Fais do-do

A fais do-do dance near Crowley, Louisiana in 1938

A fais do-do is a Cajun dance party; the term originated before World War II.

According to , the parties were named for "the gentle command ('go to sleep') young mothers offered bawling infants."^[1] He quotes early Cajun musician Edwin Duhon of the Hackberry Ramblers:

"She'd go to the cry room, give the baby a nipple and say, 'Fais do-do.' She'd want the baby to go to sleep fast, 'cause she's worried about her husband dancing with somebody else out there."^{[citation needed]}

"Do-do" itself is a hypocoristic shortening of the French verb dormir (to sleep), used primarily in speaking to small children. The phrase is comparable to the American English “go night-night” or "beddy-bye",^{[citation needed]}, and is embodied in an old French lullaby, a song sung to children when putting them down for the night. Its existence in Cajun culture as a source for dances, or bands, comes from an affection for the term itself.^{[citation needed]}

Joshua Caffery, however suggests the true derivation is more plausibly the dance call dos à dos (back to back), the do si do call of Anglo-American folk dance; and that sources such as Duhon are merely "repeating the same apocryphal explanation known by almost anyone who lives in Southern Louisiana."^[2]

Occurrences include the following:

An annual bash held by Sheriff Harry Lee of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, raising money for his reelection campaigns and for charity^{[citation needed]}
The November 28, 2006 broadcast of NPR's All Things Considered^{[citation needed]}
In Aaron Neville's 1993 "Louisiana Christmas Day"
In the 1986 film Belizaire the Cajun (set in 1859)^{[citation needed]}
A mention in Brenda Lee's 1958 song "Papa Noel", on the B-side of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"
In the lyrics of Bayou Jubilee, by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, on the album, Dream. "Nothing in this world such a pure delight, as a fais-do-do on a Saturday night."
In the lyrics of "Diggy Liggy Lo" song and lyrics written by Terry J. Clement.
In the 1989 film J'ai Été Au Bal/I Went to the Dance by Les Blank, Chris Strachwitz, Maureen Gosling.
In the 1944 film Dark Waters starring Merle Oberon.
In the Landry series by V.C. Andrews

References[]

^ Notes from the Roots n' Blues CD "Cajun Dance Party - Fais Do-Do" Sony, 1994.
^ Caffery, Joshua. "The Folk Etymology of the Fais Do-Do: A Note". Folklife in Louisiana. Retrieved 17 April 2018.

External links[]

"Fais do" (1998–2010)
"Mama Lisa’s World :Children's Songs and Nursery Rhymes", Lisa Yannucci (2010)

[humphr-1] Notes from the Roots n' Blues CD "Cajun Dance Party - Fais Do-Do" Sony, 1994.

[2] Caffery, Joshua. "The Folk Etymology of the Fais Do-Do: A Note". Folklife in Louisiana. Retrieved 17 April 2018.

[1]

[2]