The lark and the old owl | Spake to the young and lively lark

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by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Translation © by Faith J. Cormier

L'Alouette et le vieux hibou

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG GER

À la jeune et vive l'alouette
Ainsi parlait un vieux hibou:
Je viens de perdre ma chouette;
Hou-ou! hou-ou!

Veux-tu devenir mon amante?
Je t'offre ma patte et mon trou,
J'ai l'oeil tendre et la voix charmante;
Hou-ou! hou-ou!

Nous aurons d'un hymen prospère,
Ce que nous prédit le coucou,
Des enfants gais comme leur père,
Hou-ou! hou-ou!

Text Authorship:

by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [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 Auguste-Emmanuel Vaucorbeil (1821 - 1884), "L'Alouette et le vieux hibou" [ low voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "The lark and the old owl", copyright © 1997, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Die Lerche und der alte Uhu", copyright © 2018, (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: 12
Word count: 58

The lark and the old owl

Language: English after the French (Français)

Spake to the young and lively lark,
Old Owl, who'd set himself to woo,
I've lost my lady-love, but hark!
Tu-whit, tu-whit, tu-whoo!

If you would only be my love,
My hole and claw I offer you,
My eye and voice mild as the doves',
Tu-whit, tu-whit, tu-whoo!

And shall spring from our union glad,
At least, so says the wise cuckoo,
Children as happy as their Dad,
Tu-whit, tu-whit, tu-whoo!

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 1997 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 Anonymous/Unidentified Artist
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 71