Bernard Walter Lomax: Prominent Figures in the Carrollton Cemeteries

By Al Kennedy & Sarah Hartje

Bernard Walter Lomax was a Mardi Gras Indian who lived from 1927-1955. In 1950 he composed "Shallow Water," a song that is still popular with Mardi Gras Indians today. The words "Shallow Water" are repeated to form the chorus of the song by the same name. It is one of the most recognizable songs that the Mardi Gras Indians sing today.

Mr. Donald Harrison, Sr., Big Chief of the Guardians of the Flame, stated in a 1991 interview that:

"My earliest influence was Bernard Lomax, a gentlemen that introduced the song 'Shallow Water.' His mother is still alive. She lives Uptown. She's elderly—she's just like a second mother to me. When I started masking in 1949, I was influenced mainly by Bernard Lomax."

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Carrollton Cemetery, 7331 Green Street, New Orleans, LA

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Al Kennedy and Sarah Hartje, “Bernard Walter Lomax: Prominent Figures in the Carrollton Cemeteries,” New Orleans Historical, accessed June 3, 2023, https://neworleanshistorical.org/items/show/673.

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Related Sources

  • "If You Don't Like What The Big Chief Say . . . .An Interview with Mr. Donald Harrison, Sr., Big Chief of the Guardians of the Flame." Interviewed by John Clark and Melissa San Roman. Mesechabe: The Journal of Surre(gion)alism 8 (Spring 1991).
Published on Nov 21, 2013. Last updated on Feb 1, 2020.