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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
El teu pare és a missa, la teva mare al cabaret, et donaré una surra si tornes a cridar. La meva mare era una dona pobra a la landa d'Auray i estic fent creps mentre et bressolo amb el peu. Si et morissis de crup, de còlic o de diarrea, si et morissis de les crostes que tens al nas, aniria a pescar gambes a l’hora de la marea alta per fer una sopa de caps de peix: no calen hams.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2026 by Salvador Pila, (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 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: 2026-04-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 81