Words to Jambalaya

[Jim Cannaliato]

Please help me decipher the words to the Hank Williams (senior, of course)
song, JAMBALAYA. With all the knowledge and wisdom on this list, I'm sure
someone can help me out. Are some of the words Cajun? What do they mean?
What is the correct spelling?

The words I can't figure out are in caps:

In the 1st verse, 2nd line, Hank sings: "me gotta go for the PEE-ROW down the
bayou"

Refrain, 2nd line, Hank sings: "cause tonight I'm gonna see my MA-SHAD-A-MIO"

2nd verse, 1st line, Hank sings: "The TIPPY-DOH, the FAHT-UN know, the place is
buzzin"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim "Son-of-a-Gun I'll Have Big Fun on the Bayou" Cannaliato

[DE...@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu]

pole the piro--- guide the small water craft
m shere a mio- my sweetheart
Tibeaudeau, Fountineau - two towns in Louisana
spelling may be incorrect...

David Dees University of Central Florida (407) 823-2691
(DE...@UCF1VM.BITNET) Orlando, FL 32816-0125

[Stan the Man]

Here are the words according to the published Acuff-Rose sheet music:

Jeffrey Stanley
--------------------
jsta...@rnd.nyu.edu

On Thu, 23 Feb 1995, Jim Cannaliato wrote:

> The words I can't figure out are in caps:

ME GOTTA GO POLE THE PIROGUE >

> In the 1st verse, 2nd line, Hank sings: "me gotta go for the PEE-ROW down the
> bayou"
>

MESHERIMIO (as in, my sheri amour)

> Refrain, 2nd line, Hank sings: "cause tonight I'm gonna see my MA-SHAD-A-MIO"
>

THIBODEAUX FONTANEUX (names
of towns in Louisiana)

[John Nelson]

Dear Jim Cannaliato:

Maybe Leon Russell's version (on "Hank's Back") is a bit easier
to understand...

John "Does anybody know where they get File Gumbo from" Nelson,
Columbia SC

[Taylor, Lee]

Close, Dave, but

>m shere a mio- my sweetheart

I think it's ma cheri mio, sort of pidgin
French

>Tibeaudeau, Fountineau - two towns in Louisana

Actually I think Thibideaux and Fontaineau are
both very common family names down there, sorta
like Smith and Jones in Cajun

>spelling may be incorrect...
awful

>David Dees University of Central Florida (407) 823-2691
>(DE...@UCF1VM.BITNET) Orlando, FL 32816-0125

Lee Taylor (a UCF alumnus)
Atlanta, GA
lta...@dca.com

[janice mclaughlin]

the correct spellings and wordings according to the book
Hank Williams the complete lyrics St. Martins Press

me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou (pirogue, dugout canoe)
I'm gonna see my ma cher amio
Thibidoux, Fontaineaux
settle down far from town, get me a pirogue
swap my mon, to buy..
son of a gun we have big fun on Bgrass-ll (oops!)

janice mclaughlin
jmcl...@miamiu.muohio.edu

[Archie Warnock]

So, like Jim Cannaliato was saying to me just the other day:

> In the 1st verse, 2nd line, Hank sings: "me gotta go for the PEE-ROW down the
> bayou"

"row the pirot down the bayou" - it's a boat

> Refrain, 2nd line, Hank sings: "cause tonight I'm gonna see my MA-SHAD-A-MIO"

I'm not sure of this one, but something like "cher-ami-o", since cher
ami is French, eh?

> 2nd verse, 1st line, Hank sings: "The TIPPY-DOH, the FAHT-UN know, the place i
s
> buzzin"

Cajun Names: Thibodeaux (as in Rufus) and Fontenots - they're there and the
place is buzzin'

-- Archie Warnock Internet: war...@clark.net
-- A/WWW Enterprises Phone/FAX: 301-854-2987
-- http://www.clark.net/pub/warnock/archie_warnock.html
-- As a matter of fact, I _do_ speak for my employer.

[DE...@ucf1vm.cc.ucf.edu]

Thibidoux & Fontaineaux may be family names, but I can guarantee you that they
are towns in Lousiana - I have a friend from Thibidoux.

[Tim Morrison]

I'm pretty sure the last line of Jambalaya is as follows:

"Son of a gun, gonna have big fun on lime-jello"

--

Tim Morrison

[Stan the Man]

Yes,
And also Thibideaux is mentioned in the Jerry Reed song "Amos Moses":

About 25 miles southeast of Thibideaux, Louisiana
Lived a man called Doc Will South (??) and his pretty wife Hanna
Well, they raised up a son who could eat up his weight in groceries.
Named him after a man of the cloth, called him Amos Moses.

Jeffrey Stanley
--------------------
jsta...@rnd.nyu.edu

[Craig Owensby]

<<Does anybody know where they get File Gumbo from>>

refers to the use of file (pron. fee-lay) powder... some kind of
leaf ground up v. fine, forget exactly what plant it comes from...

--
bas...@jackatak.theporch.com (Craig Owensby)
------------jackatak.theporch.com (615) 377-5980 ------------

[Walt Smith]

On Thu, 23 Feb 1995 DE...@UCF1VM.CC.UCF.EDU wrote:

> Tibeaudeau, Fountineau - two towns in Louisana

I'd always thought these were the common cajun family names and that the
import of the line was that these were relatives of the singer and that
they'd all come over to see the girlfriend and that as a result of the
invasion, things were jumpin'.

Walt Smith - Raleigh, NC
ka3...@netcom.com

[Joe Wages]

><<Does anybody know where they get File Gumbo from>>
> refers to the use of file (pron. fee-lay) powder... some kind of
>leaf ground up v. fine, forget exactly what plant it comes from...
>

Sasafras I believe

[Carolyn Boselli]

On 23-FEB-1995 13:49:13.8 BGRASS-L said to IVANOR

> So, like Jim Cannaliato was saying to me just the other day:
> > In the 1st verse, 2nd line, Hank sings: "me gotta go for the
>PEE-ROW down the > bayou"
> "row the pirot down the bayou" - it's a boat

It's a pirogue, and you pole it.

Carolyn Boselli Host of Custom Forum 35 SCAdians on Delphi
If you're not new at something, you're not growing.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity!

`[1;31;44mRainbow V 1.12.5 for Delphi - Registered