i'm disappointed that i didn't get out for the monroe mardi gras -but i'm glad i'll be in new orleans and march in the krewe of st. ann, again. i worked in the quarter for years, so was always in the thick of it. it was also a great occasion to make fotos... like the one above.ahhhhhhhhh... mardi gras... it's a Louisiana thing. I know it evolved from European carnival, but like we say, "we do things a little different here..." I've seen carnival in Europe and it is NOT the same as what we do!
I was a teenager when I first went to mardi gras in new orleans. It was a revelation! i hadn't realized such FUN mass insanity existed. It's been a part of my life ever since then; and over the years I've paid homage to it in several songs.
One song ["didn't we ramble"-word play on the title of the famous new orleans song "didn't he ramble"] was recorded by "razin' cain" [me, billy gregory, ricky cortes, & jay gernsbacher] -we were the "enfants terrible" of the Quarter in the late 70s. we did 100% originals and kicked butt! "our" demo version of the song wound up on billy gregory's solo lp ["it's a bluesy day"- appaloosa records]-after the band split. A record reviewer for the Times Picayune said of it, it "could only have been written by someone who has seen entirely too much of the french quarter for too long..." [paraphrased] all i can say to him is "amen! and thank you!"
DIDN'T WE RAMBLE [DOUG DUFFEY]
Someone took scissors to my spiritual cord
While I was passed out in the gutter
Got robbed by drag queens of my beads and doubloons
My only cover was a shudder
Crawled to the corner of dauphine and dumaine
I'd left a midget as a marker
Someone had kicked him down to bourbon where he
Was trying to gyp a strip out of a barker
Oh mama I'm so wasted I can't even find my hands
Mardi Gras has made a mess of me
Heaven's on Decatur Street and hell went outa town
Death's a ditch where Bacchus took a pee
Didn't we ramble didn't we roll, didn't we ramble didn't we roll, didn't we?
Didn't we ramble didn't we roll, didn't we ramble didn't we roll, didn't we?
Got tricked and treated sanctified and debauched
Spiked heels left pock marks on my brain
Fat Tuesdays looking slimmer just like my chances
of ever hoping to be sane
Lost my last dollar in a race for my life
Ate crow for lack of nothin' quicker
I'd sell my soul if I could get a good price
Or enough to buy my friends and me some liquor
Oh mama I'm so wasted I cant even find my hands
Mardi Gras has made a mess of me
Heavens on Decatur Street and hell went outa town
Death's a ditch where Bacchus took a pee
Didn't we ramble didn't we roll, didn't we ramble didn't we roll, didn't we?
Didn't we ramble didn't we roll, didn't we ramble didn't we roll, didn't we?
[c] 1976-2006 doug duffey
I wrote "carnival time in the city" in the mid 80s but didn't record it until last year. It appears on my latest cd, "changin' times". It's a mix of new orleans and cajun phrases. Only in Europe did I finally put together why certain phrases are used in Louisiana- especially south Louisiana. It's because they're direct translations from the French. Like to "make the groceries" [faire le commission] "get down out the car" [descend la voiture]- etc. wow! Anyway, I wrote the song long before that nickel dropped! The reference to "cherry bounce" is from my teenage days hanging out in church point!
CARNIVAL TIME IN THE CITY [DOUG DUFFEY]
Come here mama, quick come see
Bring the cherry bounce for you and me
Cher, y'all get down out your car
We gonna watch the parade from our front yard...oh yeah
Well its Mardi Gras day and I'm feeling
Got my parasol I'm gonna second line
Gonna have me a drink and take a toke or two
I'm gonna hit the street I'm gonna dance with you...with you
When its carnival time in the city aint no need to worry 'bout work only play
When its carnival time in the city we gonna party till the break of day, yeah Mardi Gras day
Come here mama turn the music loud
We got pots on fiyo for a rowdy crowd
Got the boudin the gumbo and the etouffe'
And nairn a care in the world cause it's Mardi gras day
When its carnival time in the city aint no need to worry 'bout work only play
When its carnival time in the city we gonna party till the break of day, yeah Mardi gras day
[c][p]1984-2006 doug duffey music, bmi
more mardi gras posts coming... after fat tuesday.
[c]2006 doug duffey
