Jambalaya, Crawfish Pie, Filé Gumbo...

All good Cajuns now claim this as "their" song. It has an interesting history. Hank Williams (that would be the one who has crossed over, not the one who's been seen the last few months singing at Republican rallies) copied the Jambalaya melody from an earlier tune recorded in Cajun French called Grand Texas. The lyrics, however, were written by Hank Williams.

After Hank Williams recorded his version with the new words, Cajuns re-recorded Jambalaya with Hank Williams' words translated into Cajun French. There is one big problem with Hank Williams' version of this song. He mis-pronounces bayou. It is correctly pronounced "by-you" not "by-oh". I'm sure it was to get it to rhyme with "me oh my oh", but it's wrong! Every self-respecting Cajun and wannabe Cajun I know sings it with proper pronunciation. Here are the lyrics in English.

Good-bye Joe, me gotta go, me oh my oh
Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou
My Yvonne, the sweetest one, me oh my oh
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou.

(Chorus)
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and filé gumbo
'Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou.

Thibodeaux, Fontainbleau, the place is buzzin’
Kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen
Dress in style and go hog wild, me oh my oh
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou.

(Chorus)
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and filé gumbo
'Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou.

Settle down, far from town, get me a pirogue
And I’ll catch all the fish in the bayou
Swap my mon to buy Yvonne what she need-o
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou.

(Chorus)
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and filé gumbo
'Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou.

If you feel like having even more fun and want to try it in Cajun French, here's a translation a friend sent me.

"GOODBY JOE" J'AI POUR ALLEZ, MI-O-MA-Y-O
J'AI POUR ALLEZ MOI TOUT SEUL
SUR LE BAYOU
MA YVONNE, LA PLUS JOLIE
SUR LE BAYOU
TONNERRE M'ECRASE
UN VA AVOIR UN BON TEMP
SUR LE BAYOU
----refrain----------
JAMBALAYA, DES TARTES D'ECREUVISSE, FILE GOMBO
PAR A SOIR MOI J'VA ALLEZ VOIR
MA CHERE AMI-O
JOUER L'GUITAR, BOIRE DE LA JOGUE(cruche)
ET FAIR DE LA MUSIQUE
TOMNNERRE M'ECRASE
UN VA AVOIR UN BON TEMP
DE SUR LE BAYOU
THIBODEAUX, FONTENOT, LA PLACE APRE SONNER
CA VIEN "EN TAS" POUR VOIR YVONNE
PAR LES DOUZAINES
FAIR BIEN L'AMOUR, ET FAIR LE FOU, FAIR LA MUSIQUE
TONNERRE M'ECRASE
UN VA AVOIR UN BON TEMP

Now, lest you wonder why in the world I am blogging about this, it's because of dinner. My dear niece and her son (the 13yo who wants to be a chef) made a big pot of jambalaya Sunday and she sent some of it over to us. We had it for dinner tonight and it was fabulous. Now this was Kiki's first time to ever try to make jambalaya, so she was learning along with her DS. She did a wonderful job. They used a recipe from River Road Recipes, the quintessential Jr League cookbook from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the jambalaya tasted just like what we would get back home. So I felt like breaking out into song!

Jambalaya 1 1/2 lbs sausage (she used andouille) 3 Tbsp bacon grease 3 Tbsp flour 2 medium onions, chopped 1 bunch green onions, chopped 2 Tbsp chopped parsley 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups rice 2 1/2 cups water 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper 2 tsp salt Start by browning the sausage in bacon grease in a cast iron skillet. Remove the sausage and set aside. Add the flour to the skillet and cook slowly, stirring, to a dark roux. Add onions, parsley and garlic. Cook until soft. Stir in the rice, water, cayenne, salt and sausage. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to its lowest setting. Cover and cook on low for about an hour. Check to be sure the rice is done. Then remove cover and cook a few minutes to let the rice dry just a little. But don't let it get too dry. Serve immediately.