not there.

Your friend is not ther, my friend,

You make, yes, my legs ache,

Well, when your man is there, my friend.

Lake Charles American Press

Jun 27, 1947

Leo had never received a royalty check from any of this recordings until 1974 when Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records produced an LP of all of Leo's biggest Cajun fiddle hits from the original 78 RPM records.  When Leo was asked if he had a copy of those records, he said,

No. I was too busy playing music. I was a trouper and letting the good times roll and never gave any thought to collecting records.  Now, would you believe I don't have a single record that I made?"1 

1. The Ville Platte Gazette (Ville Platte, Louisiana) 02 May 1974
2. Photo by Jeremy R

Release Info:

61900-A Ma Jolie Petite Fille | Decca 17027 A

61892-A La Bonne Valse | Decca 17027 B

Find:
Leo Soileau: Louisiana Cajun Music Vol. 7 (Old Timey, 1982)
Cajun Louisiane 1928-1939 (Fremeaux, 2003)
The Early Recordings of Leo Soileau (Yazoo, 2006)

"Ma Chere Tite Fille" - Moise Robin & Leo Soileau

Moise Robin learned to play Cajun accordion at a very young age.  His father, Joseph, picked up the accordion in the late 1800s and learned many of the melodies that other musicians played around Leonville. In fact, it's his dad that got him interested in accordion:

He had an accordion and I would go to school and when I would come back from school instead of make my lesson.  I was more interested in accordion.1 

He would play dances and he would make me play a few dances for the people.  My head would show up on top of the accordion, I was about nine-years old.1 

Chère petite fille, rappelle-toi qu'en j'm'en allé, 

J't'ai dis, "T'es canaille!", quand t'avait rencontré,

C'est plus tard, j'ai tombé en amour avec toi et z'aujourd'hui, 

C'est la seule que moi, j'aime.

Aujourd'hui, j'abandonne père et mère, 

Frères et sœurs pour te suivre à ta maison,

Mais, j'comprends tu vas me quitter pour t'en aller avec autre, 

Malheureuse, pourquoi-donc, t'es après faire ça?

Soignez jamais un petite fille de quatorze ans qui te quitter,

Pour s'en aller avec un homme de cinquante ans,

Moi, j'connais aujourd'hui de l'après me faire, z'avec moi, 

Malheureuse, tu vas pleurer z'avant longtemps.

Aujourd'hui, j'abandonne père et mère, 

Frères et sœurs pour te suivre à ta maison,

Mais, 'contré dedans la terre, mais, des miseres, 

Malheureuse, tu connais c'est pas mon temps.

Clarion News
July 18, 1929

Moise's father played as far as Ville Platte and learned of the fiddle-accordion duo, Leo Soileau and Mayuse Lafleur.  By the summer of 1929, Leo partnered with Moise and together they formed a musical pair and were discovered by the Paramount record company.  Paramount records had the duo arrive in Richmond, Indiana for a recording session where they recorded "Ma Chere Tite Fille" (#12808). Leonville-native and Opelousas merchant Winter Lemoine, a distributor for Paramount, helped the duo make the trip.  Lemoine operated a sewing machine business which sold records on the side.   Moise recalls:

When we was playing, a company from the Richmond, Indiana called us to go make a record. So we met in Richmond, Indiana and made two records there. 

Moise Robin
by Chris Strachwitz

Dear little girl, remember that I went away,

I told you, "You're mischievous!", when I met you,

It's too late, I fell in love with you and today,

It's the only one I love.

Today, I abandoned my father and mother,

Brothers and sisters to follow you to your house,

Well, I understand you're leaving me to go away with another,

Poor woman, why is it, you've done that?

Never chase a 14 year old who will leave you,

To go away with a man of 50 years,

I know today what you've done with me,

Poor woman, you will cry before too long.

Today, I abandoned my father and mother,

Brothers and sisters to follow you to your house,

Well, getting into a world of misery,

Poor woman, you know it's not my time.

1. http://arhoolie.org/moise-robin/
2. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:
G15343 Ma Chere Tite Fille | Paramount 12808-A
G15344 Easy Rider Blues | Paramount 12808-B

Find:
Louisiana Cajun Music Vol. 5: The Early Years 1928-1938 (Old Timey, 1973)
The Early Recordings of Leo Soileau (Yazoo, 2006)

"Promise Me" - Leo Soileau

The earliest Cajun fiddler on the commercial recording scene was Ville Platte native Leo Soileau.  His career spanned for two decades in which he constantly reshaped his ensemble to satisfy the ever changing south Louisiana audience.   Although Soileau played primarily Cajun music, both over the radio and at dances, Leo recalled,

Often, we'd broadcast during the day and play a dance that night.  My band could really mix 'em up. We could play French, English or Mexican songs. I don't remember any requests that we couldn't do.3 

But by the end of the 30s, Leo's band grew weary of their professional relationship and they split.   With Shreve's Four Aces on their own, Leo regrouped with a renewed focus on his roots, reverting back to French vocals, and even covering some old Cajun standards.  With Leo on fiddle, his Rhythm Boys consisted of Johnny Baker on guitar, possibly Buel Hoffpauir on guitar, and possibly Tony Gonzales on drums.  "Promise Me" (#17058), or "Promets-Moi", speaks about his jolie brun leaving to go away—to the melody of the old Joe Falcon tune called "Poche Town".

Mais, promets-moi d'une bonne tite fille, mais, jolie brune,

Mais, moi je m’ennuie-donc pour toi,

Jolie brune, pour ton nègre.

Eh, mais, s'en aller,

Nous autres tous seuls à la Louisiane,

C'est pour voir nos parents, chérie.

Mais, c'est pour dire, mais, quoi on a fait, jolie,

Oh, toi, mon nègre, s'en aller z-aussi loin, jolie.

Eh, jolie tite fille, tu connais t'es pour moi ,

Pourquoi-donc tu fais ça, jolie?

Leo Soileau and his Rhythm Boys, 
ca.1941
(Top) Eddy Pursley,
Dalton W. Thibodeaux, 
Herbert Duhon,
(Bottom) Leo Soileau,
Crawford Vincent, Gene Navarre
By Lous Fairchild and Crawford Vincent

The Rhythm Boys recorded two final sessions in 1937 before retiring to a performing career in Cajun Country's honky-tonks, dance halls, and bars. Most of the songs waxed by the Boys were French translations of hillbilly tunes, jazz , and popular arrangements.2   The main two music venues that carried Leo through the war years were the Silver Star and the Showboat.  Crawford Vincent, who had teamed up with Leo and his Rhythm Boys during the war recalled,

We were coming through here, and we were playing music at these clubs around Port Arthur mostly.  Then this fellow here [a bartender at the Show Boat] said, "Boy, this is a booming town. You should move over here." So, we moved here and had this sit-down job [at the Show Boat].1  

Well, promise me to be a good little girl, well, pretty brunette,

Well, I'm concerned for you,

Pretty brunette, for your man.

Hey, well, going away,

We're all alone in Louisiana,

It's to see our parents, dearie,

Well, it's to say, well, that we did, pretty one,

Oh, you, my best friend, going away so far, pretty one.

Hey, pretty little girl, you know you're for me,

So why have you done that, pretty one?

1. They Called It the War Effort: Oral Histories from World War II Orange, Texas By Louis Fairchild
2. Cajun Breakdown: The Emergence of an American-Made Music By Ryan Andre Brasseaux
3. Times Picayune.  Leo Soileau interview. 1975.
4. Lyrics by Stephane F and Smith S

Release Info:
61896-A La Blues De Port Arthur | 17058 A
61899-A Promise Me | Decca 17058 B

Find:
Leo Soileau: Louisiana Cajun Music Vol. 7 (Old Timey, 1982)
Cajun Early Recordings (JSP, 2004)

"Je Veux Marier (I Want To Get Married)" - Moise Robin & Leo Soileau

After Leo Soileau and Mayuse Lafleur recorded in Atlanta in 1928, Leo found himself having to replace his fellow accordionist the following year.  Lafleur was killed shortly after he had made the recordings and his records were released posthumously.  In fact they came out about the time of the trial of his slayer.3  A young Moise Robin took up the accompanying duties of the late Lafleur.  Moise had learned by watching Amede Breaux:

He would play, I was anxious too. I was young, you see. I would watch him and so that's how I learned that with him.2 


Leo invited Moise to join him. By July of 1929, the musicians arrived at the Starr Piano Company Building in Richmond, IN for a Paramount session and then later, in September of 1929, they arrived at the Claridge Hotel in Memphis, TN for a Victor session.  Moise remembered both of these sessions:

We met in Richmond, Indiana and made two records there. And a while after, we was called to Memphis, Tennessee, me and Leo, and made again two records there.2  

Clarion News
Oct 3, 1929

J'voudrais m'marier, j'voudrais m'marier

J'voudrais m'marier, mais, la belle veux pas.

Oh, la belle veux, la belle veux,

La belle veux, mais, les vieux veux pas.

La belle veux, la belle veux,

La belle veux, mais, les vieux veux pas.

Oh, les vieux veux, les vieux veux,

Les vieux veux, mais, j'ai pas d'argent.

J'ai pas d'argent, j'ai pas d'argent,

J'ai pas d'argent, mais, les poules pond pas, ye yaille.

J'voudrais m'marier, j'voudrais m'marier, 

J'voudrais m'marier, mais, les vieux veux pas, chère.

Oh, les vieux veux, les vieux veux, 

Les vieux veux, mais, j'ai pas d'argent, chère.

J'ai pas d'argent, j'ai pas d'argent, 

J'ai pas d'argent, les poules pond pas, yaille. 

Crowley Daily Signal
Nov 23, 1929

Roy Fuselier, an accordion player around the area of Ville Platte remembered the old tune as an instrumental when he was learning to play as a young boy.

I was ten years old when I started playing the accordion.  A man called Sosthene Saucier was a neighbor.  He played some little dances in the country. I watched his fingers move!  After a while, he pulled out a Bull Durham sack and rolled himself a cigarette.  He put the accordion down between him and me.  I caught the accordion and played the tune that was very popular during those times, "Je Veux Marier".  It was Leo Soileau who had made this tune.  I like it very much but I had heard it before, before the record was out.  I had heard it from Mr. Sosthene. He played it, but he didn't sing it.4  

Although Leo is credited as singing the song, according to their sponsor Frank Dietlein, it was fellow accordionist Columbus Fruge who helped Leo write the lyrics.   Columbus had tagged along for the recording session and together with Leo and Mayuse, they recorded "Je Veux Marier". (#22183)  According to Dietlein, 

The 'Cajun' singers and musicians used the old tunes that were handed down by their French ancestors, but their lyrics were extemporaneous.  They improvised the words to suit their moods.  I recall one singer, Columbus Fruge, coming up with these lyrics. "Je veux m'marier, Je veux m'marier, Je veux m'marier... La poule pas d'ouef" and the next line went this way, "Je veux m'marier, je veux m'marier... La belle veux pas".  He later said that he was a bachelor and was thinking of getting married.3  

I would like to get married, I'd would like to get married,

I'd like to get married, but, you don't want to.

Oh, the beautiful girl wants to, the beautiful girl wants to, 

The beautiful girl wants to, but, the old ones don't want us to.

The beautiful girl wants to, the beautiful girl wants to, 

the beautiful girl wants to, but, the old ones don't want us to.

Oh, the old ones want us to, the old ones want us to, 

The old ones want us to, but now, I don't have money.

I don't have money, I don't have money,

I don't have money, well, the hens don't lay eggs, ye yaille.

I would like to get married, I'd would like to get married,

I'd like to get married, but, you don't want to, dear.

Oh, the old ones want us to, the old ones want us to, 

The old ones want us to, but now, I don't have money, dear.

I don't have money, I don't have money,

I don't have money, well, the hens don't lay eggs, ye yaille.

In 1957, Nathan Abshire used the melody for his "Cannon Ball Special".  The reference to "eggs" seem to be an musical curiosity that related more to him than just in song.  Robin explains,

It was during this time, when I was growing up, that I was learning to play the accordion and sing.  I didn't have a good voice, it was too low and I never had a good voice up to this day. One of my friends advised me to drink raw eggs and that would cause me to have a beautiful voice.  So, I started watching the chicken house and looking for eggs.4  

1. Photo by Chris Strachwitz
2. http://arhoolie.org/moise-robin/
3. Daily World (Opelousas, Louisiana) 28 Nov 1958
4. Ye Yaille Chere by Raymond Francois

Release Info:
BVE-55534-2 Penitentiary Waltz | Victor 22183-A
BVE-55535-2 Je Veux Marier (I Want To Get Married) | Victor 22183-B

BVE-55534-2 Penitentiary Waltz | Bluebird B-2184-A
BVE-55535-2 Je Veux Marier (I Want To Get Married) | Bluebird B-2184-B


Find:
Louisiana Cajun Music Volume 1: First Recordings - The 1920's (Old Timey, 1970)

The Early Recordings of Leo Soileau (Yazoo, 2006)
Aimer Et Perdre: To Love & To Lose Songs, 1917-1934 (Tompkins Square, 2012)

"Personne M'aime Pas" - Leo Soileau

Leo Soileau was one of the pioneer fiddlers of recorded Cajun music. His recordings with the remarkable accordionist, Mayuse Lafleur, sold well locally, but some very traditional fiddle duets made with a cousin, Alius Soileau, did not sell as well. He also recorded a lot of blues and some jazzy numbers. As American pop music began making inroads into the prairies and along the bayous of Louisiana, Leo Soileau began recording songs in English, as well as country and pop songs translated into French! He was one of the first Cajun artists, along with the Hackberry Ramblers, to cross over and reach a wider English-speaking market, while keeping his young audience at home happy and dancing to the latest music.1  

Ouais, mais, personne pour m'aimer,

Moi, je connais, ouais, ça fait pas rien, ouais,

Oh, non, mais, personne m'aime pas,

Ouais, ça fait (rien), mon nègre, chère.

Moi j'suis orphelin, ni mère ni père,

P'us personne pour (m') soigner,

Hé oui, je prends ça dur, chère,

P'us personne, ouais, pour m'aimer.

Oui, oui, oui, mon nègre,

Oh, mais, 'garde-donc à moi-même, chère,

Oh, ouais, ça fait pitié, chère,

Oh, ouais, toujours, moi tout seul.

Leo Soileau and his Rhythm Boys, 1944.
George T-Chalk Duhon, Crawford Vincent,
Leo Soileau, D.W. Bollie Thibodeaux,
Desbra Fontenot
Courtesy of the
Johnnie Allan Collection
UL Lafayette Center of Louisiana Studies

Soileau's influences came from many different places. "Personne M'aime Pas" was a French take-off of the popular song "Nobody's Darling But Mine"  It must have been quite a sensation since Cleoma recorded the tune as "Pas La Belle De Personne Que Moi" that same year.  It was translated from the song by Jimmie Davis, "Nobody's Darlin' But Mine."  

His band consisted of Julius ‘Papa Cairo’ Lamperez on steel guitar, Floyd Shreve on guitar, Tony Gonzales on drums, and probably Harold ‘Popeye’ Broussard on piano. Together, they headed to Dallas, Texas in December of 1937 for one of his last recordings. 

Port Arthur News
Dec 3, 1944

Yeh well, nobody loves me,

I know, yeh, it doesn't matter, yeh,

Oh, non, well, nobody loves me,

Yeh, it doesn't matter, my friend, darling.

I am an orphan, neither a mother nor father,

No one, yeh, to look after me,

Hey yeh, I'm taking this hard, dear,

No one, yeah, to love me.

Yes, yes, yes my friend,

Oh well, look at myself, dear,

Oh yeah, it's pitiful, dear,

Oh yeh, always alone.

Soileau remained active in the early '40s, recording with Leo Soileau's Rhythm Boys. Dropped by Decca when the label decided to stop recording Cajun musicians at the beginning of World War II, the group continued to perform at the Silver Star Club in Lake Charles for eight years. Shifting to the Showboat Club in Orange, TX, the band continued to play together for another two years. Although Soileau and the group appeared frequently on the radio, they never recorded again. In the late '40s, Soileau left music to work with his brothers in a general contracting firm in Ville Platte. He died in August 1980.2 

1. J'ai Ete Au Bal Vol. 1.  ARhoolie CD 331.  Liner notes.
2. https://www.pandora.com/artist/full-bio/leo-soileau/ARZbKjv4drvdfqc 
3. Lyrics by Jordy A

Release Info:
63069-A Personne N'Aime Pas | Decca 17042 A
63067-A Valse D'Amour | Decca 17042 B

Find:
Leo Soileau: Louisiana Cajun Music Vol. 7 (Old Timey, 1982)