Mason Ramsey – Jambalaya (On The Bayou) lyrics

The Hank Williams' song "Jambalaya" is not about Cajun food, it is more about depicting Cajun-American culture. The story within the song is about a man who tells a colleague that he has big plans for the rest of the day and that he has to set off to do such, when he "go pole the pirogue down the bay-oh" (a flat boat and pole used as transport to push people up and down a bayou). We know he is Cajun by his speech, the cuisine selected and the French-mixed English, such as, "mon cher amio", which in French means, "my beloved friend", which is to say, "girlfriend".

"Thibodaux Fontaineaux" in the song are prominent Cajun last names, and because the, "kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen", it is likely that these are the two families of both Yvonne and the man in the song. The fact that in song verses following, he is talking about settling down with Yvonne, it is possible that this is an engagement party to bring the families together to meet.

The line, "pick guitar and filled fruit jars and be gay-oh", simply means, "music, moonshine and merriment". We know "filled fruit jars" is about moonshine because whether it was an old southern law or simply a southern custom (or both), moonshine was often placed in fruit jars, or mason jars in both the Southern and Appalachian regions of the United States, and this is often done even today. So why the title, "Jambalaya"? Other than the fact that jambalaya is one of the dishes being served at this party, it must have just stuck out and caught the songwriter's attention, and considering the popularity of the song even after 50 years, he was right.