By: E&P Staff Citizen journalism famously came to the fore at the Times-Picayune in New Orleans during and after the Hurricane Katrinia calamity, and now the paper has introduced a special section at its site bringing together much of the reader-generated commentary and photos. It's called "Your Stories."
One of the first contributions was the posting of new lyrics to the Hank Williams' bayou classic "Jambalaya," as updated by three locals (who had to relocate to Lufkin, Texas), David "The Nac" Naccari, Sandra Thornburg, and Steven T. Jones. They call it "Katrinalaya."
A link takes you to a site, which claims that the musicians have performed it in dozens of venues, and the recently-recorded song is becoming the "battle hymn" of hurricane recovery: "Net proceeds from the sale of the CD are dedicated to hurricane relief. These funds will help rebuild the homes and culture of historic New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, which is in desperate need of vital resources in the aftermath of the horrific destruction inflicted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita."
from "Katrinalaya"
Good by Joe, me gotta go, me oh my oh
Cause the whole subdivision's now a bayou
Levee broke - no time to joke - me oh my oh
Gotta go contra-flow to where it's high-oh
Oh, hurricane, you're a pain, me oh my oh
'Cause the bowl that I called home is filling up-oh
Didn't pack - what's on my back is all I got-oh
Filed FEMA claims to ease our pain when we got out-oh
Oh contra-flow - we gotta go, to Lone Star land-oh
Get those Aggie and Longhorn fans to lend a hand-oh
Glad that I'm here and not down there, me oh my oh
Son of a gun, ain't havin fun on the bayou
Thank our new friends and go back home
When it's okay-oh
And we'll rebuild the city that we love-oh
Make houses high so we won't cry the next time-oh
Son of a gun, don't need more floods on the bayou
--copyright Sony/ATV Music Publishing 2005.
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