Fanchon, va par la ville, Pour tromper tes chagrins Gaiment d'un vaudeville Répéter les refrains ; Que ton pauvre cœur oublie Les maux de ce jour ; Conserve au moins ta folie, Si tu perds l'amour. D'une destinée inhumaine C'est par trop souffrir, Prends ta vielle, et bannis la peine En chantant le plaisir.
Confirmed with Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, Fanchon la Vielleuse, Paris, 1803, page 56.
Text Authorship:
- by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly (1763 - 1842), "Air: J'ai quitté la montagne", appears in Fanchon la Vielleuse [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by August von Kotzebue (1761 - 1819) , no title, appears in Fanchon das Leyermädchen - Vaudeville in drei Acten ; composed by Friedrich Heinrich Himmel.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2026-06-06
Line count: 12
Word count: 53
Fort! dass die Leier klinge, dann wird das Herz mir still; Geh', Fanchon, geh' und singe ein fröhlich Vaudevill! Zerreiß' die schwere Kette, die um die Brust sich presst; die frohe Laune rette, wenn Liebe dich verlässt. Kein Unmut übermanne das Herz, das du bezwingst, und jeden Gram verbanne, indem du Freude singst.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Theater von August v. Kotzebue, 19. Bd. Wien & Leipzig 1841, from the Vaudeville Fanchon, das Leiermädchen
Note for stanza 3, line 1: the Himmel score has a typo: instead of "übermanne", it has "uns ermanne".
Text Authorship:
- by August von Kotzebue (1761 - 1819), no title, appears in Fanchon das Leyermädchen - Vaudeville in drei Acten [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly (1763 - 1842), "Air: J'ai quitté la montagne", appears in Fanchon la Vielleuse
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Friedrich Heinrich Himmel (1765 - 1814), "Fort! dass die Leier klinge" [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2026-06-06
Line count: 12
Word count: 53