Marilou (AU1998-1071-004)

Marilou (AU1998-1071-004)

Excerpt from interview of Alberta Gagné (TC1998-1071-004) by Martha Pellerin. Part of a project (VFC1998-0007) on Franco-American song in New England funded by the Vermont Folklife Center and undertaken by Pellerin. Interview is one in a series of six conducted between 1995-01-09 and 1995-12-06 as an effort to document the French language song repertoire of Gagné.

“Marilou” is the Montreal songwriter, composer, pianist, and recording studio owner/producer Roméo Beaudry’s 1926 song, “Mary Lou.” Beaudry’s is a French-language setting of the 1926 hit song by the same name, with music by American band leader by Abe Lyman (1897-1957) and American American ragtime-and-Dixieland jazz pianist and composer. J. Russel Robinson (1892-1963). The lyrics to the original song were written by actor, director, producer and writer George Waggner (1894-1984), best known for directing Lon Chaney Jr. in the 1941 film The Wolf Man. Abe Lyman’s California Orchestra first recorded “Mary Lou” in March 1926; in December of that year, Montreal baritone Odilon Rochon recorded Beaudry’s setting for the Compo/Starr label (issue # 15309; matrix # E2633). Beaudry’s lyrics consisted of two verses with a refrain.

Alberta Gagné sang the first verse and then began to hesitate about the lyrics. She apparently had a manuscript of songs which she had written out lyrics for when she was in her early sixties; she located the song text, started from the beginning and sang the whole song. She afterwards related that she learned this song while honeymooning with her newlywed husband in August 1926.

You can see a more complete transcription of the lyrics to the Beaudry song in VFC2006-0002 Beaudoin Family Collection. MS2011-3222-038 Eva Lacourse Songbook. Pp. 66-67.

VFC1998-0007 Martha Pellerin Collection. TC1998-1071 interview with Alberta Gagné. Vermont Folklife Center Archive, Vermont Folklife Center, Middlebury, Vermont, United States of America.

Copyright (c) Vermont Folklife Center

Full Interview: vfc1998-0005_tc1998-1071

fra

vfc1998-0007_tc1998-1071-005a

vfc1998-0007_tc1998-1071-005

vfc1998-0007_tc1998-1071-005b

Marilou (first word)

Mary Lou

Il fait beau c'est le printemps

AG:  Did you ever heard the song "Marilou"

MP:        Marilou? .

AG:

 

(BEGIN SINGING)

Il fait beau c'est le printemps

La merveille en chantant,

Marilou, Marilou.

Le soleil met dans mon cœur,

Un doux rayon de bonheur,

Marilou, Marilou.

 

En passant par chez vous,

J’ai cherché un peu partout.

 

[Alberta Gagné hesitates, speaks with Martha and her daughter about the song, then starts from the beginning]:

 

ll fait beau c'est le printemps
La merveille en chantant,

Marilou, Marilou.
Le soleil met dans mon cœur,

Un doux rayon de bonheur,

Marilou, Marilou.

 

[Refrain] :

Marilou, Marilou,

En passant près d'chez vous,
Je me suis arrêté pour vous dire bonjour,
Et vous offrir quelques fleurs en gage d'amour.

Marilou, Marilou.

J'ai cherché un peu partout,

Et parmi les fleurs closes,
Je n'ai pas vu de roses,
Plus belle que vous, Marilou.

 

J'ai trouvé dans le jardin,

Du muguet, du jasmin,

Marilou, Marilou,

Et j'ai mis dans un bouquet,

Un doux baiser bien discret,

Oui, pour vous, Marilou.

            Refrain [repeat last three lines]

 

(END SINGING)

 

AG:        Voyons donc... l knew that song

LG:         Take that one until we come back

AG:        It's in the book, I know the word but. Tu sais en vieillissant, on viens, on sait pu rien.

MP:        This is a note book where you wrote down all the words to the songs you know.

AG:        Ya, l was around 62 years old when I wrote, 62 or 63 years old when I wrote all those songs while I knew them. I didn't want to forget them.

MP:        That's a great idea.

AG:        Marilou where are you, Marilou where are you.                 Le refrain est pas mal bon.

(BEGIN SINGING)

ll fait beau c'est le printemps

La merveille en chantant Marilou, Marilou

Le soleil met dans mon coeur

Un doux rayon de bonheur, Marilou, Marilou

Marilou, Marilou

 

En passant pres d'chez vous

Je me suis arrete pour vous dire bonjour

Et vous offrir quelques fleurs en gage d'amour

Marilou, Marilou

 

J'ai cherche un peu partout

Et parmi les fleurs closes

Je n'ai pas vu de roses

Plus belle que vous Marilou

J'ai trouve dans le jardin

Du muguet, du jasmin.

Marilou, Marilou

 

Et j'ai mis dans un bouquet

Un doux baiser bien discret

Oui pour vous Marilou

Marilou, Marilou

 

En passant pres d'chez vous

Je me suis arrete pour vous dire bonjour

Et vous offrir quelques fleurs en gage d'amour

Marilou, Marilou

 

J'ai cherche un peu partout

Et parmi les fleurs closes

Je n'ai pas vu de roses

Plus belle que vous Marilou

Et parmi les fleurs closes

Je n'ai pas vu de roses

Plus belle que vous Marilou

(END SINGING)

AG:        It's a good thing I had the book, I know I sang it in my dream, in my bed sometimes at night, those songs come to my mind and I sing not sing out loud but just, pass them all over. I know it.

MP:        Is that a song you sang often.

AG:        No, I don't sing that very often, I heard it, I heard it on my wedding, we went on our honeymoon in Canada. There was that song.  And, I don't know how come I got it, how come I got it.

MP:        How long ago was that.

AG:        In I926. Ya, it's I926.  It's another old song.

strophic, four-line verse. First verse and refrain fragment

sound cassette (analog)