Ann Savoy introduced T-Bone Burnet to this song by Blind Uncle Gaspard and translated the song from French to English for him.This was done while filming the YaYa Sisterhood. Ann does not know of any corresponding American folk melody. The words are in the French as spoken in Avoyelles Parish presently, not in the old European French that is foundin the French folk songs that Gaspard and others sang. These songs were rarely commercially recorded and exist on tapes by Lomax, Oster, and others. I remember hearing older people sing these songs during the seventies at parties. As much as I enjoy Blind Uncle Gaspard, Delma Lachney and others who sang these types of songs, I would like to believe that some of these songs where created right here in Louisiana.
Thank you Robert. Now we can maybe piece together the history of the song: Europe (at least for the melody) -> Louisiana (for the lyrics or maybe an adaptation of the European lyrics, with local turns of phrases. Brasseaux also mentions other lyrics by Edius Naquin) -> contemporary American version in English (translated by Ann Savoy).
My curiosity is nearly satisfied.