Meaning of paper in my shoe in from zydeco?

Answer 1

In the old days, when the young men would ask a girl for dance, she would write her name down on a piece of paper. The young pursuiter would keep the paper and present it to her when he wanted to dance with her.

That may be, but it's not the meaning of the song. A girl might not have pockets, but boys do, even in cajun areas! :)

The magical use of a paper spell to get a girl is the more common cajun explanation. Cajun magic isn't just a seasoning, and paper spells are still common. A boy goes to a juju woman or a gris gris man and gets a spell, usually with the girl's name on it, and puts it in his shoe, where it stays hidden. Then he courts the girl, hoping the "papier" will help him get some attention, and maybe another date.

Alternate suggestions range from the claim that you put paper money in your shoe to keep it safe, or another hoodoo explanation that he put the name of an enemy in your shoe, and step on them, and that would keep 'his baby" safe, or that he kept his marriage license in his shoe, and was secretly married to the girl.

The "official" explanation by Boozoo Chaviz, who made the song popular in 1954 was that he had holes in his shoes, and put paper or cardboard soles in them. Maybe, but he isn't the original author.

Interestingly, there are also claims that much older versions say "pepper" not "paper", or even "pebble", but then the oldest goes back to "paper", so there seems to be some confusion even among those that sang the song.

So, I think the most likely explanation of the original intent is that it refers to a love charm kept in the shoe to give the boy confidence to approach a girl he likes.

Answer 2

In zydeco music, "paper in my shoe" refers to a style of dancing characterized by shuffling and scraping one's foot on the floor to create a rhythmic percussion sound. The phrase is often used in songs to describe a lively and energetic dancing style associated with zydeco music.