50-Year-Old Songs: Louisiana 1927

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And a slap-happy Saturday to y’all! I hope you’re enjoying your weekend. I’m planning on doing absolutely nothing to the best of my ability today. Except for this discussion, and let’s face it, the musicians did all the work. Fifty years ago. This can’t be that old. Louisiana 1927 - Randy Newman If you don’t care for Randy Newman’s voice, which I completely agree is an acquired taste, you can go on You Tube and find a video of actor Hugh Laurie singing this song quite admirably. Or you can be mesmerized by Aaron Neville’s rendition. Heck, I just came across a rendition from the Killers that was recorded at a concert earlier this year. I always go back to Newman’s version, because (a) he wrote it, and (b) the grittiness in his voice serves this song so well. This is my favorite Randy Newman song by a country mile. For a man who’s so well-versed in humor and sarcasm, he skipped that here (well, except for the dig at the politicians doing a show-your-face-to-make-people-think-you-care tour of the devastation) to give a haunting, eloquent account of one of the worst disasters in Louisiana history (or American history, for that matter). When Katrina hit New Orleans so hard this song found new life. Whether it’s 1927 or 2005, “six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline” is horrible. Louisiana 1927 Written by Randy Newman Recorded by Randy Newman From Good Old Boys, 1974 The river rose all day: