Give me Mardi Gras Day on the Avenue,
Give me a beignet-powdered kiss;
Give me a French Quarter morning,
As the sun clears the old river's mist.

Give me a King Cake porcelain doll,
Give me beads and the Times-Picayune;
Give me a Zatarain's crawfish boil,
On the seawall one evening in June.

Give me some coffee and chicory,
Give me some real Barq's Root Beer;
Give me a city where it snows
Only once about every ten years.

Give me a green neutral ground,
Give me a Mardi Gras Ball;
Give me a shrimp-oyster po-boy
From the grand old Port-of-Call.

Give me the Natchez calliope,
On a moonlight riverboat ride;
Give me some Buster's fried chicken,
With red beans and rice on the side.

Give me a moss-covered oak,
Let me ride the old streetcar again,
One day, I'll be back in New Orleans,
But she'll live in my heart until then.

-- Author Unknown
Give Me Mardi Gras Day on the Avenue
...
Beads thrown during a parade the previous
day hang on trees & electric wires on St. Charles Avenue.