The Magnolia Sisters: |
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Click on the thumbnails below to access
higher resolution photos. The photos were taken at Festivals Acadiens in
September 2005.
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With funding from a grant, The
Magnolia Sisters have, as the CD notes to Lapin, Lapin accurately
explain, "dusted off [a] treasure trove of [children's] songs found in A few of the songs are
familiar like "Danser Codeine" about the fiddle-playing monkey and
the two-step "Ding a Ding Ding Dong," popularized by Aldus Roger.
"Les Maringouins ont tous mangés ma belle," made popular by Nathan
Abshire, is performed by the Magnolia Sisters in the old style with the
accordion and fiddle together carrying the melody plus a triangle for rhythm.
"Je veux marier" used to be a popular song at Cajun weddings. "Les ecrevisses dedans le
platin" was a stringband number from the 1930s played by the Rayne-bo
Ramblers. "Gumbo Zydeco," which tells how to make a gumbo, is
a rollicking two-step that would go over well in any dance hall. "J'ai passé au long du
bois" is based on Ann Savoy's recording made many years ago of Eduis
Naquin from Reddell singing his version of a song about a scary trip through
the woods. Lisa Trahan learned the
opening song, "The Little Fat Man," from her father, Harry Trahan. Other cuts on the CD are old
songs that most listeners probably have not heard before. The CD includes
Creole music from "Boitine Boiteuse"
("Limping Limper) and "La caille et la perdrix" ("The
Meadowlark and the Weasel") are humorous songs with cumulative verses.
"Laissez moi s'en aller" has silly lyrics about bizarre circumstances,
nonsense verse that children love. There is, of course, a rabbit
song, "Compère Lapin": "C'est ein bête qui connait
danser." Copies of the CD have been
distributed to schools and libraries in The CD was supported by a grant
from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Louisiana State Arts Council,
and the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development,
Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism. Because it is not a
commercially produced CD, it is available only by ordering it directly from
the Magnolia Sisters. Click here to return
to LSUE's first page on the Magnolia Sisters. |