Topic: Am?d? Ardoin lyrics

[Cooljack]

This is probably quite a difficult task but could anyone help me out with any of Am?d? Ardoins lyrics atall? I did a quick search but didn't find anything and I cant understand a word myself.

[lindy]

Cooljack:

My suggestion is to go to http://www.annsavoy.com/ and send her an email with your request. Her book on Cajun culture and music is in wide circulation, and it contains lyrics of various songs, many of which come from the time that Am?d? Ardoin recorded. I don't know for certain that it contains the specific lyrics you are referring to. If you write your request in French she'll love it.

Another site to look at is http://ccet.louisiana.edu/tourism/cultural/The_People/acadian.html. The folks at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Special Collections are incredibly passionate about Cajun culture and music, somewhere in that group you will find help.

Finally, you may have already seen this, but Am?d? came back from the grave long enough to make his own MySpace page:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=113507976,
so you might want to send him an email.

Lindy
 

[Coyote Slim]

Which songs do you need?  I have some books and liner notes as well.

[Cooljack]

thanks for the links, I was hoping for Amadie Two Step, Les Blues De Crowley, Tostape De Jennings... Im just interested to see what the content is really, i've read that his lyrics were quite poetic? though french is a little beyond me.

[Cleoma]

Hi there,
I can probably help you.  Here are Crowley Blues lyrics.  I think I have the others somewhere too but just got home and have a million things to catch up with. I'll try to get those posted later this week.
I once did a bit of analysis of lyric content to Amede's songs.  There is really a lot of repetition.  I think he just sang about whatever was going on in his life, and some of the lyrics were probably "floating" lyrics.  If you listen to much early Cajun music (the first stuff was recorded in 1928) you will notice that many of the songs do seem to have the same words.  This kind of borrowing, or floating verses, has always been common practice in Cajun dance music as far as I can tell.  On my first visit to Louisiana I visited Cheese Read and recorded him singing a beautiful song, Round Prairie Waltz.  I was able to transcribe the words, and carefully learned them.  On my next trip, I visited again and asked him to sing it, and he sang an entirely different set of words.  That was when I realized that the lyric content can be fairly fluid with these older Cajun songs.  There are definitely some that have a real text and tell a story but not that many.
 
OH, je m?en vas, jm?en vas a la maison
Tout seule, j?ai pas connais ay-ou c'est
D?mander pour mo te voir.

OH, je m?en vas, m?en vas a la maison
M?en va, o moi tout seule
Quo faire, c?est moi j'vas a toi?
T? apres partir toi tout seul.

Oh, moi je m?en va, tous les Samedi au soir
O, je m?en vas a la maison
Heyyy  heyy  ta mom  apr?s m?quereller
Heyy heyy  ou j?v?aller, Tes parents ca veut pas d'moi
Ca veut pas m'voir tout seul

[Cleoma]

I forgot to add:  here are a few other resources for Amadee's lyrics.
The Arhoolie CD has a booklet with the lyrics for those songs.  The others may be either in Ann Savoy's book "Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People" or in the big yellow book, "Ye Yaille" by Raymond Francois.  Both of these are indispensable if you want to learn to sing Cajun music.  Ann's book also is just a great read with wonderful photos.  I think you probably can order these from Savoy Music Center or maybe from Down Home Music in El Cerrito. 
Suzy

[Coyote Slim]

Man, now I gotta dig out my Amede CD and have a listen.  Just reading the lyrics make me think of his haunting voice.

"Crowley Blues" should actually be called "Blues de Quereller" or "Quarreling/Arguing/Fussing Blues."

Oh, I'm going, I'm going to the house [home]
All alone, I don't know where [to go]
To ask to see you

Oh, I'm going, going to the house
I'm going, oh all alone
Why is it I should go to yours? [to your place]
You're leaving all alone.

Oh I'm going, every Saturday night
Oh, I'm going to the house
Hey your mom is arguing with me

Your parents don't want me
They don't want to see me, all alone

Oh, why are the quarreling with me?

[Coyote Slim]

"Am?d? Two-Step" Transcription from the Arhoolie CD [I should of course note that Cajun French is a little different from French French but still understandable, usually (My grandma was Acadian, her family from Nova Scotia and she went to France and was able to communicate, Cajun and Acadian are essentially the same except the Cajuns have a lot of Choctaw and African words)..  I know that some French folks can't understand Cajun lyrics or misinterpret them, just like Brits sometimes don't know what those old blues guys are sayin'.   ]:

O, bonsoir, catin, ouais, je m'en vas, jolie
Moi, je m'en vas, donc, moi tout seul, droite a la maison

Moi, je voudrais si vous-autres peuvent faire, ouais pour toi, qu'es aussi mal.
Tu t'en vas a la maison, toi, tu me quittes derri?re.

O. bonsoir, catin, quoi tu veux je peux
Moi, je te vois, mais, t'en aller, ouais, ?a me fait du mal

Si tu vas, comment je peut faire? Quand je jongle a toi.
Toi, peut-?tre j'aurais le courage, ouais, de m'en aller

O, bonsoir catin, peur tout les temps fait ?a
C'est pour faire plaisir, catin, a tes parents.

Quand ton neg' radotte sur moi, je crois, toi tu me fais ?a.

Tu me fais mal, c'est toi, catin, assez pour moi pleurer.


I will post the translation when I have more time.