Annotation:Love Bridge Waltz
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LOVE BRIDGE WALTZ (La valse du pont d'amour). Cajun, Waltz. A Mixolydian {Doucet/Sing Out}: A Major {LeJeune/Francois}. Standard tuning (fiddle). ABCD {Doucet/Sing Out}: AA(Vocal)BAA(Vocal)BA(Vocal)BBA {Francois}. Traditional. A related song, according to Raymond Francois (1990), is Ambrose Thibodeaux's "Valse Independance (La)." The "Eunice Two-Step" is a duple-time setting of the melody. "Love Bridge Waltz" (backed with "Evangeline Special") was recorded in 1948 in Houston, Texas, by accordion player Iry LeJeune and fiddler Floyd LeBlanc, their first single. The recording was a regional hit, and helped usher in a renewed interest in Cajun music. Lejune, the visually handicapped son of a cotton farmer, is still considered one of the best Cajun accordion players and vocalists today.
Source for notated version: Michael Doucet (La.) [Sing Out]; Iry LeJeune [1] (1928-1955, La.) [Francois].
Printed sources: Francois (Yé Yaille Chère!), 1990; pp. 205-207. Sing Out, vol. 35, No. 3, Fall 1990; p. 8.
Recorded sources: Goldband Records GB-LP7741, Iry LeJeune. Goldband Records SFC CD-713, "The Legendary Iry Lejeune." Opera Records 105A (78 RPM), Lejune & LeBlanc (supported by Virgil Bozeman's Oklahoma Tornadoes) (1948).
See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]
See/hear the waltz played on accordion on youtube [3]
Hear a clip from Lejeune's 1948 recording [4]
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