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Hurricane Jane
Out on the Gulf, the wind is risin’ gray clouds hide the sky In a shack on the beach, a baby’s cryin’ His momma don’t know why A crewboat captain sees the waves a slashin’ rain begins to pour Turns the wheel and heads for the pass there’s a bad momma comin’ ashore (watch out!) Hurricane, Hurricane Jane Hurricane, Hurricane Jane
Deep in swamp called Atchafalaya a fisherman runs his lines and high in the tops of the cypress trees the wind begins to whine The howlin’ of a swamp cat pierces the day as the marsh birds start to fly If you don’t get yourself to higher ground you can kiss your butt goodbye. Hurricane, Hurricane Jane etc.
Over the marsh, there’s a wild moon risin’ as the tide rushes over the land And darkness falls and the devil’s laughter rages like a zydeco band At T-John’s Bar there’s a hurricane party where the hardcover Cajuns come to play But when a wave batters down the door you can hear ‘em all start to pray (good God!)
Epilogue Out on the Gulf, the sun is shinin’ there’s not a cloud in the sky And up on the beach, a baby’s laughin’ its mamma can’t believe her eyes Hurricane Jane was demon howlin’ she turned brave men to stone She smashed the shack, sunk the boat but she left that baby alone (thank God.)
Bayou Lullaby
Driftin’ away on that muddy Mississippi Creole moon shinin’ in my eye Oh, what a night, I can’t be blamed for singin’ Singin’ those bayou lullabies
I’m on my way, lazin’ down that river, A band blowin’ Dixieland, a million stars in the sky I’m on my way, don’t you know my heart is ringin’ Ringin’ with those bayou lullabies
Oh, pretty mamma, I’ve been away too long Dry you eyes mamma, You know your daddy’s comin’ hom
I’m on my way, I goin’ to see my lady She’s a Cajun princess, oh, my-my Eyes as sweet as moonlight through the cypress Get me singin’ those bayou lullabies
Repeat chorus Oh, pretty momma…
Catfish Willie
There once was a man down the bayou land on the Main Street Bridge with a pole in his hand Standin’ in the hot sun fishin’ all day just waitin’ for the catfish to come his way Oh, oh, Willie, in my mind I still see you, Willie Catfish Willie, fishin’est man in the bayou land, Willie
Well, he didn’t own a rod, he wouldn’t have a reel He just seem to know how those catfish feel Standin’ on the bank with an ole cane pole just pullin’ out the lunkers from the catfish hole Oh, oh, Willie, in my mind I still see you, Willie Catfish Willie, fishin’est man in the bayou land, Willie
Blue cats, channel cats, flatheads, too Willie caught ‘em all and he caught quite a few Selllin’ his catch at the catfish store goin’ down the bayou gonna catch some more Oh, oh, Willie, in my mind I still see you, Willie Catfish Willie, fishin’est man in the bayou land, Willie
Catfish Willie was my own grandpa He never went to school to learn the Catfish Law He learned it on the banks of a White River slough just learnin’ how to think like the catfish do Oh, oh, Willie, in my mind I still see you, Willie Catfish Willie, fishin’est man in the bayou land, Willie
Now, Catfish Willie up and died one day We thought he’d live forever but you know what they say We woulda been sad but we understand Willie’s fishin’ from the bridge in the Promised Land Oh, oh, Willie, in my mind I still see you, Willie Catfish Willie, fishin’est man in the bayou land, Willie
Momma’s Cookin’ Gumbo
I’m a worldly guy, I think I’ve seen it all I’ve traveled down the Amazon, I’ve done the Taj Mahal But I grew up on the bayou and I guess it’s plain to see well, I might’ve left the bayou but the bayou’s still in me. So not long ago, man, I was on this trip, oh, hangin’ out in Africa huntin’ for a hippo I was up in a blind in a baobab tree when I suddenly was grabbed by this big envy’ I knew right away I just had to go and get a big bowl of my momma’s gumbo. (Momma’s cookin’ gumbo, gumbo, gumbo Momma’s cookin’ gumbo a big gumbo.)
Well, I climbed from the tree, the hippo came by I said, ‘I catch you later ‘cause I really gotta fly.’ I got to an airstrip, the pilot’s name was bungle so I hopped in his plane and we flew out of the jungle. An hour over Kenya we were runnin’ out of gas Bungle said, “I’m sorry, chap, I think we’re gonna crash.” I grabbed me a parachute, I said, “I’ll see ya, bro,” cain’t die till I get a bowl of Momma’s gumbo. (Momma’s cookin’ gumbo, gumbo, gumbo Momma’s cookin’ gumbo a big gumbo.)
I hit the ground runnin’ and I caught a wildebeest hopped on his back and we headed out east I spent 23 days in the boilin’ hot sun runnin’ from the lions, man, it wasn’t much fun. Well, I let the ‘beest go and I found a swift gazelle I said, “I’m runnin’ late so you gotta run pell-mell” So we galloped like the wind across the savannah headin’ more or less toward South Louisiana Well, I ran that poor gazelle till he couldn’t run much more but I couldn’t wait much longer for my momma’s gumbo. (Momma’s cookin’ gumbo, gumbo, gumbo Momma’s cookin’ gumbo a big gumbo.)
I got to the coast and I found myself a ship but I coulda been on drugs it was such a bad trip I mean, three days out we were swamped by a gale I was swept from the decks and swallowed by a whale I said, ‘Hey brother whale, this just won’t do You might be big but I know a thing or two So I got my trusty bottle of Tabasco Sauce I poured it down his stomach I said, “Now who’s boss?” The whale gave a shudder, I said, “Thar she blows!” and went splashin’ in the water toward my momma’s gumbo. (Momma’s cookin’ gumbo, gumbo, gumbo Momma’s cookin’ gumbo a big gumbo.)
Well, I guess I must’ve swam for 8,000 miles when I finally washed ashore on the beach at Grand Isle I ran into a friend of mine, I said, “I’m kinda stuck” He said, “No problem, buddy, you can use my truck.” I roared out of Grand Isle heading up the bayou drivin’ like a man with his pants on fire A cop gave chase and he finally ran me down He said, “You’re burnin’ like a rocket through the middle of my town.” He woulda locked me up but you know he let me go ‘cause he’d heard all about my momma’s famous gumbo (Momma’s cookin’ gumbo, gumbo, gumbo Momma’s cookin’ gumbo a big gumbo.)
Well, my momma’s name is Bonnie and she comes from Thibodaux she never read a cook book, she just seemed to know You ask her the recipe, she says ‘here’s where it’s at, I put a bit of this and I put a bit of that. Yeah, some celery, onion, bell pepper, too andouille sausage all cooked in a roux Well, I guess I’ve made a lot of it cookin’ for my clan ‘cause I raised six boys by an Arkansas man. My boys stayed straight ‘cause I guess they seemed to know they could get the thrills they wanted from their momma’s gumbo. (Momma’s cookin’ gumbo, gumbo, gumbo Momma’s cookin’ gumbo a big gumbo.)
Now, I finally made it up to the Terrebonne Parish line I was thinkin’ for a change that things were goin’ fine When a big hairy animal ran across the road It looked like a wolf, it had a face just like a toad I did a double take, I said, ‘What the heck was that?’ I slammed on my brakes but all I heard was “splat!” I hopped out my ride, wonderin’ what I’d struck but I picked it off the road and a I threw it in my truck I said, “This is pretty strange but I guess you never know what’ll happen when you’re headin’ to your momma’s gumbo (Momma’s cookin’ gumbo, gumbo, gumbo Momma’s cookin’ gumbo a big gumbo.)
I drove that pickup through downtown Houma right past that school where I got my diploma At last I made up to my momma’s street and I gotta tell you, man, the feelin’ was sweet When my momma makes gumbo you know she doesn’t scrimp I could tell from the aroma she was cookin’ with shrimp I stepped on the pedal, knew I had to get there fast ‘cause when Momma makes gumbo you know it doesn’t last I ran through the door, my momma said, “Hello!” --as my daddy took the last bite of Momma’s gumbo (Momma’s cookin’ gumbo, gumbo, gumbo Momma’s cookin’ gumbo a big gumbo.)
I said, “Momma, Momma, Momma, this is really bad news ‘cause you’re lookin’ at a boy with the gumbo blues My momma said, “No problem, I’m gonna make some more I’ll get your daddy to take me to the store” Well, we walked outside, she said that beast in my truck My momma started yellin’, she said, “I cain’t believe my luck.” She ran back in, she said, “I gotta start a roux!” I said, “Momma, Momma, Momma, now, what you gonna do?” She said, “I gonna be famous, I’ll owe all to you I’ll be the first to make a gumbo from a Loup Garou.” (Momma’s cookin’ gumbo, gumbo, gumbo Momma’s cookin’ gumbo a big gumbo.)
Well, my momma made that gumbo out of Loup Garou and I gotta say, I liked it and you’d’ve liked it, too So the moral to this story is pretty plain to me You can climb the highest mountain, you can sail across the sea You can an Olympic star, win gold medals on the slope You can be the President, you might even meet the Pope You can be a billionaire, as rich as Donald Trump You can own Texaco, make your fortune from the pump You may lead a charmed existence but no matter where you go Life don’t get much better than your momma’s gumbo.
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