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Ils vont, les petits canards, Tout au bord de la rivière, Comme de bons campagnards. Barboteurs et frétillards, Heureux de troubler l'eau claire, Ils vont, les petits canards. Ils semblent un peu jobards, Mais ils sont à leur affaire, Comme de bons campagnards. Dans l'eau pleine de têtards, Où tremble une herbe légère, Ils vont, les petits canards, Marchant, par groupes épars, D'une allure régulière Comme de bons campagnards.1 Amoureux et nasillards, Chacun avec sa commère, Ils vont, les petits canards, Comme de bons campagnards.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Rosemonde Gérard, Les Pipeaux, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1889, pages 36-37.
1 Chabrier adds:Dans le beau vert d'épignards De l'humide cressonnière Ils vont, les petits canards, Et quoiqu'un peu goguenards, Ils sont d'humeur débonnaire Comme de bons campagnards! Faisant, en cercles bavards, Un vrai bruit de pétaudière, Ils vont, les petits canards, Dodus, lustrés et gaillards, Ils sont gais à leur manière, Comme de bons campagnards!
Text Authorship:
- by Louise-Rose Gérard (1866 - 1953), as Rosemonde Gérard, "Villanelle des petits canards", appears in Les pipeaux, in 1. Rustica, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1889 [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 Emmanuel Chabrier (1841 - 1894), "Villanelle des petits canards", 1889 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jules Mazellier (1879 - 1959), "Les petits canards" [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Le livre chantant, no. 10, Éd. Max Eschig [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English [singable] (Peter Low) , "The little ducks go walking", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Brian Charles Witkowski) , copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2017, (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: 19
Word count: 86
They go on their waddling walk All together by the river. Like decent upcountry folk! Keen to dip and splash and soak and muddy up the water, They go on their waddling walk. Although they may seem to gawk, They're just acting as they oughta, Like decent upcountry folk! By the pond where the froglets croak, Where grass and bulrushes quiver, They go on their waddling walk, Marching okay okey-doke, Steady as a clockwork motor, Like decent upcountry folk!1 Wing to wing and quack to quack, Each one with a doting partner, They go, they go, they go on their waddling walk Like decent upcountry folk!
1 Chabrier:
Through the rows of artichoke And assorted green biota, They go on their waddling walk. And though they're inclined to squawk, They're of cheery disposition Like decent upcountry folk! They make, when they stop and talk, Pandemonium like a kitchen. They go on their waddling walk, Chubby and fond of a joke, Looking smart and bright and hearty Like decent upcountry folk!
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2000 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 Louise-Rose Gérard (1866 - 1953), as Rosemonde Gérard, "Villanelle des petits canards", appears in Les pipeaux, in 1. Rustica, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1889
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 19
Word count: 107