I've just been listening to three versions of lacassine special - Balfa Bros, Eddie LeJeune and Ambrose Thibodeaux.
When I check out the lyrics in 'Ye Yaille Chere' they just don't match up in any of the three versions I've just listened to.
I know that lyrics are flexible but with this one I can't find any common denominator. Anyone shed any light on alternative lyrics?

Thanks

Regards


Andy W

Which one are you wanting the lyrics to?

Lyrics are an elusive critter with those old musicians. The music was never written until recently and many of the very old ones were illiterate anyway, so they just sung it like they remembered hearing it, and add libbed where they couldnt remember, or the mood struck them. If you were to hear any of those guys sing any song several times, you would probably hear several different versions from each musician. In most, but not all, cajun songs, the music itself is the important thing, not the words. It's for dancing.

Hi Bryan,

Balfa Bros lyrics would be nice.

Regards

Andy W

O ye yaille, mais rappelle toi, 'tite fille,
tout les accroires, les promesses ça tu m'as fait.
Tu connais je merite pas ça.
Tu m'as dit toi tu m'aimais, chere, mais aujour dhui,
aujour dhui t'es apres me quitter.
Moi, je connais ça me fait du mal.

O ye yaille, mais rappelle toi, 'tit fille,
tout les promesses, les accroires ça tu m'as fait.
Tu connait je peut pas oublier, que toi tu serais venue.
Tu serais venue mais avec moi, catin, a la maison.

I have two recordings of "Lacassine Special" by the Balfas. The one we all know from the "yellow album" and the one of the Rounder LP "Louisiana Cajun French Music, Vol. 1". The difference between this two recordings is like night and day...

By way of comparison, "J'Etais Au Bal" by Nathan Abshire and the Balfas. The alternate take on that various artist "J'Etais Au Bal" album differs greatly from the familiar one, and they sound like they came from the same session...

As previously mentioned, Iry LeJeune's "Grand Bosco" and "It Happened to Me"... Probably one an alternate take of the other, but, alas not the same way twice!

That's the great thing about Cajun music. Boy, these songs evolve in the blink of an eye!

We use the lyrics below.
I hope it helps


O ye yaie, mais rappelle toi,
'tite fille, tout les accroires.
Les promesses ca tu mas fait
Tu connais je merite pas ca
Tu m'as dit toi, tu m'aimais
Chere, mais aujourd'hui
Aujoud'hui t'en apres me quitter
Moi je connais ca me fait du mal

Andy,
If you'll look carefully at the listing in Ye' Yaille, Chere, it usually gives the "version" of the song used. In the case of "Lacassine Special", they used Iry's version. If you listen to the original recording by Iry, the lyrics in Ye' Yaille, Chere should match up.
Jude

Hi Jude,

Of course you're right there, though I don't have a copy of Iry LeJeune version.

This appears to be the Balfa Bros version below - almost identical to Ron's posted version.
Thanks for the input!

O ye yaie mais rappelle toi
Petite fille tout les accroires
Les promesses ca tu m'as fait
Tu connais je merite pas ca
Tu m'as dit toi tu m'aimais
Chere mais aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui t'es apres me quitter
Moi je connais ca me fait du mal.

O ye yaie mais rapelle toi
Petite fille tout les promesse
Les accroires ca tu m'as fait
Tu connais je peux pas oublier
Que toi mais tu m'as dit
Chere toi tu serais venue
Tu serais venue mais avec moi
Catin a la maison...

This is normal and expected. There really is no common denominator in this song, or many others.

I suggest that you pick a version you like, and go with that. I have always been partial to Iry's version, and I always think of it as being intimately associated with him. Didn't he write it, at least in the form that we usually think of this song?

Anyway, another fun thing to do is to mix and match versions of the lyrics. I do that sometimes. Maybe I liked some aspect of a first verse as done by the Balfa Bros., but like the way Eddie LeJeune did the second verse, so I combine them. This is all part of the fun.

-David

I am not sure who originated the song, but most of the songs from these old timers werent necessarily songs they personally came up with, but songs handed down by family, or songs they heard from on someones porch, or at some bal de maison and they took it and played it with their own twist, and they may have been the first to record it. We consider the song's original recording to be the traditional version, but
it often goes back much further than that first recording and was probably changed several times.

Thats why I have never considered it a big deal for someone to change a particular "traditional" song to their own style or lyrics, because more than likely the one we consider original was a changed by the original recording musician. Then we can either choose to like the new version or not.

Take the songs by Denus Mcgee, or the Balfa's (and many others), chances are the person they learned those ancient songs from played them differently. Especially since they hardly ever played them the same way twice.

The one thing that I hope never dies is the emotions the old timers put into their music. That is one reason I like the Balfa's music, and Iry, though some may argue they could be technically better players, the emotion they poured into their music is what gives me the frissons. And I am only using them as examples.

Follow the link above to see one of the definitions of a folksong. This is why I listen to, and enjoy many types of Folk music. Dirk Powell once told me that he believed that Folk Music is organic and should continue to live, breath, grow and change. Much like a photograph, a recording is only a "snapshot" of the life of a song. Iry's version of The Lacassine Special is a three minute photograph of its 60 year life. He also said, and I agree, rather than spend our energies learning a song exactly as it was recorded, we should get to know it and let it become part us as well as become part of it. I like that, me!!
Some of you may question how does his belief co-exist with all of the work that Balfa Toujours has done...as I did. His response was that the reason and purpose that BTJ was formed was to keep alive the music of Dewey Balfa and the Balfa Brothers as accurately as possible while still allowing it to grow.

I say hum the tune, learn to play it, listen to different versions and sing what comes to you.

ganey, this is pure brilliance!!!
i love the image of folk music as being something organic.......once you take it in and learn it and take it to heart, it comes out with your combined experiences and emotions and becomes yours. futile to try to learn it just as it was recorded by someone else. when i was in high school, i labored to play the fingerpicking blues of reverend gary davis. i found it impossible to play it just like he was playing on recordings, so i modified and made it my own. years later, i was to find out that part of the "unique quality" to his music that i couldn't completely mimic was that his left hand had been broken as a child. set poorly, it healed with a strange angle to his wrist. voila, his style was a function of his poorly set wrist....
roger

Covers sometimes can be superior to the original just because artists have had plenty of time to figure out their "angle" on the whole thing.
"Lacassine" isn't one of those. Iry,s version is IT. Everything else is derivative, not bad, just second to something else, like who cares about who did "Georgia On My Mind" after Ray Charles did it or if anyone sang "Only The Lonely" after Frank recorded it?

This is the version I have - I don't remember where I took it. Can anyone help?


Hé comment mais toi tu crois que moi
Mais moi je vas faire tout l’temps dans les misères,
Tout l’temps après souffert, juste rapport à tes paroles,
À tes paroles que toi, catin tu m’avais dit.

Hé, ta chère vilaine manière,
Que toi t’as tout le temps eu
Il faudra t’oublies tout ça
Si toi tu veux rester
Z-avec ton cher vieux nèg’
Mais r‘garde toi tu peux voir
Le chemin et t’en aller

Hé toi, chère, il faut toi tu t’en reviens
Mon, j’suis tout le temps là après jongler
À toi à tous mais ces jonglements
Que toi tu m’as mis dedans

Maz ...thats Iry's version

i just listened to wayne toups version and wording is exactly like Iry's...surprise surprise...

so true Jean..so true...