Morgen vertrekken we naar Texas, maar voordat het zover is genieten we vanavond nog even van het beroemdste gerecht uit de Zuidelijke keuken. Jambalaya is “een hartig rijstgerecht dat is ontstaan in de Amerikaanse staat Louisiana door een samensmelting van Afrikaanse, Spaanse en Franse invloeden. Het bestaat voornamelijk uit vlees en/of zeevruchten en groenten gemengd met rijst en kruiden” (gejat van Wikipedia, want mijn culinaire kennis is beperkt tot stamppot zuurkool). Naast Hank Williams wijdde ook Johnny Dowd een song aan jambalaya, maar Dowd’s versie is heel wat donkerder dan die van Williams: The sky was bleeding/The sun was black/The lilies of the valley were obscene.
[Verse 1]
Goodbye Joe, me gotta go, me oh, my oh
Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the Bayou
My Yvonne, the sweetest one, me oh, my oh
Son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou
[Chorus]
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and a filé gumbo
‘Cause tonight, I’m gonna see my ma chère amie, oh
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay, oh
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the Bayou
[Verse 2]
The Thibodeauxs, the Fontenots, the place is buzzin’
Kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen
Dress in style and go hog wild, me oh, my oh
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou
[Chorus]
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and a filé gumbo
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma chère amie, oh
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay, oh
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou
[Chorus]
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and a filé gumbo
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma chère amie, oh
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay, oh
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou
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
From a foreign land
Have come to memorize me
My head cracked
The birds flew in
My sins have come home to roost
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 violence
Beauty’s all I crave
But you can’t get a robin from an eagle’s egg
Jumbalaya, 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
Uitgelichte afbeelding: By Amadscientist – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24936742
