Eh La Bas is a

traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

. Originally it was sung with

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...

lyrics but was later given French lyrics and the common title from the French lyrics. There have been numerous versions, including English lyrics that refer to both the Cajun and French versions, and all employ a

call and response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

Lyrics

Original Louisiana Creole lyrics and English translation: French lyrics and English translation:

English lyrics

English lyrics by Louis Brown and Bob Stevens: : Eh la bas (Eh la bas) : Eh la bas (Eh la bas) : Eh la bas (Eh la bas) : Eh la bas (Eh la bas) : Tra-la-la (Tra-la-la) : Sis-Boom-Bah (Sis-Boom-Bah) : Eh la bas (Eh la bas) : Eh la bas (Eh la bas) : Well, I can't speak French, not in a pinch, so I don't know what it means. : But it sounds real good, like I know it would, like down in New Orleans. : I love to hear that clarinet burn, and hear them trambone glisses, : I'd like to sing French when I take my turn, but that ain't the kinda' band that this is! : Kid Ory sang that Cajun French in a fine ol' Creole way, : but the only Cajun I can say is "

Laissez les bons temps rouler The expression Laissez les bons temps rouler (alternatively Laissez le bon temps rouler, ) is a Louisiana French phrase. The phrase is a calque of the English phrase "let the good times roll", that is, a word-for-word translation of the English ...

!" : So let the good times roll my friends, and let the music play, : Tomorrow may never come to be, so let's live it up today!

Versions

As a traditional song it has no copyright and its origins are uncertain. It has been widely recorded by

bands since the 1940s: * The Creole Stompers — 1944 *

Kid Ory Edward "Kid" Ory (December 25, 1886 – January 23, 1973) was an American jazz composer, Trombone, trombonist and bandleader. One of the early users of the glissando technique, he helped establish it as a central element of Music of New Orle ...

's Creole Jazz Band — 1946 *

Paul Barbarin Adolphe Paul Barbarin (May 5, 1899 – February 17, 1969) was an American jazz drummer from New Orleans. Career Barbarin grew up in New Orleans in a family of musicians, including his father Isidore, three of his brothers (including Louis), and ...

— 1955 *

Chris Barber's Jazz Band Donald Christopher Barber (17 April 1930 – 2 March 2021) was an English jazz musician, best known as a bandleader and trombonist. He helped many musicians with their careers and had a UK top twenty trad jazz hit with "Petite Fleur" in 1959 ...

with Billie and De De Pierce in

Preservation Hall Preservation Hall is a jazz venue on St Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building is associated with a house band, a record label, and a non-profit foundation. History of the jazz hall In the 1950s, art de ...

, New Orleans — 1959 * The Original Tuxedo Jass Band — 1964 * Moise and Alida Viator with Eh, La-Bas! - 2003 *

Preservation Hall Jazz Band The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a New Orleans jazz band founded in New Orleans by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960s. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. In 2005, the Hall's doors were closed for a ...

References

{{authority control American music history Music of New Orleans Year of song unknown Songs with unknown songwriters

Lyrics

English lyrics

Versions

See also

References