"Vieux Airs (Old Tunes)" - Joe Falcon

"Your Kiss Is Sweet".   This vieux air, or "old tune", was one of many Cajun instrumentals passed down to the later generations of Cajun musicians.   Like the recording's flip-side, the song had it's origins in 19th century Cajun folk life. Musicians like Joe Falcon practiced their instruments using these songs during their early years. In fact, Joe recalls his very first paid opportunity:

I had just took my accordion when I left with my sister with the horse and buggy to go to the dance.  And when I got there, [Oneziphore Guidy’s] band didn’t show up. So he asked me, ‘How about you coming in and playing my dance? I’ll pay you. I said, ‘Oh, no. I just play like that, for fun.’  He said, ‘Come on. I ain’t go no music’. So I got up on the band stand and I started playing, and I played until twelve o’clock, and at twelve o’clock he come there and he paid me four dollars. Boy, I mean, I was glad with them four dollars.1  

Cleoma Breaux and Joe Falcon

By the summer of 1928, his recording "Lafayette" was on area record store shelves when he and Cleoma Breaux were requested to hop on a train to New York City where they recorded "Vieux Airs (Old Tunes)" for Columbia Records  (#15325).  Like many of the recordings Joe made, the titles were lost to time.  Columbia recording engineers insisted the songs have names.  Many times, Joe had to create a name on the spot, hence, "Vieux Airs".  In some cases, he was encouraged to name the song after a location he was familiar with back home.  During a later recording session, he explains he had to create his own lyrics to these melodies,

The number was there but I had to make up the words.  Like "Osson", it was the name of a little town, but you just have to find a name to put on the record.  It's an old two-step.2  

By the time they got back, the buzz about his recordings had reached fever pitch and he no longer needed to work in the fields.  The dance halls were now prime places to make a living and their music career had officially kicked off. The song didn't gain much traction between the 30s and 50s, until Joe Bonsall recorded it as "Ton Bec est Doux" in the 1960s.   Later recording artists have resurrected the song, but the added lyrics are more recent. 

1. Lauren Chester Post Papers, Mss. 2854, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi. Valley Collections
2. http://arhoolie.org/joe-falcon-interview/

Release Info:

W146906-1 Vieux Airs (Old Tunes) | Columbia 15325-D
W146909-2 La Marche De La Noce (Wedding Marche) | Columbia 15325-D

Find:
CAJUN-Rare & Authentic (JSP, 2008)

"Rayne Special" - Joe Falcon

Joe Falcon grew up in the prairies north of Rayne, Louisiana.  Rayne is a town seated between Crowley and Lafayette in south Louisiana.  It was known for it's large frog exporting industry in the first half of the 20th century.  Growing up there, he learns to play the accordion as a child:

When I was seven years old, we begged our daddy to go to Lafayette. First we begged him to get us an accordion.  We couldn't play it in the house so we went to the barn and started playing it in the barn.4  

Most of his childhood involved helping his father and his uncles farm sugarcane.   Sugar syrup mills in the area were big business.

John Falcon, Abel and also my daddy, Pierre Falcon.  They all had syrup mills.  They all raised sugar cane.4  

Dis, mon neg, dis donc quand même, 

Mais, cher tit nèg mais, malheureux. 

Dis jamais, mais toi mon neg, 

Tu connais mais, moi je m’en vas. 

Comment j'vas faire, mais, toi mon neg, 

Comment j'vas faire, mais oui, mon neg, 

Tu connais, cher tit nèg, 

Dis pas ça à ton cher vieux nég.

Moi j’espère, oui mon nèg, 

Tu connais bien mais malheureuse, 

Si jamais, oui mon nèg, 

Si jamais, z-as toi de faire. 

Faudra que j’men vas, mais oui mon nèg, 

Faudra que j’men vas, mais tu connais, 

Oui mon nèg, mais, ça c’est dur,

Pour moi partir mais tout seul.

Cleoma Breaux and Joe Falcon

In Joe's song, clearly the love interest is no longer interested; declining his offer for either a hand in marriage or just plane uninterested. Rayne was a rural farm community, originally called Pouppeville.  Shortly after the Civil War, French immigrant Monsieur Jules Pouppe established a small mercantile store adjacent to the stagecoach line “exchange station” on the long-established Old Spanish Trail (OST) which trekked westward from New Orleans across the great prairie of SW Louisiana into Texas.1  However, since he realized the town was too far south, he used oxen to move the houses and buildings near present-day Rayne.   The Louisiana Western Railroad built the Rayne station in 1880 and three years later, named it after the railroad engineer who laid the track, B.W.L. Rayne.2  

They left the winter of 1934 to record in New York City where they waxed the "Rayne Special" (#17006) for Decca records. By 1936, Joe and his wife Cleoma had left Rayne, settled in Crowley and were playing music across south Louisiana.  The following year, Joe re-recorded the tune, changing the melody slightly and the title to "Louisiana Special" (#17038).   The duo remained living in Crowley, mainly because Cleoma preferred the city life rather than Joe's meager rural homestead area of north Rayne.   However, it didn't stop him from trying to raise a small farm in the backyard of their Crowley home.   For Joe, Rayne would always be considered his home. 

Said it, my friend, said it nonetheless,

Well, my dear little friend, well, oh my,

You shouldn't have said that, well, my friend,

You know, well, I'm going.

How will I do this, well, you, my friend,

How will I do this, well, yeh, my friend,

You know, my dear little friend,

Don't say that to your dear old man.

I'm waiting, yes, my friend,

You understand well, well oh my,

If you ever, yeh my friend,

If you ever have to go through this.

I'll have to go, well yeh, my friend,

I'll have to go, well, you know,

Yes, my friend, well, it's hard,

For me to leave all alone. 

By the start of WWII, Decca changed their label from the "sunburst" blue to what's referred to as the "cursive" black based on the logo and color change.  Records produced during the war (from either shellac sources bought openly on the market or from shellac reserve) had a scripted logo colored in black and gold lettering.3

1. http://www.rayne.org/PDFs/History_of_Rayne.pdf
2. http://www.dabovalbb.com/raynehist-1.html
3. http://patcosta.com/portfolio/decca/
4. Lauren Chester Post Papers, Mss. 2854, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi
5. Lyrics by Stephane F

Find: 
Cajun: Rare & Authentic (JSP, 2008)
Cajun Music, The Pretty Girls Don't Want Me (Firefly, 2012)
Cajun Swamp Stomp, Vol 1 (Lumi, 2012)
The Very Best of Cajun: La Stomp Creole, Vol. 1 (Viper, 2016)

"Lafayette (Allon à Luafette)" - Joe Falcon

The dawn of commercial Cajun recording began in the late 1920s.   In 1928, Columbia had just acquired Okeh records two years earlier. They were very interested in recording southern "hillbilly" music on location.  Frank Buckley Walker, a talent scout for Columbia Records’ Country Music Division during the 1920s and 1930s, helped master the technique of field recordings. Specializing in southern roots music, Walker set up remote recording studios in cities such as Atlanta, New Orleans, Memphis, Dallas, Little Rock and Johnson City searching for amateur musical talent. 

During the spring of 1928, a native of New Orleans and friend of Frank's executives, George Burr lived and worked in Joe's hometown of Rayne.  He knew the locals, Joe's music, and that people would buy these records if he had some.  George contacted one of the executives of Columbia and found out they would be recording in New Orleans.  Burr arranged an audition with Columbia, in New Orleans, by guaranteeing that, should the group be accepted, he would buy 250 records to sell in dance-halls in and around Crowley, in Acadia Parish.  According to Walker,

I brought down a little group. I think his name was Joe Falcon. I brought him down to New Orleans, and we recorded just to have something different. We put it on the market, and it had tremendous sales.

Taken soon after the recording in New Orleans, 1928.
Barnett Studio, Crowley, LA

Burr drove the Falcons and a singer, Leon Meche, to the Columbia audition in New Orleans. They headed to New Orleans, arriving at the Godchaux Building, not far from the Columbia Phonograph Company on Canal Street. But when they got there, Columbia didn't think the duo would be enough to make a record.  As Falcon recalled years later “When [Burr] went to talk to them, they asked where the band was. Burr pointed to me and Cleoma and Meche.” Columbia’s A&R man (artists and repertoire) told Burr that the company was only interested in large orchestras that played foxtrots and similar dance tunes.  George immediately explained Joe's music was popular back home and wrote a check for double his original order to 500 records.  Still doubting their abilities, they asked to hear a tune.   As they prepared themselves, Joe's friend and vocalist, Leon Meche, was getting ready however, he got stage fright and backed out.   

He looked at me and said 'You better sing it yourself, I might make a mistake'. So I took over.

Godchaux Building on Canal Street

So, Joe and Cleoma played "Allon a Lafayette" on his German diatonic accordion which his dad bought for him in Lafayette and Cleoma played a guitar.  The sound took the executives by surprise.  

They came over to where we recorded and they said 'Lord but that's more music out of two instruments than we ever heard in our lives.  We don't understand nothing, but it's a sweet sound.  Pardner, get ready, we're going for good now.  We are going to make it!'

Allons à Lafayette, c'est pour changer ton nom,

On va t’appeler Madame, Madame Canaille Comeaux,

Petite, t’es trop mignonne pour faire ta criminelle,

Comment tu crois que moi j'peux faire, mais, mon tout seul,

Mais toi, mon jolie coeur, 'garde-donc, mais, quoi t’as fait,

Si loin, comme moi j'suis d'toi, mais, ça m'fait pitié.

Allons à Lafayette, c'est pour changer ton nom,

On va t’appeler Madame, Madame Canaille Comeaux,

Petite, t’es trop mignonne pour faire ta criminelle,

Comment tu crois que moi j'peux faire, mais, mon tout seul,

Mais, oui, mais, c'est de m'voir, si loin de toi, mignonne,

Tu peux me crever l'coeur, jolie, mais, jolie fille.

Allons à Lafayette, c'est pour changer ton nom,

On va t’appeler Madame, Madame Canaille Comeaux,

Petite, t’es trop mignonne pour faire ta criminelle,

Observe-moi bien, mignonne, tu vas voir par toi même,

Que moi, je n'merite pas, tout ça, mais, t'apres faire,

T'apres m'quitter ton negre, avec pour, mais, t'en aller.

Advertisement in Port Arthur News,
August 24, 1928

The duo recorded two songs, the first being "Lafayette (Allon à Luafette)" (#15275).  The tune is based on a song Joe had heard as a little boy called "Jeunes Gens Campagnard". The record sold well in the region and kicked off an entire genre of music which is still going strong. Afterwards, more recording companies chose to begin recording Cajun music. 

Let's go to Lafayette, in order to change your name,

We'll call you Mrs., Mrs. Canaille Comeaux,

Little one, you are too cute to be this bad,

How do you think that I'll handle this, well, all alone?

Well, you, my pretty sweetheart, so look, well, what you've done,

So far, like I am from you, well, it makes me pitiful.

Let's go to Lafayette, in order to change your name,

We'll call you Mrs., Mrs. Canaille Comeaux,

Little one, you are too cute to be this bad,

How do you think that I'll handle this, well, all alone?

Well, yeah, well, seeing me so far from you, cutie,

You can break my heart, pretty, well, pretty girl,

Let's go to Lafayette, in order to change your name,

We'll call you Mrs., Mrs. Canaille Comeaux,

Little one, you are too cute to be this bad,

Pay attention well, cutie, you'll see for yourself,

That I don't deserve all of that, well, you've done,

You've left me, your old man, well, to go away.

Like many of the Columbia recordings of Cajun music, it would be co-issued on the Okeh label in the early 30s.  From that moment on, fans of Joe and Cleoma would purchase multiple copies of Lafayette, due to ruining them from playing them so much.   Their song would kick off an entire genre of music for generations of people to follow.  In late 1946, Harry Choates resurrected the tune and officially entitled it "Allons A Lafayette" on his Gold Star recording.

In 2010, the song "Allons a Lafayette" came in at #3 in Robert Dimery's book "1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: And 10,001 You Must Download".4  In 2013, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

1. LSU Libraries Special Collections. POST (LAUREN CHESTER) PAPERS. Stack: 7:11-19. Box: 8. Sound Recordings: Audio Tapes. Side 1: Post interview with Joe Falcon / Side 2: Lecture on Imperial Valley. Joe Falcon, Acadian musician (1963)
2. Broven, John.  "South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous", p15-17.
3. Seeger, Mike (1962). "Frank Buckley Walker. Columbia Records Old-Time Music Talent Scout"
4. 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: And 10,001 You Must Download Hardcover – November 2, 2010 by Robert Dimery

Find:
The Cajuns: Songs, Waltzes, & Two-Steps (Folkways, 1971)

Sony Music 100 Years: Soundtrack for a Century (1999)
Cajun Origins (Catfish, 2001)
Les Cajuns Best Of 2002 Les Triomphes De La Country Volume 12 (Habana, 2002)
Cajun Louisiane 1928-1939 (Fremeaux, 2003)
Cajun Early Recordings (JSP, 2004)
Cajun Capers: Cajun Music 1928-1954 (Proper, 2005)
The Beginner's Guide to Cajun Music (Primo, 2008)
The Best Of Cajun & Zydeco (Not Now, 2010)
J'ai Ete Au Bal - Vol. 1 (I Went To The Dance) (Arhoolie, 2011)

"Arcadian One Step" - Joseph Falcon

Joe Falcon recorded the earliest Cajun music during the 1920s.  Joe was one of the greatest accordion players and a pioneer artist of Cajun records. The first recording of authentic Cajun music was made in 1928 by  Falcon and his future wife Cleoma Breaux playing rhythm guitar. One of the song recorded that day  was “Allons à Lafayette” , who became a real Cajun classic. The record sold well and soon the big recording companies were on the hunt for other Cajun artists. One year later, they were in Atlanta, laying down some of the most traditional melodies floating around the countryside. In fact, contrary to popular belief, Joe and Cleoma were the first to ever record this old Creole melody.

Madame Entelle, rappelez-vous bien,

Quoi c'est m'as dit, mais, hiere au soir,

J'ai quitté là-bas, chez vous,

Ayou elle m'as dit,

Quitter là, chère, la dernière fois*.

Petite ou grosse*, c'est tout le même prix, 

Madame Eduard, donnez-moi les,

Votre fille, moi aller t'en dire,

Elle est mignonne, et 'tite, 

C'est moi, chère, 

Après t'en aller, ouais, 

En t'éloignant, si loin de moi.

Moi j'connais chère, 

mais, j'suis parti, belle, 

mais, m'en aller, 

mais, pour te voir. 

Eh oui, mon negre, chère, 

Mais, prends courage, chère, 

J'suis après finir, mais, tout mes mon tracas.

It's quite possible on the first verse, his last line is "Quitter là guerre, là guerre hier au soir" talking about leaving the argument that occurred the previous night.  In the second version, "Si tes voudras c'est tout le même prix" asks if you'd like, they're the same price, however, given this song became the well known "Petite ou Grosse" song, it's more likely he's talking about the small one or the big one.  

This 1929 Columbia recording is a great example of how many melodies would develop into different song titles.   The melody of "Adieu Rosa" would not only influence Douglas Bellard's Creole song "Mon Camon La Case Que Je Suis Cordane" but would also influence hard driving Cajun songs such as Joe Falcon's "Acadian One Step" (#40513).  It's major influence would extend to Angelas Lejeune's 1930 recording of "Madame Donnez Moi Les", keeping some of the lyrics and the melody. However, it reached other musicians and their recordings that year, such as Leo Soileau's "Demain C'Est Pas Dimanche" and Bixy Guidry's "Ella A Plurer Pour Revenir".  Leo would rework the song in the 1930s as "Petit Ou Gros", made famous by Joe Bonsall in the 1960s.  

Lake Charles American Press
Oct 2, 1928

"Acadian One Step" is an extremely energetic performance with classic Cajun instrumentation (accordion, guitar, fiddle). The accordion plays the melody line on the instrumental breaks, while the guitar plays the rhythm and the triangle keeps time. The fiddle is inaudible on the instrumental breaks (likely overpowered by the accordion), but it can be heard in the background during the vocal parts, when the accordion drops out. Although the fiddle can be heard on the recording, it was not listed among the instruments listed on the record label.1  Given they were recording alongside Cleoma's brothers in Atlanta, it's most likely Ophy Breaux on fiddle.  Unlike the old traditional tune "Adieu Rosa" where the love interest is thankful Rosa is leaving, Joe's version talks about a sad lover due to a particular "madame" leaving him. 

Mrs. Entelle, remember well,

What was said to me, well, last night,

I left that place, your house,

Where she told it was,

I left there, dear, for the last time.

The small or big one, it's all the same to me,

Mrs. Eduard, give her to me,

Your daughter, I'm going to tell you,

She's cute and small, 

It's me dear, 

You've gone away, yeah,

As far as you can, so far from me.

I know, dear,

Well, I have left, beautiful,

Well, I've gone,

Well, to see you,

Eh yeh, my friend, dear,

Well, take care, my dear,

I'm finished, well, with all my troubles.

After the war, his niece Marie Falcon teamed up with Shuk Richard and recorded "Madame Entelle Two Step" in 1952, based heavily on this version.  By 1959 Austin Pitre would take the Bellard song and convert it to his famous "Les Flammes D'Enfer".

Falcon continued to record into the late '30s, but his music was eclipsed in popularity by the emerging Country and Western genre and was soon considered old fashioned. He stopped recording after his final session in 1937.1

1. http://theanthologyofamericanfolkmusic.blogspot.com/2010/03/arcadian-one-step-joseph-falcon.html
2. Lyrics by Bryan L, Stephane F and Stephanie D
3. Edits by Herman M

Find:
Anthology Of American Folk Music Volume Two: Social Music (Folkways, 1967)
Les Cajuns Best Of 2002 Les Triomphes De La Country Volume 12 (Habana, 2002)
Cajun Louisiane 1928-1939 (Fremeaux, 2003)
Cajun Early Recordings (JSP, 2004)

"Le Valse De Mon Rêve (Waltz Of My Dream)" - Joe and Cleoma Falcon

Joe Falcon and his wife Cleoma Falcon had been the star Cajun musicians throughout the Cajun countryside from 1928 to 1929.  However, as the Depression took hold, their recording career went on hiatus.  It wouldn't be until 1934 when a different set of record scouts arrived in south Louisiana looking for the tried and true Cajun artists of the 20s.  Eli Oberstein, a field scout with RCA's new Bluebird division, attempted to do just that when the Falcons were invited to San Antonio.  Joe's "Le Valse De Mon Rêve (Waltz Of My Dream)" (#2188) backed by his wife Cleoma on guitar, expressed a lover's desire to see his love interest once more—this time, through the viewpoint of a dreamer. 

Tu connais, malheureuse, ça t'as fait, mais, z-avec moi,

Oui, chère catin, ça c'est dur pour moi endurer,

Moi j'connais j'ai pas bien fait, mais, j'aime quand même, jolie fille,

Eh, catin, donne-moi une chance avant de mourir.

Tu voudrais, jolie fille, t'en revenir avec moi-même,

Oui, malheureuse, tu voirais pour toi-même,

Moi me cru dans tout ça que le bon dieu me permettrai,

Oui, malheureuse, pour essayer de faire (ai)mer toi.

Moi j'me tarde de me voir, m'en revenir a la maison,

Oui, malheureuse, de plus trouver personne pour moi,

Moi j'vois pas quoi j'vas faire sur la terre, malheureuse, 

Oui, chère catin, ça c'est dur, ça pour moi.

"Les Falcons"
Cleoma and Joe Falcon
Courtesy of Bob Tooke

Oberstein worked with many other ethnic artists during his stint with RCA including Lydia Mendoza and King Nawahi's Hawaiians.  Accompanying the Falcons that day was black Creole accordionist Amede Ardoin and white Creole fiddler Dennis McGee at San Antonio's Texas Hotel. The city of San Antonio was virtually a world away, both culturally and geographically, for most Cajuns. The music filling the dance halls and streets of San Antonio during the 1930s sounded different in style and in language.  For recording companies, Texas seemed to provide as much talent to record executives up north as did Tennessee, Georgia and Louisiana.  During the decade, both Dallas and San Antonio would become Meccas for Cajuns looking for outlets to record.1       

Daily Advertiser
Sep 14, 1934

You know, miserable one, what you've done, well, with me,

Yes, dear doll, it's hard for me to endure,

I know I haven't been doing well, however, I love you nevertheless, pretty girl,

Hey, pretty doll, give me another chance before I die.

You would like, pretty girl, to come back with me,

Yes, miserable one, you'll see for yourself,

I believe in all of that, which the good Lord will allow me,

Yes, miserable one, to try to make you love (me).

I'm too late to see, returning home,

Yes, miserable one, to never find anyone for me,

I do not see what I'll do on earth, miserable one,

Yes, dear doll, it's hard for me.

Although not a major hit among the Cajun music buying audience, the melody did however influence other post-war recordings such as Austin Pitre's "Redell Waltz" and Nathan's "Avalon Waltz".  Either concerned about appealing to a male-dominated Cajun market or misunderstanding her importance, RCA failed to mention Cleoma’s name on the session notes.  Each of the record sides gave credit to “Joseph Falcon”, leaving Cleoma’s legacy as nothing more than the following footnote: “Singing with accordion and guitar by Mrs. Falcon”.1   

1. "Allons A Lafayette: The First Families of Commercial Cajun Music" by Wade Falcon
2. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:

BS-83850-1 Le Valse De Mon Rêve (Waltz Of My Dream) | Bluebird B-2188-A

BS-83851-1 Vous Etes Si Dous (You Are So Sweet) | Bluebird B-2188-B

"Mon Favori" - Falcon Trio

The Falcon Trio.  The group consisted of Joe Falcon on accordion, Cleoma Breaux Falcon on guitar and vocals along with Moise Morgan on fiddle.  Not to be confused with her song "Ma Valse Prefere" recorded in 1934, this song was recorded in New Orleans two years later in 1936 along with some other cover tunes.

Oh moi tout seul à la maison

Plus personne pour m’aimer

Comment ça moi j’vas faire? 

M’quitte pas dans tout ça, ça je prefere,

Ne m’quitte pas à la maison, moi tout seul, malheureux.

Tu vas voir ton erreur avant longtemps,

Ce sera trop tard chère petite fille, tu regretteras, malheureux.

Tu vas venir à la maison avant longtemps,

Me demander des pardons, des excuses pour quoi t’as fait.

P'tite mon dieu, tu connais y a juste toi, 

Dans le pays pour moi donc, oui pour moi oui aimer.

Et moi je veux encore ta petite fille

Pourquoi donc tu veux m’donc maltraiter, comme ça fait mal.

Tu connais, t’as pu voir ton erreur, 

Ton erreur toi t’as fait y a pas longtemps, malheureux.

Cleoma and Joe Falcon

It's sometimes referred to as "Le Meilleur" and also referred to as "Ma Valse Favori" or "My Favorite Waltz".  The melody is the same as Lawrence Walker's 1929 recording of "La Vie Malheureuse" and Happy Fats' 1935 recording of "La Valse De L'Amour". It's also a faint rendition of her and Joe Falcon's 1929 "Poche Town".  Given she's singing about a man losing his chère petite fille, it's no surprise if she borrowed from her brother's song.  It's a very familiar melody throughout Cajun music, influencing other songs such as Lawrence Walker's 1929 "La Vie Malheureuse" and the Hackberry Ramblers' 1935 "Crowley Waltz".

Daily Advertiser
Apr 10, 1936

Oh, I'm at home all alone,

No one left to love me,

How am I going to handle this?

Do not leave me in all of this, that I'd prefer,

Do not leave me in the house, all by myself, oh my.

You'll realize your mistake before too long,

It'll be too late dear little girl, you'll regret this, oh my.

You're coming home before too long,

Ask for forgiveness, apologize for what you did.

Little one, my God, you know you're the only one,

In the country for me, yeh, for me, yeh, to love.

And I still want you little girl,

Why do you want to mistreat me, it hurts so much.

You know, you've seen your mistake,

Your mistake you did to yourself not long ago, oh my.

Unlike "Poche Town", "Ma Valse Favori" comes the closest to the lyrics chosen for Jolie Blonde.   

1. Lyrics by Stéphanie D

Release Info:

"Pauvre Garcon" - Falcon Trio

By 1936, it had been over a year since Joe and Cleoma Falcon had stepped foot in a studio before they had scored another contract with RCA.  Eli Oberstein and other recording executives had arrived the week before Mardi Gras and began loading their equipment into the second floor of the building.   There, they planned a three-day session where bands such as Bo Carter and the Arthur Smith Trio were waiting for their turn.1    

Feeling the need for a fiddle player, Joe convinced Crowley native and musician, Moise “Mose” Morgan join their duo.  Mose had learned to play the fiddle as a young child and grew up learning popular tunes.  The trio recorded a song Joe called "Pauvre Garçon (Poor Boy)" (#2185).  In typical form, Joe often held the verses beyond the standard meter, allowing the chord changes to match the lyrical changes. 

Comment tu crois, mais, que moi j’peux faire, chère?

Mais, avant hier soir, mais, t’après faire avec moi,

Moi j’vois pas quoi moi j’va faire, moi seul.

Garde-donc toi, ‘tite fille qui crois bien pourquoi toi t’as dit, toi chère,

Il y a pas, mais, si longtemps tu m’as donc promis de jamais oublier,

Mais, ‘garde-donc toi t’après faire avec moi,

Tu devrais donc, chère, user ta tête, ouais, tu vois les promesses,

J’mérite, mais, oui, pas tout la misère que toi t’après me faire avec moi.

Au jour d’aujourd’hui, mais, moi j’connais, chère,

Tu vas r’venir, oui, mais, donc me r’joindre, oui chère,

Mais, pour des bonnes excuses à moi avant longtemps.

Tu connais, ‘tite fille, mais j’mérite pas, mais, donc tout ça, toi chère,

Le seul Bon Dieu va m’mettre la main, ça c’est moi, oui, pour toi, oui chère,

Mais, malheureuse, ‘garde moi donc, moi j’va faire, oui, tout seul.

Joe Falcon
Courtesy of Squalor Illustrations
squalorillustrations.bigcartel.com

Other bands such as the Hackberry Ramblers and the Dixie Ramblers were on the docket that day, awaiting their turn to record as well.  To avoid possible conflicts with any earlier contract that Joe and Cleoma may have signed with the Kapps at Decca, Oberstein got creative and renamed the group, The Falcon Trio. When RCA Bluebird pressings arrived in stores, eager buyers discovered Falcon Trio songs stamped on the flip-side of some Hackberry Ramblers recordings as well as on the flip-side of some Dixie Ramblers pressings.1  

How do you think, well, that I'll be able to do this, dear?

Well, before last night, well, what you've done to me,

I don't see what I'm going to do, I'm alone.

So look, little girl, who really believed what you said, my dear,

It wasn't, well, so long ago (that) you promised to never forget me,

Well, so, look at what you've done to me,

So, dear, you should use your head, yeah, you'll see the promises (made),

I don't deserve, well yeah, all of the misery that you've done to me.

As of today, well, I know, dear,

You have returned, yeah, well, so join me, yeah dear,

Well, apologies to me before long.

You know, little girl, well, I don't deserve, well, all of that, you dear,

Only the Good Lord will hold my hand, mine, yes, for you, yes dear,

Well, oh my, so look at me, i'm doing (this), yeah, all alone. 

1. "Allons A Lafayette: The First Families of Commercial Cajun Music" by Wade Falcon
2. Lyrics by Marc C

Release Info:
BS-99227-1 Mon Vieux D'Autrefois (My Old Used To Be) | Bluebird 2185
BS-99228-1 Pauvre Garcon (Poor Boy) | Bluebird 2185

Find:
Raise Your Window: A Cajun Music Anthology 1928 - 1941 (The Historic Victor-Bluebird Sessions Vol. 2) (CMF, 1993)
Cajun Early Recordings (JSP, 2004)

"C'est Si Triste Sans Lui (It Is So Blue Without Him)" - Cleoma Breaux

An extremely bluesy number, Joe Falcon knew how to turn the accordion into an agonizing melody, expressing misery and despair as no other Cajun accordionist could.  He and his wife-to-be, Cleoma Breaux, traveled to Atlanta, this time with her brothers.  As the duo sat in a make shift studio in Atlanta, Cleoma Breaux recorded one of their more obscure songs during their session.   It's a sorrowful cry for one's love to return.  

Le seul homme j’aimais,

Il m’a quitté moi toute seule,

Pour s’en aller avec une autre que moi,

Oh, moi j’prends ça si dur,

Moi j’prie jour et nuit pour il s’en revienne avec moi.

Oh je vois pas quoi j’ai fait,

Pour il m’quitte dans tous les chagrins,

Il m’a dit ça j’avais fait pouvait donc jamais (z)oublier,

J’ai donc prié jour et nuit,

Pour lui s’en revienne avec moi.

Quand il a quitté la maison,

Il m’a dit de l’observer,

Pardon(?) moi j’avais fait pouvait donc jamais l’oublier,

Il m’a dit d’attacher le crèpe noir sur la porte,

Parce que lui, il aurait jamais r’venu.

Cleoma Breaux
"C'est Si Triste Sans Lui"
By Megan Barra

Hearkening back to the "unhappy love" theme, "C'est Si Triste Sans Lui" tells the story of a girl abandoned by her lover.  Her reference to a "crèpe noir", a black funeral cloth, signifies the importance of the loss as similar to the death of a loved one.  The song's sentimental lyric is completely subverted by the raucous performance which features Cléoma Breaux on vocal and guitar, Joe Falcon on accordion, and Cléoma's brother Ophy on a barely audible fiddle (not listed on the original label, even though Ophy Breaux is credited).1 "C'est Si Triste Sans Lui" (#40508) was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia on April 18, 1929, the day before Falcon and Breaux recorded "Acadian One Step."1

The only man I ever loved,

has left me all alone,

He ran off with somebody else,

Oh, I'm taking this so hard,

I pray day and night that he'll come back to me.

I don't know what I did wrong,

For him to leave me with all this pain,

He said he did it so I'd never forget,

I pray day and night,

That he'll come back to me.

When he left the house,

He told me to take a good look at him,

He said he was doing this so I'd never forget,

He told me to hang black fabric over the door,

Because he was never coming back.

Her vocals were stellar and Joe's accompaniment filled the song, allowing for Cleoma's beauty as a person and musician to shine.  Fiddler Dennis Mcgee described Cleoma:

A beautiful little woman with black frizzy hair, black, black eyes and white, white skin.  Joe Falcon was lucky to have her.2

1. http://theanthologyofamericanfolkmusic.blogspot.com/2010/07/cest-si-triste-sans-lui-it-is-so-blue.html
2. http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/caj_orig.htm
3. Lyrics by Marc C

Find:
Cajun Dance Party: Fais Do-Do (Legacy/Columbia, 1994)

Anthology of American Folk Music (Smithsonian Folkways, 1997)
Les Cajuns Best Of 2002 Les Triomphes De La Country Volume 12 (Habana, 2002)
Prends Donc Courage - Early Black & White Cajun (Swamp Music Vol. VI) (Trikont, 2005)

American Folk Music, Vol. 4 (Classic, 2009)
The Perfect Roots & Blues Collection (Sony, 2015)