Many parts of the lyrics consist of New Orleans dialect, like "dey misfortune" or "dey rope," and slang like "kon kon" or the "Ti" before a name ("Ti Alberta"), both, I think, used to express affection, and even a bit of the French that is spoken in NO as well ("Je suis the Grand Zombie"). More NO references are found in the "king of the Zulu," which refers to the Mardi Gras carnival, and the "gris gris," which is a voodoo talisman.
Other than that there's some typical American slang used in many blues songs, like "tom cat" (=woman-chaser) or "they jive me" (=they tease/fool me).
This album, and most of all this song, achieved seeping New Orleans' cultural spirit into the mainstream of the late 1960s music scene, with its hypnotizing mix of swampy blues, gospel, and soulful R&B.
Many parts of the lyrics consist of New Orleans dialect, like "dey misfortune" or "dey rope," and slang like "kon kon" or the "Ti" before a name ("Ti Alberta"), both, I think, used to express affection, and even a bit of the French that is spoken in NO as well ("Je suis the Grand Zombie"). More NO references are found in the "king of the Zulu," which refers to the Mardi Gras carnival, and the "gris gris," which is a voodoo talisman.
Other than that there's some typical American slang used in many blues songs, like "tom cat" (=woman-chaser) or "they jive me" (=they tease/fool me).
This album, and most of all this song, achieved seeping New Orleans' cultural spirit into the mainstream of the late 1960s music scene, with its hypnotizing mix of swampy blues, gospel, and soulful R&B.