Fais do do

A fais do-do is a Cajun dance party, originating before World War II.

According to Mark Humphrey, the parties were named for "the gentle command ('go to sleep') young mothers offered bawling infants." He quotes early Cajun musician Edwin Duhon of the Hackberry Ramblers:

"She'd go to the cry room, give the baby a nipple and say, 'Fais do-do.' She'd want the baby to go to sleep fast, 'cause she's worried about her husband dancing with somebody else out there."

"Do-do" itself is a shortening of the French verb dormir (to sleep), used primarily in speaking to small children. The phrase is comparable to the American English "beddy-bye",, and is embodied in an old French lullaby, a song sung to children when putting them down for the night. Its existence in Cajun culture as a source for dances, or bands, comes from an affection for the term itself.

Occurrences include the following:

An annual bash held by Sheriff Harry Lee of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, raising money for his reelection campaigns and for charity

The November 28, 2006 broadcast of NPR's All Things Considered

In the 1986 film Belizaire the Cajun (set in 1859)

A mention in Brenda Lee's 1958 song "Papa Noel", on the B-side of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"

In the lyrics of Bayou Jubilee, by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, on the album, Dream. "Nothing in this world such a pure delight, as a fais-do-do on a Saturday night."