Iriel Down Pon the Bayou

There goes Irielle down pon the Bayou

She walks barefoot, i say me o my o

She plants her rice in the red soil

By the corn and beans she toils

By the corn and beans are her spoils  


It’s too late to wait for tomorrow

And it’s difficult to wade through sorrow

When nothings left you no longer can borrow

Yet the sun still shines down on the yarrow

And still the sun will shine tomorrow


Found my way down to the bayou

Where the live oaks trees grow, I say me o my o

When you come clean after a while

you learn alot about denial

We lived our lives in denial


The sounds at night keep me up o mi o

The life’s so rich down round the bayou

So circle round the campfire

Where the work is hard and for hire

Where the culture runs deep as the quagmire

Once time is cast it goes for awhile 

Yet the stories leave us with a smile

I told them from New Orleans to Ohio

Were I left my home o me o my o

We left our homes o my o


Rice is food that grows down in the Bayou

They plant it on there knees I say me o my o

Irielle left her home just for awhile

But now she’s back pon the Bayou

Irielle lives down pon the Bayou


Where the corn and beans grow for miles

In the Red River dirt, it’s so fertile

Can’t stay long, just passing by o

But will be back down to the Bayou

When the sun gets hot after a while


Felt it my soul down pon the bayou

We felt our souls down in the bayou

They touched our souls down in the Bayou

When I think of it it makes me sigh o

An experience you can’t buy no


But there’s hope for Irielle and her rice in the bayou

And for the people to heal their soil

With their work together and toil

The rice they grow is their spoil

With the rice they grow they heal their soil