The Flambeau Nation



Here come the flambeau 

on Mardi Gras night...

Bringing dark parades alive 

by sharing their light...


When the sun goes down 

and the nights get cool...

The Flambeau Nation 

is the Mardi Gras rule...

 

They light parades at night 

and scare aware the fright...

It’s the Flambeau Nation 

that makes Mardi Gras right...

 

It started way back then

in the time around 1875...

When the Flambeau Nation 

first became alive...


The Mardi Gras floats 

were pulled by a single mule...

And the flambeau lights 

kept away the freakish ghoul...

 

The flambeau carriers 

were a very special breed...

They had to be really strong 

and they had to have speed...


Many were blood related, 

brothers and cousins too were there...

That’s why the flambeau tradition 

remains a strong family affair...

 

They light parades at night 

and scare aware the fright...

It’s the Flambeau Nation 

that makes Mardi Gras right...

 

Sometimes it gets really spooky

when no flambeau are around...

You go down the wrong street 

and your heart starts to pound...


You hear footsteps around you, 

the hair stands on your neck...

But here comes the flambeau light, 

you’re no longer a freakin wreck...

 

The flambeau have been a tradition 

for a dozen or more decades...

Without the Flambeau Nation

we might not have night parades...


So throw out as many dollars 

as tonight your wallet can spare...

Cuz without the Flambeau Nation, 

night parades might not be there...

 

They light the parades at night 

and scare aware the fright...

It’s the Flambeau Nation 

that makes Mardi Gras right!


© 2020 Jeffrey Pipes Guice

Photograph: Skip Bolen


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