Indian Red
- This article refers to the traditional New Orleans song; for the color see Indian red (color).
Indian Red is traditionally sung at the beginning and at the end of gatherings of Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans. It is a traditional chant that may have been first recorded by Sugar Boy Crawford in the 1950s. It has since been recorded many times by, among others, Dr. John and Wild Tchoupitoulas. Danny Barker is credited with a 1947 version that credits Danny Barker on guitar & vocals, Don Kirkpatrick on piano, Heywood Henry on baritone saxophone, and Freddie Moore.
Lyrics
- Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day[1]
- Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day
- We are the Indians, Indians, Indians of the nation
- The wild, wild creation
- We won't bow down
- Down on the ground
- Oh how I love to hear him call Indian Red
- I've got a Big Chief, Big Chief, Big Chief of the Nation
- The wild, wild creation
- He won't bow down
- Down on the ground
- Oh how I love to hear him call Indian Red
Notes
- ^ A corruption of a phrase from an old Creole song, "M'alle couri dans deser" (Wilson, Traditional Louisiana French Folk Music, 59; Mrs. Augustine Moore, interview by author, 1980. As cited in "The Use of Louisiana Creole in Southern Literature" by Sybil Rein, Creole: The History and Legacy of Louisiana's Free People of Color ed. Sybil Rein. Louisiana State University Press: 2000. ISBN 0-8071-2532-6 pg 124). "M'alle couri dans deser" is said to mean "I am going into the wilderness" ("Creole Slave Songs." The Century Magazine. Vol XXXI, No 6. April 1886. pg 820).