Okay, gang. I'm going to stay with the Cajun theme here this week, and since we agrees to leave Boudreaux out of last week's song we're going to showcase him here. When i got to thinking about the theme this week, It occurred to me that there probably aren't any Cajuns in hell because the devil wouldn't know how to deal with them once they got there. Here's what I mean...
When Boudreaux Went To Hell
When Boudreaux arrived at the gates of hell
He asked the devil for some crawfish pie
Devil said, “We don't eat that food down here.â€
As he looked him in the eye
So he found himself an old black kettle
And he set it on a burnin' rock
Tossed in some chili peppers
And made a gumbo out of dragon stock
When Boudreaux arrived at the gates of hell
He asked the devil for some cowboy boots
Devil said, “We don't wear shoes down here
Guess you'll just have to make do.â€
So he sharpened up his trusty huntin' knife
And he skinned himself a serpent or two
Wrapped those hides on around his feet
And made a pair for the devil, too.
When Boudreaux arrived at the gates of hell
He asked the devil for a fishin' pole
Devil said, “there ain't no fishin' here
‘Cept for goin' after poor old soulsâ€
So he found himself a cane pole
And he cast it in the fiery lake
Caught a boat load of blackened catfish
Served ‘em up with some deviled eggs
When Boudreaux arrived at the gates of hell
He asked the devil for a violin
Devil said, “We don't play no music here,
To do so would be a sin.â€
So he made himself a wormwood fiddle
And a bow out of hellcat gut
Sawed out a old-time Cajun rhythm
And the demons all strut their stuff
When Boudreux arrived at the gates of hell
He asked the devil for a bottle of rum
Devil said, “there ain't no drinkin' here
But I hope you're havin' fun.â€
So he cobbled together a whisky still
And he set it on a brimstone fire
Threw the biggest party this side of Hades
And the demons all got wired.
When Boudreuax arrived at the gates of hell
He asked the devil for a deck of cards
Devil said, “there ain't no gamblin' down here
But please don't take it hard.â€
So he made some dice from an old skull bone
And he started up a friendly game
Well, Satan should have known, you take a Cajun soul
And hell is never gonna' be the same.
My biggest question on this right now is which verse would be best to put first. In Nick's article he mentions tht the first verse is the most important, ans I can't decide which one works the best.
Regards,
Mike
"Growing Older But Not UP!"
i think you need a verse that sums up what the story ahead is going to be about. sort of a little introduction. then at the end you can sum it up again but in a different way.
i think you need a verse that sums up what the story ahead is going to be about. sort of a little introduction. then at the end you can sum it up again but in a different way.
I was going to say that I like it the way it is but those are some very good point.
I especially like the Idea of an intro.
How did Old Boudreaux end up at the Gates of Hell?
Was he ett by a gator ?
Did his still blow up?
Was he cursed by a Voodoo Queen?
Did he pass out drunk into a steaming vat of Jambalaya?
Anyways I like the song. It kind of reminds me of "The Devil Went Down To Georgia"
John
Hmmm... Interesting I hadn't thought about an intro. I don't want to make it another verse because it would break the pattern. So it could be done like a chorus- different from the verses, but at the beginning only, and something brief, maybe explaining how he got to hell like you say and setting up the theme about the devil not being able to handle him when he gets there.
It'll take some thinking.
Regards,
Mike
"Growing Older But Not UP!"
Okay, I pondered on it some, how's this for an intro verse:
St. Peter grabbed Boudreaux by the collar
As he strolled up to the pearly gates
Said, “We got too many Cajuns here already
Got to send you to the Other Placeâ€
But it was only part of heaven's master plan
‘Cause they ain't never seen a Cajun before
So watch right now what kind of ****'ll go down
When he shows up at the devil's door
Same as the verses, but I think it fits the pattern; it's just heaven and St. Peter instead of hell and the devil. It doesn't address how he died, but thinking about it, I'm not sure that's necessary to the narrative
Regards,
Mike
"Growing Older But Not UP!"
Not a bad verse by it really doesn't do it for me and that may just be my mindset.
I was thinking more a bit of a cause of death intro explaining Boudreaux's last
few hours,minutes,or seconds on this astral plane.
Just my thoughts
John
OK, John, we'll have to agree to diagree on that point. I'm going to have to leave it to your godd old imagination as to how poor Boudreaux bit the big one. How indeed?
Regards,
Mike
"Growing Older But Not UP!"
Not a bad verse by it really doesn't do it for me and that may just be my mindset.
I was think more a bit of a cause of death intro explaining Boudreaux's last
few hours,minutes,or seconds on this astral plane.
Just my thoughts
John
Boudreaux was shot dead over a disagreement about how the lyrics should go in a song. OK?
It's the rock that gives the stream its music . . . and the stream that gives the rock its roll.
Not a bad verse by it really doesn't do it for me and that may just be my mindset.
I was think more a bit of a cause of death intro explaining Boudreaux's last
few hours,minutes,or seconds on this astral plane.
Just my thoughts
John
Boudreaux was shot dead over a disagreement about how the lyrics should go in a song. OK?
ROFL :lol: :lol:
This is an excellent song, I really enjoyed reading it, hope you post an .mp3 of it! I think the added intro verse works really well, although reading the original, I didn't think it needed an intro/explan. The only thing I'd pick up on is the intro to each verse being identical - how many times does this guy arrive in hell?!? Maybe some variation on that, i.e. 'sitting around in hell' or similar to kick off the later verses, rather than always 'arrived in hell', but that's just my .02
looking forward to hearing/reading more from ya - and welcome to the SSG! It's been a delight checking your stuff. :D
Ummm
It's not my song. It's Slipperman's.
But I agree with you. How many times is Boudreux going to Knock, Knock, Knock on Hell's door?
But thanks for the welcome.
You might not feel that way after you read my post on your No Water Dear lyrics.
But I really liked it.
I spent some time on it so . . . .
please let me know when you make an mp3 of it.
It's the rock that gives the stream its music . . . and the stream that gives the rock its roll.
OK, John, we'll have to agree to diagree on that point. I'm going to have to leave it to your godd old imagination as to how poor Boudreaux bit the big one. How indeed?
No Problem
It is after all your song and just my opinion.
First of all, let me point out the weirdness inherent in this thread - read the song yesterday morning, noted a couple of points, was busy composing a reply and......internet access went. Kept trying all day, couldn't get it back, same old error message...something about the DNS server. Couldn't even get into yahoo.co.uk (homepage) and said DNS thingy didn't even recognise microsoft.com.
Anyway late last night, access was restored - so I'm re-writing the reply, although there've been a few new comments and an extra verse. Get to the end, hit submit and - internet's gone again.
This is the third time of trying.....
First thing I picked up has already been mentioned - how many times does he arrive in hell? Man, that's one BAD groundhog day! I thought maybe something like starting each verse in a similar fashion......
When Boudreaux arrived at the gates of hell.....
When Boudreaux'd had a chance to look round....
When Boudreaux'd been there a couple of days....
OK, couple of little things about the verses.....
"Devil said, “We don't play no music here,
To do so would be a sin.â€"
Umm, isn't that what the devil's all about - sin? And tempting others?
"Devil said, “there ain't no drinkin' here
But I hope you're havin' fun.â€
Again, I don't think the Devil would be wanting anyone to have fun - he wants souls in endless torment, etc...
"Threw the biggest party this side of Hades" - a little inaccurate, the party would be IN Hades, not this side - maybe the biggest party ever seen in Hades, or something similar.
That's the little things out of the way....now for the good stuff. Loads of great lines in there - the skinned serpents, the blackened catfish, the still on a brimstone fire.....way too many to mention. Most people would be lucky to come up with a couple of truly memorable lines in a song, you've got at least a couple in every verse!
So to sum up - pretty good song, plenty of strong - AND sustained imagery - just needs a little tidying up here and there. The idea's great, the story's fun, the execution's 90% there.....looking forward to the finished, polished article.
And now - I'm going to cross my fingers, save this to a word document and hope it gets through......
:D :D :D
Vic
EDIT - third time lucky, guess I caught him off guard!
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
John
Boudreaux was shot dead over a disagreement about how the lyrics should go in a song. OK?
LOL, man, LOL!
Regards,
Mike
"Growing Older But Not UP!"
Thanks, Vic, for your comments. Many of those same thoughts crossed my mind as I went over it, the thing about him arriving at hell so many times. I let it go. See, I'm an engineer and if you know engineers, they can get real anal about everything being literally accurate. I figured that might not be such a good thing in songwriting; sometimes you need to let that sort of thing go for artistic impact. Not sure if that's the case here or not, it just seemed to me that the same lead-in line for each verse kind of tied it all together, I don't know.
As for the two lines- hope you're having fun and it being a sin. I was going for a little bit of irony there, kind of a few tongue-in-cheek lines fron the prince of darkness. But maybe it didn't work if other folks aren't getting that.
I also noticed, after adding my introductory verse, the line in the last verse "Satan should have known, you take a Cajun soul.." doesn't work anymore. I need to change that to something like "mess with a Cajun soul".
Also I was thinking of changing the title to "Boudreaux and the Devil"- something a little simpler.
Thanks again, glad you got your connection restored. I'll have to mull this over before the weekend, when I intend to play it for the folks around the campfire when we go camping.
Regards,
Mike
"Growing Older But Not UP!"
As for the two lines- hope you're having fun and it being a sin. I was going for a little bit of irony there, kind of a few tongue-in-cheek lines fron the prince of darkness. But maybe it didn't work if other folks aren't getting that.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
I was gonna quote Vic's comments on this point and then simply write "irony?" - to me, the reference to music being a sin has that classic Bob Dylan (and others) twist to it that makes it stand out and really resonate with the listener. Just my .02 - I got it, anyways, and I'd be sad to see it go.
