Redbone: Witch Queen of New Orleans

Remarks:

My favourite Redbone song and their first hit. In 1971 it went to #2 on the pop charts in Britain and #21 in their native US. The song is about a real person, Marie Laveau. There are at least seven other songs about her.

The Vegas brothers, Pat and Lolly, form the heart of the band. They are from California, a mix of Yaqui, Shoshone and Mexican, though their music has a Louisiana influence. They have played on the records of Tina Turner, James Brown, Little Richard, Elvis, Sonny & Cher and others. Pat says they were an influence on Jimi Hendrix, but my 256-page book on Hendrix says nothing about them.

See also:

• songs, the 1970s
  • Redbone: We Were All Wounded at Wounded Knee
• Welcome to Native American Heritage Month 2016
• Marie Laveau
• Jimi Hendrix

Lyrics:

Marie, Marie
La voodoo, veau
She’ll put a spell on you

Marie, Marie
La voodoo, veau
She’ll put a spell on you
Marie, Marie
La voodoo, veau
She’s the witch queen – oh
Of New Orleans

Of New Orleans

I’m gonna tell you a story
Strange as it now seems
Of zombie, voodoo, gris gris
And the Witch Queen of New Orleans

She lived in a world of magic
Possessed by the devils skew
From a shack near the swamplands
Made of mud-brown brick
Marie stirred the witches brew

Marie, Marie
La voodoo veau
She’ll put a spell on you

Marie, Marie
La voodoo veau
She’ll put a spell on you

Marie Marie
La voodoo veau
She’s the Witch Queen – of New Orleans

Of New Orleans

Dime or a nickel anyone could buy
Voodoo of any kind
She had potions and lotions, herbs
and tanna leaves
Guaranteed to blow your mind

Early one morning into mud, the swamp dew
Vanished Marie with hate in her eyes
Though she never returned
All the Cajuns knew
A Witch Queen never dies.

Marie, Marie
La voodoo, veau
She’ll put a spell on you

Marie, Marie
La voodoo, veau
She’ll put a spell on you

Marie, Marie
La voodoo, veau
She’s the witch queen – oh
Of New Orleans

Source: A-Z Lyrics.