Marc Savoy and Dallas Roy with the Rambling Aces- "Prison Waltz"

In the 1940's Cajuns moved to East Texas cities like Port Arthur to follow the work demand. They brought their language and culture with them, playing at clubs around the area. The Rambling Aces played at many of these surrounding clubs including the Rodair Club.

During the 1950's and 1960's the climate in the US was perfect for independent operators. Huey Meaux of Crazy Cajun Records was one of them. Huey Meaux had convinced Floyd Soileau to release The Rambling Aces on Jin Records with their first release selling around 500 copies.

After a stretch with Soileau, The Rambling Aces began recording for Huey Meaux's Crazy Cajun label. Huey had started the label and the first several releases were those of the Rambling Aces. As they began recording and releasing their music, their popularity gained. Fans in Louisiana would make the 300 mile round trip to the Rodair Club in Port Acres on any given Saturday night. With the Rambling Aces, Meaux was involved as a manager and master of ceremonies at club dances. 

Marc Savoy was born near Eunice and growing up he fell in love with the accordion. When he was 12 he made one out of household items. Later on his father bought him a new accordion from the Sears Roebuck catalog. When he wasn't playing it, he was disassembling and reassembling it to see how it worked. Marc first met Andrew Cormier in 1964 when he made the trip to east Texas to hear the band at the Rodair Club. Marc was impressed by the musicianship of the band and with Andrew. The two hit it off and a life long friendship was formed.

Marc recorded with The Rambling Aces in two sessions. The first was in 1963 and the second was in 1964. While Andrew was primary accordion player for the Aces; Marc is the accordion player for these 2 sessions. The session in 1964 produced a number of recordings, including the "Prison Waltz".

On the recording were Dallas Roy on vocals, Rodney Lejeune on guitar, Marc Savoy on accordion, Walter Miller on fiddle, Raymond Cormier on steel guitar and Lionel Blanchard on bass guitar.

Dedans la prison, assis dessus mon lit,
après jongler à toi, tite fille comment j'vas faire.
O yéyaie, mon cœur est tout brisé 
après jongler à toi, catin, mais moi, j'm'en vas.

Hé, petite fille, quoi faire t'es comme ça? 
Aujourd'hui t'es après me quitter, 
'tite fille, tu veux plus me voir. 
Oh yéyaie, mon cœur est tout cassé,
dedans de la prison, comment j'vas faire?

This version is similar to "Prison Waltz" by Cleveland Mire recorded in 1951 and Lawrence Walker's "Creole Waltz". While there are many instances of the same melody used for different songs, the lyrics can vary. Canray Fontenot used a similar melody on "Les Barres De La Prison" which itself was based on Douglas Bellard and Kirby Riley's "La Valse La Prison" recorded in 1929.The Hackberry Ramblers recorded  a version of the song, "La Valse De Prison" in 1938.

Resources
Marc Savoy
Micheal Dupuy
John Broven- South To Louisiana
Wade Falcon-Early Cajun Music blog
lyrics- Stephane G.