You'd better learn your alphabet, dear [ ... ]
The Nut Case of Songs
Song Cycle by Bushra El-Turk (b. 1982)
Publisher: Composers Edition (external link)1. You'd better learn your alphabet, dear
Language: English
Text Authorship:
- by Bushra El-Turk (b. 1982), copyright ©
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This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.2. Tik Tak
Language: Arabic (العربية)
Tik tak tik tak [ ... ]
Text Authorship:
- by Grégoire Haddad (1924 - 2015), copyright ©
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This text may be copyright, so we will not display it until we obtain permission to do so or discover it is public-domain.3. Les chevaux de bois [sung text not yet checked]
Language: French (Français)
Tournez, tournez, bons chevaux de bois, Tournez cent tours, tournez mille tours, Tournez souvent et tournez toujours, Tournez, tournez au son des hautbois. Le gros soldat, la plus grosse bonne Sont sur vos dos comme dans leur chambre ; Car, en ce jour, au bois de la Cambre, Les maîtres sont tous deux en personne. Tournez, tournez, chevaux de leur cœur, Tandis qu'autour de tous vos tournois Clignote l'œil du filou sournois, Tournez au son du piston vainqueur. C'est ravissant comme ça vous soûle D'aller ainsi dans ce cirque bête ! Bien dans le ventre et mal dans la tête, Du mal en masse et du bien en foule. Tournez, tournez, sans qu'il soit besoin D'user jamais de nuls éperons Pour commander à vos galops ronds, Tournez, tournez, sans espoir de foin Et dépêchez, chevaux de leur âme : Déjà voici que la nuit qui tombe Va réunir pigeon et colombe, Loin de la foire et loin de madame. Tournez, tournez ! le ciel en velours D'astres en or se vêt lentement. Voici partir l'amante et l'amant. Tournez au son joyeux des tambours !
Text Authorship:
- by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), "Chevaux de bois", appears in Romances sans paroles, in Paysages belges, in 3. Bruxelles, first published 1872
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
4. La Souris Couine
Language: French (Français)
La Souris Couine
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The text was inspired by a newspaper article on October 31st, 2005 about scientists' findings that the utterances of the male mice are actually songs. Here is an excerpt from the article: " In the literature, there's a hierarchy of different definitions for what qualifies as a song, but there are usually two main properties," says lead author Timothy E. Holy, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy. "One is that there should be some syllabic diversity—recognisably distinct categories of sound, instead of just one sound repeated over and over. And there should be some temporal regularity—motifs and themes that recur from time to time, like the melodic hook in a catchy tune." The new study shows that mouse song has both qualities, although Holy notes that the ability of lab mice to craft motifs and themes isn't quite on a par with that of master songsmiths like birds. " The lyrics for this piece are just the three words, 'La Souris Couine'.
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
Total word count: 299