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Chorus: Partisans de la mode Et du noble maintien, Voici le nouveau code Du Dandy parisien. Des gants couleur de paille, Un pantalon collant, Un habit dont la taille Gênerait un enfant; Puis, de bottes qui brillent D'un vernis éclatant; C'est ainsi que s'habillent Nos lions d'à présent. Un Beau, pour qu'on l'admire, Doit être bon cocher, Et doit savoir conduire Un tilbury1 léger; Mener avec addresse, Sans aucun embarras. Un nègre qui sans cesse Se croise les deux bras. (Chorus) Redresser sa moustache, En crochets menaçants, S'épuiser sans relâche A rajuster ses gants; Se cambrer sur sa canne, Longue d'un demi-pied, Et parler d'un air crâne Des assauts de Grisier2. De quelque nom qu'on nomme Son donjon, ses aieux, On n'est pas gentilhomme Quand on a de bons yeux. Faut-il voir une toile Qu'on expose au Salon, Ou bien l'Arc de l'Étoile Vite on prend son lorgnon. (Chorus) Les beaux arts qu'on estime Sont la part du bourgeois, L'élégant parle escrime, Chiens courants, chasse au bois; Il cause de la Bourse Et de pigeons pattus, De ses chevaux de course (Qui sont toujours battus) Sur le Turf, en une heure, Engager vingt paris; Se faire une demeure Du Café-de-Paris; Et, pour comble d'ivresse, Couronnant Ses [sic] hauts-faits, Voir briller sa noblesse Dans le club des Jockeys!3 (Chorus)
1 an open, two-wheel carriage
2 Augustin Grisier (1791-1865), a famous fencing master, established a school of swordsmanship in Paris and in 1847 published Armes et le duel.
3 In 19th century France, le club des Jockeys was the most exclusive club.
Authorship:
- by Antoine Vialon (1814 - 1866) [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 Léo Delibes (1836 - 1891), "Le code fashionable" [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "The Fashionable Code", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-13
Line count: 53
Word count: 218
Straw-coloured gloves, tight pants, a jacket too tight-waisted for a child, shiny varnished boots - that's how our lions dress nowadays. To be admired, a Beau must be a good coachman and know how to drive a light tilbury 1. Skillfully, seamlessly lead, a Negro with crossed arms. (Chorus) Shape his mustache into threatening hooks, exhaust himself straightening his gloves, hunch over a cane half a foot long, talk valiantly about Grisier's attacks 2. No matter what the name of one's keep or ancestors, no one is a gentleman who has good eyes. Whether looking at a painting exhibited at the Salon or the Arc de l'Étoile, he whips out his eyeglass. (Chorus) The fine arts we prize are for the bourgeoisie. The elegant man talks of fencing, dog racing, hunting in the woods. He talks about the Stock Exchange and feather-legged pigeons, about his race horses (which are always beaten) on the Turf, in an hour, place twenty bets, camp out in the Café-de-Paris and, best of all, crown his exploits and show off his nobility in the Jockey Club! 3
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2003 by Faith J. Cormier, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Antoine Vialon (1814 - 1866)
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-13
Line count: 48
Word count: 183