Having grown up in Sulphur, LA, a small Cajun-Catholic town on the western part of the state, I've been around Cajun and Creole music since I was very little. Later on in life I studied the music with Ron Yule, a historian of Louisiana fiddle music and without a doubt one of the best fiddle players in that part of the country. He's written several books on the early Cajun fiddlers of Louisiana and interviewed many of them personally.
One of the early fiddler players he introduced me to was Harry Choates. It was Choates who composed and recorded the song known as "Devil In the Bayou" which became the title of his album recorded with Goldstar Records in 1946. Choates also composed many famous Cajun tunes including "Jole Blon."
Here is a link to the song.
But really, its "Devil in the Bayou" that continues to fascinate his contemporaries and intrigue listeners. Demons are often a common topic in Cajun-Creole folklore. Among the most famous (and creepy) stories of haunted bayous is the account of feu follets. Coming from the french word meaning "fool's fire," according to the book, Swapping Stories: Folktales From Louisiana, feu follets were reportedly unexplained glowing apparitions seen floating along the bayou at night. Many believed these glowing balls of light were demons that wandered the bayou, seeking to lead people astray into the dark.
Choates in his song "Devil IN the Bayou" brings to light the anxieties and terrors felt by the early superstitious Cajun peoples living along the bayou.
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