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Social Songs
LE PETIT MARI (The Bantam Husband)
bK No. 16. 0. Dupont, Kaplan, La., 1934.
In Kaplan, a little town just west of Abbeville, Louisiana., we asked for
old songs. We were sent to old Mr.---------, who was night watchman at
a warehouse down by the depot. When we had convinced him that we were
not teasing him, he agreed to sing but asked that we bring the ---------
brothers down to help him out, and begged us not to forget "un 'tit whisky,"
for he was an old man. The---------brothers, young men in their twenties,
and the " 'tit whiskey" were both found in an hour or so. We hung up a lantern in the warehouse and set up our machine. Soon, in spite of the bats,
the mosquitoes, and the stifling Louisiana summer night, old Mr.---------
was leading the brothers through the bottle of whisky and the old wedding songs of Kaplan. Among many others, they sang that night the ballad of "The Bantam Husband," one of the subtlest and gayest ballads in any language.
I Mon pere m'a donne-t-un petit mari, O mon Dieu, quel homme et quel petit homme, Mon pere m'a donne-t-un petit mari, O mon Dieu, quel homme et quel petit homme.
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