Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Ton père est à la messe, Ta mère au cabaret, Tu auras sur les fesses Si tu vas encore crier. Ma mère était pauvresse Sur la lande à Auray Et moi je fais des crêpes En te berçant du pied. Si tu mourais du croup, Coliques ou diarrhées Si tu mourais des croûtes Que tu as sur le nez, Je pêcherais des crevettes À l'heure de la marée Pour faire la soupe aux têtes: Y a pas besoin de crochets.
First published in the revue Commerce, no. 22, Winter 1929, as the second of a collection of poems titled "Morven Le Gaëlique- Poèmes", and then later in Chants Bretons et inédits signés Morven le Gaélique, Paris, Éd. NRF Gallimard, 1953.
Text Authorship:
- by Max Jacob (1876 - 1944), "Berceuse", written 1926?, appears in Chants Bretons et inédits signés Morven le Gaélique, first published 1929 [author's text not yet checked 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 Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963), "Berceuse", FP 59 no. 4 (1931), published 1932 [ soprano and piano ], from Cinq Poèmes de Max Jacob, no. 4, Éd. Rouart, Lerolle [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Cançó de bressol", copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "Lullaby", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (Michael P Rosewall) , "Lullaby", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Wiegenlied", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 80
Your father is at Mass, your mother at the cabaret. You'll have a spanking if you cry again. My mother was a poor woman, on the plain of Auray, and I make pancakes and rock you with my foot. If you died of the croup, colic or diarrhea, if you died of the crust on your nose, I would fish for shrimp when the tide came in. You don't need hooks to make fishhead chowder.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2004 by Faith J. Cormier, (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 Max Jacob (1876 - 1944), "Berceuse", written 1926?, appears in Chants Bretons et inédits signés Morven le Gaélique, first published 1929
This text was added to the website: 2004-12-09
Line count: 16
Word count: 75