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C'était une souris qui venait d'Angleterre, Yes, Madame, yes, my dear, Ell' s'était embarquée au port de Manchester Sans même savoir où s'en allait le navire. No, Madam', no, my dear. Elle avait la dent long' comme une vieille Anglaise, S'enroulait dans un plaid à la mode écossaise Et portait une coiffe en dentelle irlandaise. Dans le port de Calais, elle mit pied à terre, Yes, Madame, yes, my dear, Elle s'en fut bien vite à l'hôtel d'Angleterre, Et grimpe l'escalier tout droit sans rien leur dire, No, Madam', no, my dear, Le grenier de l'hôtel lui fut un vrai palace, La souris britannique avait là tout sur place, Du whisky, du bacon, du gin, de la mélasse. Chaque soir notre miss faisait la ribouldingue, Yes, Madame, yes, my dear, C'était toute la nuit des gigues des bastringues, Les bourgeois de Calais ne pouvaient plus dormir, No, Madam', no, my dear, En vain l'on remplaçait l'appât des souricières, Le Suiss' par le Holland', le Bri' par le Gruyère, Rien n'y fit, lorsqu'un soir on y mit du Chester. C'était une souris qui venait d'Angleterre, Yes, Madame, yes, my dear.
Text Authorship:
- by Michel Veber (1896 - 1965), as Nino [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 Manuel Rosenthal (1904 - 2003), "La souris d'Angleterre", 1934, from Chansons du Monsieur Bleu, no. 9. [ sung text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English [singable] (Peter Low) , "The English mouse", copyright © 2001, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "The English mouse", copyright © 2016, (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: 26
Word count: 189
She was a little mouse, a mouse who came from England. Yes, madame, yes, my dear. She boarded ship and left the port of Manchester without so much as knowing where the boat was bound. No, madame, no, my dear. She had the longish teeth of English governesses, she wore a tartan plaid like many a Scottish lassie and wore upon her head the finest lace from Ireland. Arriving at Calais she quickly disembarked. Yes, madame, yes, my dear. In no time she had found the Hotel d'Angleterre and headed up the stair without a by-your-leave. No, madame, no, my dear. The attic in the eaves was just what she was after, her favourite delights were lined up on a rafter: Malt whisky, bacon-rind, dry gin and lots of treacle. And every night our Miss would live it up and party. Yes, madame, yes, my dear. With rowdy reels and jigs from 10 pm to 6, the burghers of Calais got not a wink of sleep. No, madame, no, my dear. They swapped without success the cheese in all the mousetraps, from Brie to Camembert, from Emmental to Edam, all in vain... till one night they turned to Wensleydale! She was a little mouse, a mouse who came from England. Yes, madame, yes, my dear.
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2001 by Peter Low, (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 Michel Veber (1896 - 1965), as Nino
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 26
Word count: 216