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Toc, toc, toc toc, - il cloue à coups pressés ; Toc, toc, - le menuisier des trépassés. "Bon menuisier, bon menuisier, Dans le sapin, dans le noyer, Taille un cercueil très grand, très lourd, Pour que j'y couche mon amour." Toc toc, toc toc, - il cloue à coups pressés, Toc toc, - le menuisier des trépassés. "Qu'il soit tendu de satin blanc Comme ses dents, comme ses dents ; Et mets aussi des rubans bleus Comme ses yeux, comme ses yeux." Toc toc, toc toc, - il cloue à coups pressés. Toc toc, - le menuisier des trépassés. "Là-bas, là-bas près du ruisseau, Sous les ormeaux, sous les ormeaux, À l'heure où chante le coucou, Un autre l'a baisée au cou." Toc toc, toc toc, - il cloue à coups pressés, Toc, toc, - le menuisier des trépassés. "Bon menuisier, bon menuisier, Dans le sapin, dans le noyer, Taille un cercueil très grand, très lourd, Pour que j'y couche mon amour."
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Ioannes Papadiamantopoulos (1856 - 1910), as Jean Moréas, "Nocturne", appears in Les cantilènes, in 3. Airs et récits, no. 3 [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 Gabriel-André Fabre (1858 - 1921), "Bon menuisier" [ voice and piano ], from Chants de Bretagne, no. 1, Paris, Bruxelles : Henry Lemoine et Cie [sung text not yet checked]
- by Xavier Perreau (1856 - 1939), "Le menuisier des trépassés ", published 1894 [ baritone and piano ], from Cinq mélodies avec accompagnement de piano, no. 1, Paris, Éd. Librairie de l'Art indépendant [sung text not yet checked]
- by Irena Regina Poldowski, née Wieniawski (1880 - 1932), "Nocturne (des cantilènes)", published 1914 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by George Templeton-Strong (1856 - 1948), "Le menuisier des trépassés", 1931, published [1931] [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Cinq mélodies pour chant et piano, no. 5, Genève, Éd. du Siècle Musical [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 163
Tock! tock! tock! tock! he hammers with hurried blows; Tock! tock! the carpenter of the dead. “Good carpenter, good carpenter, In pine [wood], in walnut, Carve a casket, very large, very heavy, In which I may lay my love.” Tock! tock! tock! tock! he hammers with hurried blows; Tock! tock! the carpenter of the dead. “Let it be stretched with white satin Like her teeth, like her teeth, And place also blue ribbons Like her eyes, like her eyes.” Tock! tock! tock! tock! he hammers with hurried blows; Tock! tock! the carpenter of the dead. “Over there, over there near the brook, Beneath the elms, beneath the elms, At the hour when the cuckoo sings, Another [man] kissed her on the neck." Tock! tock! tock! tock! he hammers with hurried blows; Tock! tock! the carpenter of the dead. “Good carpenter, good carpenter, In pine wood, in walnut, Carve a casket, very large, very heavy, In which I may lay my love.”
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"Bon menuisier" = "Good carpenter"
"Nocturne" = "Nocturne"
"Le menuisier des trépassés" = "The carpenter of the dead"
"Nocturne (des cantilènes)" = "Nocturne (of the cantilenas)"
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2020 by Garrett Medlock, (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 Ioannes Papadiamantopoulos (1856 - 1910), as Jean Moréas, "Nocturne", appears in Les cantilènes, in 3. Airs et récits, no. 3
This text was added to the website: 2020-03-07
Line count: 24
Word count: 161