French song | Jeannette, where will we tend our sheep?

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from Volkslieder (Folksongs)

Translation © by Laura Prichard

Chanson Française

Language: Occitan

Our translations: ENG

Janeta ount anirem gardar,
Qu'ajam boun tems un'oura? Lan la !
Aval, aval, al prat barrat;
la de tan belas oumbras ! Lan la!

Lou pastour quita soun mantel,
Per far siere Janetan Lan la !
Janeta a talamen jougat,
Que se ies oublidada, Lan la !

Note: the dialect of Occitan here is Limousin (or Lemousin, in that language). Here is a Modern French version:

Jeanneton où irons-nous garder,
Qu'ayons bon temps une heure ? Lan la !
Là-bas, là-bas, au pré barré ;
Y'a de tant belles ombres ! Lan la !

Le pastour quitte son manteau,
Et fait seoir Jeannette Lan la !
Jeannette a tellement joué,
Que s'y est oubliée, Lan la !

Text Authorship:

from Volkslieder (Folksongs) [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 Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937), "Chanson Française", subtitle: "Chant populaire limousin", M. A. 17 no. 2 (1910) [ voice and piano ], from Quatre chanson populaires, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "French song", copyright © 2013, (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: 8
Word count: 43

French song

Language: English after the Occitan

"Jeannette, where will we tend our sheep?
To have a good time for an hour? Hey ho!"
"Down there, down there, across the meadow,
There are a lot of beautiful shadows. Hey ho!"

The shepherd removes his coat,
And has Jeannette sit on it. Hey ho!
Jeannette played so much
That she forgot herself, Hey ho!

Translator's notes
Stanza 1, Line 1: Literally, "where will we keep?" - this is a joke regarding keeping both the sheep and themselves busy.
Stanza 1, Line 4: or "There is plenty of shade. Hey ho!"

Text Authorship:

Translation from Occitan to English copyright © 2013 by Laura Prichard, (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 Occitan from Volkslieder (Folksongs)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-06-30
Line count: 8
Word count: 56