PAYS D'EN HAUT--ROOSEVELT HOTEL BY DOUGLAS JOHN CAMERON

Shot by Dan English. Sound mix by Benj Rowland. Song by Douglas John Cameron.

[@cormacbailey775]

As an Irish man I love everything about this,superb

[@rgg765]

Love the couple dancing and so enjoy the song. Would love to hear more from this group.

[@denisdantan8609]

Très joli, agréable :-) le couple de danseurs est formidable

[@alanrogers9597]

Love this, wish the band posted more flicks of their performances. music and faces are so enjoyable

[@conniewolf7300]

Love that Cajun music!

[@barrywhitley2535]

Really enjoyed the song and the video. Keep 'em coming.

[@jackfletcher1000]

That guy sure plays a mean National guitar.

[@oldcoog]

Spent an evening at a show at the Roosevelt Hotel on our honeymoon in 1968. Thanks for that memory.

[@Jamesdylandean]

I was in the service in the nineteen sixties and on a series of weekend passes met a local girl, a tall blonde and gracious southern belle. We danced on the old sternwheeler THE PRESIDENT and we became enthralled with each other. We didn't know each other long enough to have fallen in love. The last night that I saw her (the sixth time) I found out that I had lost her to a really fine acting Marine sergeant. He was the better man for her at the time and after a couple of weeks of feeling dismal, I realized that in this case it was all for the best. But, that night I stayed in the really cool old fashioned hotel near the music center near the river. i am pretty sure it was the ROOSEVELT. Sometimes we suffer such losses, especially when we are young, to prepare us to appreciate the wonderful things that come to us later. Such it was for me. I still get choked up when I tell the story out loud all these almost sixty years later, though.

[@johnridgeway6718]

Yep

[@andrewmcdonald7077]

I loved your story. I was a soldier too; think we all have similar stories.

[@steveweisz3284]

How to sad. Life teaches some hard lessons. Thanks for sharing.

[@sweetcaroline2060]

Thanks for the story. Ahh....yes. Youth is wasted on the young. 💋❤💔

[@Jamesdylandean]

@@sweetcaroline2060 Not if you learn from it.

[@michaelcoburn8147]

Just mighty purty. That's all you can say. Mighty purty.

[@TheBrooklinedave]

love it ... wish I was closer by !!!!

[@larrymcclendon6462]

One of my memories is being able to stay at the Roosevelt for the 1972 Sugar Bowl, Auburn and Pat Sullivan vs. Oklahoma and Jack Mildren. Lord, how nice.

[@williamhulsey9209]

Oh my, went to that game on a bus from Memphis, stayed with a friend at his brother's place by Tulane on St Charles, drank and other combustibles, rode the Trolley to the quarter, only took exact change (35 cents) and we were often too befuddled to do the math and had to ask strangers if we had the amount right. Colder than you'd think. I was 6'2" and Tim taller and heavier, leather jackets those fruit boots that had zippers...we staggered thru the dark back streets behind the quarter and reminded each other to be "ready" in case of trouble...but no one passed us...looking down the street it finally dawned on us that people were crossing the street when they saw us to avoid us. Hilarious. In an old antique store at the edge of the qtr I bought a cameo ring for a girl back home in Oklahoma that I barely new. She was shocked at the gift. We've been married for 49 years.

[@arlettepireyre7194]

Like,like, like,la France !!!😘

[@ronniecaptain]

Reminds me of the years of canoeing in the Atchafalaya and visits with my friend, Greg Guirard.

[@michaelhermiston]

big wide smile on my face... very lovely folks

[@guythehood]

michael hermiston :) me too

[@djczep]

I love this version of my tune! Thanks so much to Curtis, Jim, and everyone else!

[@michaelcoburn8147]

I have watched this video seven times tonight and love the song, love the video. Absolutely beautiful. Would this song be available on CD?

[@barrywhitley2535]

Very nice tune and song. Feel proud of yourself Douglas.

[@williamgunter6801]

Can we all please learn more information about this group??!! I can only find two songs on KZbin or anywhere on the web. Both are from this same dance session. We all want more!!!

[@PaulHeaton-bn8sd]

3:23 3:25

[@michaelcoburn8147]

Been four years since you posted this. Would love to see some more.

[@darrellwhittington4645]

2nd video I've seen of these great people,,I still want to see the face of the young lady playing the fiddle,,she is so alluring,,,also love the dancers,,,,i was working for pepsi delivering to a small place that had cajun music,,,dancing,,and i was learning the dance,,,,I'm 72,,I'm running out of time,,🤣🤣,,,not yet any time soon

[@darrellwhittington4645]

just paid attention to the video, saw the lady playing the violin,,she's gorgeous !❤

[@tomtd]

I also found her fascinating, seemed to be deliberately hiding her face under that hat she’s also in another video from this band, then in the final few frames we get a glance at a really beautiful woman, maybe she’s shy but she’s a stunner.

[@Jamesdylandean]

Love your great sound.

[@Jamesdylandean]

Here is one from a guy who commented on another offering from me. His name is included: John Bird Believe it or not , this great little band is from Peterborough, Ontario in Canada. So much fun to dance to. I also get together to jam regularly with the two dancers, who are also musicians. The band’s name is Pays d’en Haut, which was what the Quebecois fur traders called the “high country” or back country where the Voyageurs would travel by canoe to buy furs from Indigenous peoples-Anishinabe, Cree, Dene and many others. French-Canadian and Métis music is also fiddle and accordion based and shares roots with Cajun music. The Cajun people were originally French settlers in Eastern Canada (called l’Acadie or Acadia) who came to Louisiana after being expelled from their homelands by the English. So this is a case of the music circling back to Canada.

[@longjohnsilver7986]

Everything lovely

[@paulgoodridge7957]

Who is the lady

[@likeamiracle7487]

WoW, the music the song and the dance attract me so deeply, I feel like I'm just being there dancing and singing. does this hotel still exist? hope one day I can really be there! thank you sir for sharing this beautiful and lovely scene with me.

[@robdudgeon4003]

please Sir!!! may I have some more?

[@Jamesdylandean]

I have not heard from the lady in question, so I am posting the story that I wrote about it, no insult is intended to anyone involved in this momentous event in my life. THE LOST CHARLOTTE: A Sad Romance G-rated About sixty years back from the writing of this story, a young U.S.A.F. air-man was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in its tech school. He was alone with no friends at the time and in the first time away from his home and family. Although he was serving honorably, he wasn’t into the macho atmosphere of a lot of his military contemporaries and so sought out friends and activities that he could share in off base. His two prime interests were roller skating and seeking out knowledge of the area of the country that he was then serving in. The roller skating worked out fine after he changed over to dance skating; and he also bought some really expensive skates. The local girl skaters took an especially helpful attitude towards his progress in this sport. And it stood him in great stead over the years, as he could readily find partners at any rink that he skated at for the duration of his participation in this sport. There were always at least four times the lady dance skaters as men dance skaters at every rink that he participated at from then on. His other area of interest developed to be New Orleans. He went there often over the eight months he was in military tech school. Sometimes he rode the bus; but other times he and other airmen would gather their funds together and pay the gas expenses of one of the few guys that had a car. He loved the party atmosphere and the spritely music. He wasn’t interest-ed in drinking at this time. He was officially too young to drink in Louisiana at the time anyway, but the realistic situation was that if you could reach over the bar, they would serve you. The music coming from the open doors was a delight and he gave special notice to the Preservation Hall marching band when it came by him. He had to be careful about getting too close to the doors of the bars, though. They had rough guys outside to hustle people in to their establishments. I was nimble and so nev-er fell victim to that. On one of my first trips to N.O., I wandered down the main street and found myself at a pier that stuck out into the river. At the end of it on the water side, was an ancient looking sternwheeler boat. On it, it had a sign that said, THE PRESIDENT, dances as scheduled. With that I asked a lady, who was also looking at it, “Can you tell me about the boat?” She looked me over, and I guess my uniform stilled any fears she might have had. “It is the steam sternwheeler, The President, just like it says. There are dances scheduled on it on Friday and Saturday evenings between six in the even-ing and nine. It costs ten dollars to get on, but with that everything is paid for, except for alcoholic drinks. The activities on the boat are heavily chaperoned, to avoid drunkenness or any other misbehavior. And because of this, even the daughters of the rich come here to dance, because of the safety. Anything else you would like to know?” “No, that about covers it!” And then she walked away. I looked at my watch and it said four-thirty, so there was ninety minutes before it would leave. So, I tried to think of where to pass the time, since I had the ten dollars for the entry fee. I don’t remember where that was, but it was not in any of the alleys of the Bourbon Street area, because I had been warned about them the first time I came down here. When the plank came down for admission to the boat, I was one of the first to board. It seemed to have cabins, but they were locked. In the main hall where the dancing took place, there were side tables with snacks on them. If I remember correctly, the ladies tended to be the last to board. And they were dressed to the hilt, too. I was just this young and thin callow boy and I feared that none of the girls would dance with me. But, I had no trouble at all in getting partners, even though I was a terrible dancer to begin with. I guessed that the uniform calmed their fears, because the ship did have a military police presence to keep us in order. The first evening, I met a young local girl of about nineteen, to my seven-teen (soon to be eighteen.) She showed no reaction at all at my young age and she danced about a third of the dances with me that night. She worked with me to keep my feet off of hers, but not always to a successful effect. She did say that I was making progress as the night wore on. When the night was over, we walked down the plank together and she drifted off in the mist to where, I didn’t know. Probably, she went to a cab. I found one of my fellows about to go and so caught a ride back to the base with him. I couldn’t go down each week, but four more times I met up with her and she increased the time that she spent with me each time. I also improved to a considerable degree in my dancing. Perhaps, my skate dancing helped with that, too. On the quick dances, I just faked it as she showed me how it was done, but on the slow ones, she would like melt into my chest and arms. I became totally smitten with her. And she to some degree was attracted with me, too. On the sixth time for us to meet, I rented a room in the Roosevelt Hotel for the night. I had some vague hopes, but mostly, I didn’t want to try to find a way home, because I didn’t see any of my fellows in town that night. As I walked down the street, I could see her in the place that we had started to meet after the third encounter. She would then walk with her hand in mine to the boat. But, as I neared her, I could see that she was with a Marine Sergeant. I was going to veer off and leave her alone, but she was waving at me, and be-sides, I had never done anything improper with her. When I came up to them, he reached out his hand to shake mine and introduced himself as Frank Muster (at least this is the name I remember after all of these years.) I was impressed that he didn’t try to intimidate me with his strength. And he was a very solid built man and a fit one, too. I was slim and fit from my skating, but no match for him. At this, she excused herself to go to the ladies’ room, leaving us looking at each other. I had no idea of what to say, so he began the conversation, “I take it that you have been taking care of Charlotte for me for these last few months.” I drew another blank as to what to say, so I remained silent to not prove what a ‘wuss’ that I was. He paused for a minute and then continued, “I should let you know that she is very fond of you.” If I wasn’t lost as what to say before, I was now. And he could see my con-fused condition and evidently understood it perfectly. He then told me, “I am sorry, James, but I have very bad news for you. I have been dating Charlotte when I get in town for over a year now, and today I asked her to marry me. She accepted. And she will be leaving with me when I go, and you won’t ever see her again. I was devastated by all of this, and as she was coming back to us, I could tell that while he was exuberant over winning her hand he felt really bad at the hurt-ing of me in the process. So, he whispered to me before she got to us, that we were going to take her on the ship together and her two favorite men were going to dance her feet off. And it happened just so, with I and the marine alternating dancing with her for the three hours. When the dance was over, we together accompanied her down the gang plank. He then wandered off about twenty yards, and she turned and took me into her arms. With tear soaked eyes, she told me, “I am so sorry James, so sorry.” And then I got the only kiss that I had ever gotten from her. And a powerful hug, too. I looked her in her eyes and with mine almost blinded by my own tears, I in a choked up voice told her, “It is alright, Charlotte. It is alright!” And then she turned and walked over to Frank and took his hand and they walked into their future. I, with a heavy heart, moved to the hotel and slept uneasily until morning. I then caught a bus back to the base and basically went incommunicado with my fellow student airmen. After about two weeks of sorrow, I found myself in my room after classes one day on my bed and the thought crossed my mind. ‘Why am I so distressed over this, Frank is a fine fellow, and I am not even eighteen yet, I am in no place in my life to take on such a magnificent woman. So, I shook myself clear and went on with my studies, skated with the girls and a few months later left the area to go to Alaska. NOTE: You have probably guessed that this story is about me. It is, and it is as true as my memory can make it. And yes, even after all of the years, I still get choked up a little when I orally tell the story of my Lost Charlotte. The names used in the story are the ones that I remember, and my author name is a writer’s name, though my first name really is James. This story is copyrighted.

[@jrcrawford4]

Barefoot fiddler man has a great Balfa sound on that solo.

[@mdmarko]

Looks like everyone had a turn with the Crown Royal before doing this song. Don't see the bottle anymore.

[@SuperBullyone]

The Roosevelt Hotel was my mothers favorite Hotel. If she went shopping in New Orleans she could have all her purchases sent back to the Roosevelt Hotel. That was a service the hotel offered. She thought it was great.

[@sevkiye1940]

These two dancers are special, just sailing with the rhythm - but who are they?

[@pamelaparker508]

I’m assuming that the man is Brian Mitolo. Look at his photo . They’re very graceful and relaxed.

[@jaynemaidens7008]

Yes indeed who is the lady.?.

[@RandallSchwed]

👍

[@ngzcaz]

I can't find this song anywhere else. .. I'd love to know the chord sequence for a guitar.

[@guythehood]

Douglas John Cameron, the songwriter, is on KZbin and you could contact him.

[@ngzcaz]

Figured it out.. out of G... odd chord is an A. Great waltz beat to this song. Really liked the whole group including the guy playing the Accordion ? I'm not sure what the proper term is but he sure enjoyed what he was doing. Old time fiddle playing and harmonizing in an old barn. Does it get better than that ?

[@ngzcaz]

And last, but certainly not least a pretty girl with a smile while dancing. That ought to cover it.

[@jerryeasley945]

Are the lyrics published anywhere?

[@guythehood]

Douglas John Cameron, the songwriter, is on YT. You could contact him.

[@redblack8414]

Look at the standing fiddler. He is barefoot.

[@jeanbruel3184]

I love it . Super !!!!!