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Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Oh, where have you been, Charming Billy? I have been to seek a wife, She's the joy of my life, She's a young thing And cannot leave her mother. Did she ask you to come in, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Did she ask you to come in, Charming Billy? Yes, she asked me to come in, There's a dimple in her chin. She's a young thing And cannot leave her mother. Can she make a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Can she make a cherry pie, Charming Billy? She can make a cherry pie, Quick as a cat can wink an eye, She's a young thing And cannot leave her mother. How old is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? How old is she, Charming Billy? Three times six and four times seven, Twenty-eight and eleven, She's a young thing And cannot leave her mother.
Authorship
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)
- by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), "Billy Boy", 1943, first performed 1944 [voice(s) and orchestra], from Eight British and American Folk Songs, no. 3. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Billy Boy", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Martin Jahn
This text was added to the website: 2011-01-12
Line count: 32
Word count: 154
Oh, où es-tu allé, Billy Boy, Billy Boy ? Oh, où es-tu allé, Charmant Billy ? Je suis allé chercher une femme, Elle est la joie de ma vie, C'est une jeune chose, Et ne peut pas quitter sa mère. A-t-elle demandé à venir, Billy Boy, Billy Boy ? A-t-elle demandé à venir, Charmant Billy ? Oui, elle m'a demandé à venir, Il y a une fossette sur son menton. C'est une jeune chose, Et ne peut pas quitter sa mère. Sait-elle faire un gâteau à la cerise, Billy Boy, Billy Boy ? Sait-elle faire un gâteau à la cerise, Charmant Billy ? Elle sait faire un gâteau à la cerise Aussi vit qu'un chat cligne de l'œil, C'est une jeune chose, Et ne peut pas quitter sa mère. Quel âge a-t-elle, Billy Boy, Billy Boy ? Quel âge a-t-elle, Charmant Billy ? Trois fois six et quatre fois sept, Vingt-huit et onze, C'est une jeune chose, Et ne peut pas quitter sa mère.
Authorship
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille, (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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- a text in English from Volkslieder (Folksongs)
This text was added to the website: 2015-08-27
Line count: 32
Word count: 164