The Badger | To shave my beard

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by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Le blaireau

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Pour faire ma barbe 
Je veux un blaireau, 
Graine de rhubarbe, 
Graine de poireau.

Par mes poils de barbe ! 
S’écrie le blaireau, 
Graine de rhubarbe, 
Graine de poireau,

Tu feras ta barbe 
Avec un poireau, 
Graine de rhubarbe, 
T’auras pas ma peau.

Text Authorship:

by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945), "Le blaireau", appears in Pour les Enfants Sages, in Chantefables, no. 25, 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 Henri Barraud (1900 - 1997), "Le blaireau", op. 36 no. 1 (1945) [ medium voice and piano ], from Huit chantefables pour les enfants sages, no. 1, Éd. Françaises de Musique-Sofirad [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "The Badger", 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: 12
Word count: 42

The Badger

Language: English after the French (Français)

To shave my beard
I want a badger-hair brush,
Rhubarb seed,
Leek seed.

By the hairs of my beard!
Exclaims the badger,
Rhubarb seed,
Leek seed.

You'll shave your beard
With a leek, 
Rhubarb seed, 
You won't have my pelt.

Translator's note: French uses the same word, blaireau, to refer both to the badger and to the shaving brush, whose bristles were traditionally (and in many cases still are) made from badger hair.

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.
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Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Robert Desnos (1900 - 1945), "Le blaireau", appears in Pour les Enfants Sages, in Chantefables, no. 25, first published 1944
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-07-03
Line count: 12
Word count: 40