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Jambalaya (On the Bayou)
Title: Jambalaya (On the Bayou)
Artist: Hank Williams
Year: 1952
Label: MGM
Genre: Country
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 me gun we’ll have a big fun on the bayou
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie on a filé gumbo
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna see ma cher amio
Pick guitar, filled fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of me gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou
Thibodaux Fontaineaux the place is buzzin’
Kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen
Dressed in style, go hog wild, oh my oh my oh
Son of me gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou
Settle down far from town get me a pirogue
And I’ll catch all the fish in the bayou
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie on a filé gumbo
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna see ma cher amio
Pick guitar, filled fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of me gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou
Later on, swap my mon, get me a pirogue
And I’ll catch all the fish on the bayou
Swap my mon, to buy Yvonne what she need-oh
Son of a gun we’ll have a big fun on the bayou
Born and raised in Alabama, Hank Williams was an American singer and songwriter. His track, "Jambalaya (on the Bayou)" was released in 1952 and became an instant hit. The song tells a story of a man who is looking forward to meeting his Yvonne, "ma cher amio", (Cajun French for "my good friend" or "my dear"). "Jambalaya (on the Bayou)" also mentions Cajun cuisine of Louisiana, such as jambalaya, gumbo, and crawfish pie. It was the last song to be released by Williams before his passing and it is still counted as one of his most famous songs. Food plays an important role in the life of Louisiana natives and in Cajun culture. Whether it's time to party or mourn a death, food is always present to celebrate or console. The singer of the song shows his excitement about meeting his sweetheart by mentioning how they will celebrate the occasion with typical Cajun food.
Food plays a similar role in A Lesson Before Dying, symbolizing different emotions, such as affection, anger, determination, and longing. The novel dramatizes ways food is used both to express love (as when Miss Emma cooks for Jefferson) and exert power (as when Henri Pichot makes Grant wait in the kitchen while his family eats dinner). Grant uses food to express an entire range of feelings. He expresses his anger at Tante Lou by neglecting to eat the food she cooked for him. He refuses to eat or drink anything at Pichot's house to exert his agency and avoid any sense of indebtedness. He offers Vivian sugarcane and pecans while walking around the plantation as an expression of love and care. Later he takes Jefferson pecans and peanuts from the schoolchildren to remind him he belongs to a community. In response, Jefferson eats the food to express his gratitude.
Early in the novel Jefferson refuses to eat Miss Emma's food, or eats it like a hog, to express his disdain and self-loathing. During one of Miss Emma's early visits, Jefferson requests "Corn for a hog" (122), which breaks her heart. Later, he eats with Miss Emma, Aunt Lou, and Reverend Ambrose at the dayroom table as a form of communion with his elders. While Hank Williams's song uses food to construct a regional setting and express emotion, A Lesson goes one step further to use food as a mark of character development. That is nowhere more evident than when Jefferson returns to the dayroom table to eat Miss Emma's gumbo "though it was cold, and....his nannan was so proud" (195). Eating at the table not only marks Jefferson's changing relationship to his loved ones but also to personhood. Eating at the table with a spoon shows he is no hog, just as Miss Emma wanted him to learn.
