The Legend of Clément

The legend of Clément

The Family

Clément he was a generous soul

He loved his simple life

Raising all his many childrin’ 

With his adoring wife

But it hadn’t always been this way

So let me take you back

When Clément was a little hatchling

Clinging to his momma’s back 

His father spent from dawn till dusk

Hunting for their food 

It took a lot of time and work

To feed his growing brood 

His youngest child was named Clément

He was number thirty-three

He grew up strong and fell in love

And raised a family

On that mighty river delta 

Where the Mississippi reigns supreme 

In the Louisiana marshes 

Just west of New Orleans 

Growing Up

But let’s go back to when Clément

Was just a tiny little lad 

Swimming along in single file 

Behind his mom and dad

For Clément came from a long long line 

His French ancestors were many

They’d settled in this bayou swamp

And lived right here for centuries

Before those hungry Cajuns

The LeBlanc’s and Ribochaux’s

Came flooding in from Nova Scotia

With their dinghies and their pirogues

Those men had hungry mouths to feed

They’d eat anything that swam

His dad would say, “We won’t be lunch!”

Their Creole souls be dammed 

Now crawfish have good vision

Each eye is on a swivel

They can see both front and back

It’s really beneficial 

Now Clement’s eyes were really keen 

No others were his equal 

His dad would boast that his son’s 

Were better than an eagle’s

The years went by and Clément grew

Into a strong crustacean

And he was chosen in the Spring

To lead the big migration

The Cajun Invasion 

Now Clément he had an idea

How his vision could help out

He’d shimmy up a Cypress tree

And from there he’d plot the route

He climbed up through the Spanish moss

Till his view was unobstructed 

The swamp stretched out for miles below

As he peered out on the bayou

Way off in the distance

At least a mile or more

He could see at least a dozen men

Standing on the shore

His eyes they did not fail him

And as they stood there on the bank

One man threw something in the water

Clément watched it as it sank

The water shook! The sound so loud..

So loud he almost dropped 

He watched a thousand crawfish

Come floating to the top

Clément just stared in horror

At his fellow crawdad’s fate

He had to get home quickly

Before it was too late

The Plan

He skedattled down that Cypress 

As quick as quick could be

And swam back to his crawfish hole

To warn his family

First he had to catch his breath

Then summoned all to hear

How he’d climbed the tree..the boom he’d heard

And all they had to fear

He told them that he had a plan 

As risky as was bold

He’d need a group of volunteers

To stop those Cajuns cold

A dozen brave and fearless 

Stepped up to heed the call

They raised him on their shoulders

And gave the battle call

“We’ll defeat them!” Clément shouted

“A lesson will be learned”

“We’ll drive them from our beloved swamp”

“Never to return”

The Rescue

They waited until nighttime

To start their desperate scheme

And swam up to the Cajun’s camp

a mile or two upstream

The campfire was still burning 

But slowly going out

They could hear the men inside their tents

Their snoring was that loud

Clément and his companions 

Saw tied up to the shore 

Mesh bags bulging with crawfish

A dozen maybe more 

They quietly swam up to them

And much to their surprise 

The crawfish were all squirming 

And very much alive

When they saw Clément they asked him

Have you come to save us all

Or we will certainly end up

At a Cajun crawfish boil

They said they didn’t remember 

It happened way too fast

One minute they were swimming

Then they heard a blast

When they awoke they were all trapped 

With no way to escape

Please help us if you can my friends

Before it is too late

He told them not to worry

“We’re here to set you free”

“And put and end to these evil men”

“And their dastardly deeds”

The bags were all cinched tightly

But that was no excuse

They used their claws to tug and pull 

And soon the knot was loose

Then they freed the others 

Three thousand maybe more

They all swam up to their new leader

Standing on the shore

Revenge

Clément began to speak quite firmly

his Raised claws he slowly clinched 

“These Cajuns must be made to feel”

“Our collective crawfish pinch”

He swam to where the Cajun’s boats

Were tied to Cypress stumps

He tightroped across a rope and fell

In the first one with a thump

They watched him in amazement 

At the courage he displayed 

Then one by one they followed him

He made them all feel brave

The boats were stacked with boxes

With words in red to heed

Written in bold letters

That Clément knew how to read 

 D-Y-N-A- M-I-T-E  

He said each one aloud

“We must destroy these deadly sticks”

“Right here and right now”

Then he saw below those letters

Others written in bold blue

EXPLOSIVES! CAREFUL!  DONT GET WET!

And he knew just what to do 

“Quick!” he said “Open the boxes”

“Pickup the sticks inside”

“And throw them in the bayou”

“So no crawfish will die”

When the boxes were all empty

Clément spoke up once more

“Untie these boats and let them drift”

“And throw away the oars”

The last boat was finally moving

Clément hopped up on the bow

“Goodbye my friends, go to your homes”

“You are all safe now”

“We must go help our families”

“It’s time for us to migrate”

“I only hope We make it there”

“Before it is too late”

And with that and a final push 

From their newfound friends

Clément and his dozen companions

Disappeared around the bend

The Migration

It had been a long night

Everyone fell fast asleep 

Bang! They came to a sudden stop

Lodged in a fallen tree 

“I know where we are” said Clément

“We all will be home soon”

“And if we start to migrate now”

“We’ll reach Thibodeaux by June”

They went and got their families

And came back to the boat

Together they all pushed it loose

And it began to float

The day was warm, the current strong

The bayou in the Spring

They all relaxed, safe at last

And one began to sing

The Legend of Clément 

(Sung to the tune of Dixie)

Listen hear my children

About the bravest of crawdads

Who took on all the Cajuns 

And whipped their butts real bad

He led his kind to safety

In a pilfered Cajun pirogue

To a place far down the bayou 

To the town of Galliano

For there they treat the crawfish

With the respect that they deserve

No crawfish pie or etouffee

Or creole will be served 

So when you go a crawfishing

And set out all your traps

You best use bacon for your bait

Or some nice fatback

The Louisiana swamp is cruel

There’s one thing you must know 

The ghost of old Clément might steal

Your catch and your pirogue

Your family they will cry out

They’ll weep for you and moan

When the gators eat you up

And then spit out your bones

The Moral

So the moral of this story 

Is never try to cheat

Be careful when it’s crawdads

That you want to eat

For Clément is always watching 

So you’d better play it fare

If you try to fish with dynamite

You had best beware

And if you listen closely 

You can still hear it to this day

All the crawdads cheering

Clément! Hip Hip Hooray!

John snelling

01:10:22

(See definitions and pronunciations below)

Clément - Pronounced: “clay-mint”

First Names Meanings - Clément

Physically strong and masculine, Clément is rather magnetic and emanates self-confidence. But one should never judge a book by its cover, and while it is true that Clément is dynamic, resourceful, resolute and can even appear gruff or abrupt; he is a big softie, first and foremost. If he participates in group or associative activities, he will want to be the leader! He has an innovative mind and thinks that he can change the world.

Thibodeaux - Pronounced: “ti-buh-dough”

Thibodeaux  is a city in Louisiana and the parish seat of, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish.

Galliano 

Galliano is an unincorporated community and census-designated place on the Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States.

Pirogue - Pronounced: “pee-row”

Pirogues in the United States are associated particularly with the Cajuns of the Louisiana marsh. The early Creole pirogues were cypress dugouts but today they are usually flat-bottomed boats. Pirogues are not usually intended for overnight travel but are light and small enough to be easily taken onto land.