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Nous n'avons plus de maisons! Les ennemis ont tout pris, Jusqu'à notre petit lit! Ils ont brûlé l'école et notre maître aussi. Ils ont brûlé l'église et monsieur Jésus-Christ! Et le vieux pauvre qui n'a pas pu s'en aller! Nous n'avons plus de maisons! Les ennemis ont tout pris, Jusqu'à notre petit lit! Bien sûr! papa est à la guerre, Pauvre maman est morte Avant d'avoir vu tout ça. Qu'est-ce que l'on va faire? Noël! petit Noël! n'allez pas chez eux, N'allez plus jamais chez eux, Punissez-les! Vengez les enfants de France! Les petits Belges, les petits Serbes, Et les petits Polonais aussi! Si nous en oublions, pardonnez-nous. Noël! Noël! surtout, pas de joujoux, Tâchez de nous redonner le pain quotidien. Nous n'avons plus de maisons! Les ennemis ont tout pris, Jusqu'à notre petit lit! Ils ont brûlé l'école et notre maître aussi. Ils ont brûlé l'église et monsieur Jésus-Christ! Et le vieux pauvre qui n'a pas pu s'en aller! Noël! écoutez-nous, nous n'avons plus de petits sabots: Mais donnez la victoire aux enfants de France!
Authorship
- by Claude Achille Debussy (1862 - 1918) [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 Claude Achille Debussy (1862 - 1918), "Noël des enfants qui n'ont plus de maisons", L. 147/(139) (1915). [voice and piano] [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , title 1: "Christmas of the homeless children", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Stefan Pilczek
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 30
Word count: 176
Our houses are gone! The enemy has taken everything, even our little beds! They burned the school and the schoolmaster. They burned the church and the Lord Jesus! And the poor old man who couldn't get away! Our houses are gone! The enemy has taken everything, even our little beds! Of course, Papa has gone to war. Poor Mama died before she saw all this. What are we going to do? Christmas! Little Christmas! Don't go to their houses, never go there again. Punish them! Avenge the children of France! The little Belgians, the little Serbs and the little Poles, too! If we've forgotten anyone, forgive us. Christmas! Christmas! Above all, no toys. Try to give us our daily bread again. Our houses are gone! The enemy has taken everything, even our little beds! They burned the school and the schoolmaster. They burned the church and the Lord Jesus! And the poor old man who couldn't get away! Christmas, listen to us. Our wooden shoes are gone, but grant victory to the children of France!
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.
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- a text in French (Français) by Claude Achille Debussy (1862 - 1918)
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 30
Word count: 175