Jambalaya (On the Bayou)

"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" is a song written and recorded by Americancountry musicsingerHank Williamsthat was first released in July 1952. It is Williams' most recorded song. Named for aCreoleandCajun dish,jambalaya, it spawned numerous recordings and has since achieved popularity in several different music genres.
In 2002, the 1952Hank Williamsrecording of the song onMGM Recordswas inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.
Williams began writing the song while listening to the Cajuns talk about food on theHadacol Caravanbus.With a melody based on theCajunsong "Grand Texas", some sources, includingAllMusic, claim that the song was co-written by Williams andMoon Mullican, with Williams credited as sole author and Mullican receiving ongoingroyalties.  Williams' biographerColin Escottspeculates that it is likely Mullican wrote at least some of the song and Hank's music publisherFred Rosepaid him surreptitiously so that he wouldn't have to split the publishing with Moon's labelKing Records.Williams' song resembles "Grand Texas" in melody only. "Grand Texas" is a song about a lost love, a woman who left the singer to go with another man to "Big Texas"; "Jambalaya", while maintaining aCajuntheme, is about life, parties and stereotypical food ofCajun cuisine.  The narrator leaves topoleapiroguedown the shallow water of thebayou, to attend a party with his girlfriend Yvonne and her family.  At the feast they have Cajun cuisine, notablyJambalaya,crawfish pieandfilégumbo, and drink liquor fromfruit jars. Yvonne is his [ma] "chère amie", which is Cajun French for "my dear (female) friend" or more likely to mean "my girlfriend".
Williams recorded the song on June 13, 1952, his first recording session in six months, atCastle Studioin Nashville with backing provided byJerry Rivers(fiddle),Don Helms(steel guitar),Chet Atkins(lead guitar), Chuck Wright (bass) and probablyErnie Newton(bass).The recording Williams made differs significantly from Mullican's, which was released in the same month as Williams' version but with a different order of verses and extra rhyming couplets.
Since the original melody of the song was from "Grand Texas", the song is a staple of Cajun culture. However, although Williams kept a Louisiana theme, the song is not a true cajun song, which helped the song gain widespread popularity:
Released in July 1952, it reached number one on the U.S. country charts for fourteen non-consecutive weeks.Williams performed "Jambalaya" at theLouisiana Hayrideas part of his "homecoming" in fall, 1952 (after being fired from theGrand Ole Opry). A live recording released as part of a series of Hayride performances includes outbursts of applause.Another unreleased version is included in the 2017 CD set,At the Louisiana Hayride Tonight.
After Williams released his version, Cajuns recorded the song again using Cajun instruments. However, they used Williams' lyrics translated into the Cajun French language. "Jambalaya" remains one of Hank Williams' most popular songs today. International, translated or derived versions exist at least in Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, French, Italian, Polish, German, Spanish, Estonian and Swedish.
A demo version of Williams singing "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" with just his guitar, likely recorded in 1951,is also available. Williams composed a sequel to the song from the female perspective, "I'm Yvonne (Of the Bayou)", recorded byGoldie Hill. It was not as popular. As with "Jambalaya" there is speculation that Williams may have written this song with Mullican and their friend Jimmy Rule.