The Giant Anteater | Did you see the giant anteater?

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by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Le tamanoir

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

— Avez-vous vu le tamanoir ?
Ciel bleu, ciel gris, ciel blanc, ciel noir.
— Avez-vous vu le tamanoir ?
Œil bleu, œil gris, œil blanc, œil noir.
— Avez-vous vu le tamanoir ?
Vin bleu, vin gris, vin blanc, vin noir.

Je n’ai pas vu le tamanoir !
Il est rentré dans son manoir
Et puis avec son éteignoir
Il a coiffé tous les bougeoirs.
Il fait tout noir.

Text Authorship:

by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945), "Le tamanoir", appears in Pour les Enfants Sages, in Chantefables, no. 21, first published 1944 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Roger Albin (1920 - 2001), "Le tamanoir", 1969?, published 1969 [ soprano and piano or small orchestra ], from Chantefables pour les enfants sages, no. 3, Éd. du Rideau Rouge (R 497 RC) [sung text not yet checked]
by Pierre Ancelin (1934 - 2001), "Le tamanoir", published 1990 [ voice and piano ], from Comptines - 2^ème Cahier, no. 2, in the collection Mélodies françaises du temps présent, Paris, Éd. J.M. Fuzeau (E.F. 90127) [sung text not yet checked]
by Henri Barraud (1900 - 1997), "Le tamanoir", op. 36 no. 2 (1945) [ medium voice and piano ], from Huit chantefables pour les enfants sages, no. 2, Éd. Françaises de Musique-Sofirad [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Giant Anteater", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2014-05-23
Line count: 11
Word count: 66

The Giant Anteater

Language: English after the French (Français)

— Did you see the giant anteater? 
Blue sky, gray sky, white sky, black sky. 
— Did you see the giant anteater? 
Blue eye, gray eye, white eye, black eye. 
— Did you see the giant anteater? 
Blue wine, gray wine, white wine, black wine. 

I didn't see the giant anteater! 
He went back into his mansion
And then with his candle-snuffer
He gave all the candlesticks a trim.
Now it's completely dark.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945), "Le tamanoir", appears in Pour les Enfants Sages, in Chantefables, no. 21, first published 1944
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-07-03
Line count: 11
Word count: 73