Song 471: This week the playlist showcases Jambalaya (On the Bayou) by Hank Williams, written by Hank Williams and Moon Mullican. During my family's alternate-year summer visits with the Ohio relatives in the 1960s, my aunt and uncle routinely let me choose which LPs to play on the stereo, and they had a lot of country music gems in their stash. This musical binge soon turned me into a major Hank fan, and it also did that to both of my brothers. We would often sing along together on this cut, and that has more than a little bit of irony - all three of us were quite finicky eaters, and while I gradually got over it and my brothers never did, I suspect that none of us would have savored the real flavor of Jambalaya back then. However, we all relished the spicy suggestion to have big fun on the bayou, and I would gladly have volunteered to be the one to pick guitar. At first, I didn't know exactly who ma cher amio might be, though from the context, I assumed it referred to the singer's lover, and then, not long after I began Spanish class in junior high, the pet name for the sweetheart became clear. Today, son of a gun, I would say that this tasty old classic still sounds like big fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment