Johnny Dowd’s interpretatie van – of commentaar op – Hank Williams’ beroemdste song, Jambalaya. Wat bij Williams een vrolijke ode aan de Cajun cultuur is, wordt bij Dowd een donker, dreigend gebeuren (Twelve screaming birds/From a foreign land/Have come to memorize me/My head cracked/The birds flew in/My sins have come home to roost), al lijkt Dowd’s karakter (een teruggekeerde Vietnamveteraan?) aan het slot van de song het geweld dat hij lang heeft verheerlijkt af te zweren.
I woke up this morning
With a worried mind
My eyes were jerkin’ round
in my head
The sky was bleeding
The sun was black
The lilies of the valley were obscene
Twelve screaming birds
From a foreign land
Have come to memorize me
My head cracked
The birds flew in
My sins have come home to roost
Jambalaya, crawfish pie, filet gumbo
Jody ran off with Yvonne, my ma cher aimee-oh
Take a tall drink from a jar, act so gay-o
The war is over
Johnny’s back
Back on the bayou
I fell from my bed
Put on my jungle boots
To the lunatic mirror I did crawl
A pale-eyed stranger
Was staring at me
I could almost recognize him
Won’t you please forgive me
All the harm I’ve done
I was bent on violence when I was young
Beauty comes from kindness
Beauty’s all I crave
But you can’t get a robin from an eagle’s egg
Jambalaya, crawfish pie, filet gumbo
Jody ran off with Yvonne, my ma cher aimee-oh
I take a tall drink from a jar, act so gay-o
The war is over
Johnny’s back
Back on the bayou
