I really love all the different ways this song is played. Being an auslander I really value the different looks into how these songs become the "tunes" of the musicians who choose them to be part of their list.

This tune was probably the first one that I actually chose to learn to play differently than what I heard. I wanted it to sound more jumpy and dancy than the laid back style I heard played because it fit better for what I had in mind. Don't get me wrong, I understand where you are coming from with getting the song as close to the original as possible, but for me I know that if I am ever going to develop my own style of playing, I need to make decisions about what I like and how I think songs should be played.

A few months back I felt like I was stuck in a rut and was not getting any better, but by better I was not thinking about my own style, I was trying very hard to immitate others. I guess that I've gotten over that somewhat. I'm more concerned about playing what feels good and what sounds good to me and doing the best that I am capabable of. I'm not ever going to be a Chris Miller or a Ed Poullard, but I can be an Ehren and for that I am thankful.

Very interesting question, Chris.
But I'm afraid I will have to ponder a bit more, before I can give an answer that is half as interesting.
Maybe I will come up with something. And maybe not! We'll see.

BTW: I think the "silent note" is a great boost to the first measure, but without it, the tune would still be recognizable. So I don't really think it's an essential.
Funny enough, you could do the same in the second part at exactly the same spot (leave the third eighth away), but nobody does that. :o)

But the Q remains: what makes a tune? I think character.
Sometimes it's just one or two notes in the melody that make it stand out.
I find the high c (the first note in the first measure) very strong. The chords in the first part of PS are the same as in Wafus Twostep, but this little high c makes the difference.
I warned you: the answer wouldn't be half as interesting!!

I took accordion from Ed at Augusta a couple of years ago, and this was one of our class tunes. He probably played it 20 times for us.

As others have pointed out, what characterizes this song for me is what has been identified as "syncopation," which musically speaking has both rhythmic and tonal variations within a phrase, giving it a "rocking" or "loping" feel to it.

When Ed would get out of Teacher mode and just play it, you could really feel that little difference, the subtle changes in attack, and the little pauses between notes that give it the "Creole" feel.

Thanks to all the Braves who have posted great versions of this tune, and thanks to Jamey for bringing TOTM back.

ed's version definitely has the most swing, lilt, whatever you want to call it

rhythmic interest, i guess

i think something else good accordion players do is constantly control and use dynamics to create the rhythm

some notes are punched, others kind of get slid over, some are longer, shorter, by indefinable amounts - that is the player;s style

but the best playing has a lot of this, not just straight streams of notes like a brass band march

wle

Well said, Larry. That's what I was trying to get at.

Looking at the other reactions I think I have misunderstood what it's all about here.
The question appears to be: "what brings a tune to life", and I thought it was: "what makes a tune recognizable, i.e. different than other tunes".
In the first case you're talking about style and rhythm, in the second about "composition".

When you play Poullard Special as a straight twostep, it's still definitely Poullard Special. And it can sound good, too. It can swing, you can dance on it, etc. If you don't leave any notes out, it's still the same tune. It's a kind of static thing.

When you play in a long-short "bluesy" way, leave notes out, put extra notes in, put the accent on the downbeat or use other dynamics, play syncopated notes etc. , then you are talking about style. That's a kind of dynamic thing.
For me the dynamic part is also the most essential in Cajun/Creole music. The "melodies" are always simple, - ten buttons is all you have - so it has to come from what you do with it.
so if Chris asks "what makes a tune a tune?" in this case I would say: "people".

What makes the song stick out most to me is that I feel like bouncing around in my chair when I play it. Nice slow Creole groove. Alternating index / pinky, the small pauses at the beginning and towards the end, a mock ending that doesn't stop the music. Not sure if all that makes sense.