If you have ever been to a Cajun dance hall, you have heard somebody yell "AAAIIIEEE!!!"  There's just something about the music of South Louisiana that inspires that sort of reaction.  Two separate styles of music embrace and are embraced by the culture of South Louisiana,  Cajun Music & Zydeco Music. Cajun Music, with it's long history, is traditional.  The history of the Acadians can be told through the music of the Cajuns.  Most of the older songs and many of the newer ones are sung in Cajun French, the language of the Cajuns.  In fact, I believe that Cajun music has been responsible for keeping the language alive through a time when children were punished in school for speaking their native language.  Many modern Cajun musicians sing in both Cajun French and in English.  Cajun music is very emotional; songs of joy so infectious that they make you feel happy just listening to them, and songs of despair that will bring tears to your eyes even as you two step happily along. Speaking of two stepping (usually pronounced "Tu-stappin"), you can't sit still when a Cajun fiddle is playing!  Don't be intimidated by the intricate performance of those who learned this style of  dance standing on their grandfather's feet, the basics are very easy to pick up.  And once you get started, you can't stop.  You might be the next one yelling "AAAIIIEEE!" Zydeco Music is much newer.  With a tradition that only goes back fifty or so years, it's still in it's infancy.  The usual theme of Zydeco tunes is poverty, but there's no boudeting (pronounced "Boo-day'-ing", to boudet is to pout) allowed!  It's almost as if the musicians are laughing in the face of poverty!  The native language of Zydeco is English, but sometimes you might not recognize it as such.  Creole (as in Creole of Color) words and phrases spice up the lyrics, and sometimes English words are used in unexpected ways. It's kind of a Creole/English dialect sometimes.  Zydeco music has it's roots in the Black Community, but now days everyone is getting in on the act.  The same is true of Cajun music.  You don't have to be a native of South Louisiana to perform Zydeco or Cajun music, you just have to think like one.        Copyright © 1998