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(French, traditional)
(Cajun version by Kate & Anna McGarrigle)
(Cajun version by Kate & Anna McGarrigle)
Il était un petit navire
Qui n’avait ja-ja-jamais navigué
Il était un petit navire
Qui n’avait ja-ja-jamais navigué
Qui n’avait ja-ja-jamais navigué
Ohé ! Ohé !
Matelot, Matelot navigue sur les flots
Ohé ! Ohé !
Matelot, Matelot navigue sur les flots
Il entreprit un long voyage
Sur la mer Mé-Mé-Méditerranée
Il entreprit un long voyage Sur la mer Mé-Mé-Méditerranée
Ohé ! Ohé !
Au bout de cinq à six semaines,
Les vivres vin-vin-vinrent à manquer
Au bout de cinq à six semaines,
Au bout de cinq à six semaines,
Les vivres vin-vin-vinrent à manquer
Ohé ! Ohé !
On tira z’à la courte paille,
Pour savoir qui-qui-qui serait mangé,
On tira z’à la courte paille, Pour savoir qui-qui-qui serait mangé,
Ohé ! Ohé !
Le sort tomba sur le plus jeune,
C’est donc lui qui-qui-qui fut désigné,
Le sort tomba sur le plus jeune, C’est donc lui qui-qui-qui fut désigné,
Ohé ! Ohé !
On cherche alors à quelle sauce,
Le pauvre enfant-fant-fant sera mangé,
On cherche alors à quelle sauce, Le pauvre enfant-fant-fant sera mangé,
Ohé ! Ohé !
L’un voulait qu’on le mît à frire
L’autre voulait-lait-lait le fricasser
L’un voulait qu’on le mît à frireL’autre voulait-lait-lait le fricasser
Ohé ! Ohé !
Pendant qu’ainsi l’on délibère
Il monte en haut-haut-haut du grand hunier
Pendant qu’ainsi l’on délibèreIl monte en haut-haut-haut du grand hunier
Ohé ! Ohé !
Il fait au ciel une prière
Interrogeant-geant-geant l’immensité
Il fait au ciel une prière Interrogeant-geant-geant l’immensité
Ohé ! Ohé !
Mais regardant la mer entière
Il vit des flots-flots-flots de tous côtés
Mais regardant la mer entièreIl vit des flots-flots-flots de tous côtés
Ohé ! Ohé !
Oh ! Sainte Vierge ma patronne
Cria le pau-pau-pauvre infortuné
Oh ! Sainte Vierge ma patronneCria le pau-pau-pauvre infortuné
Ohé ! Ohé !
Si j’ai péché, vite pardonne
Empêche-les-les-les de me manger
Si j’ai péché, vite pardonneEmpêche-les-les-les de me manger
Ohé ! Ohé !
Au même instant un grand miracle
Pour l’enfant fut-fut-fut réalisé
Au même instant un grand miraclePour l’enfant fut-fut-fut réalisé
Ohé ! Ohé !
Des p’tits poissons dans le navire
Sautèrent par-par-par et par milliers
Ohé ! Ohé !
On les prit, on les mit à frire
Le jeune mou-mou-mousse fut sauvé
On les prit, on les mit à frireLe jeune mou-mou-mousse fut sauvé
Ohé ! Ohé !
Si cette histoire vous amuse
Nous allons la-la-la recommencer
Si cette histoire vous amuseNous allons la-la-la recommencer
Ohé ! Ohé !
7 comments:
That song is brilliant ! I mean the performance is absolutely stunning. I could provide a translation btw and I do remember this idea from a an anthology of short stories we did at Librivox. I can't remember the author right now, could be Poe or someone like him. I need to look that up. Hell, I worked on the bloody thing so I ought to know !
But 2 rather gloomy posts in a short period ? Fall Blues ? Whassup ?
Couldn't follow the story, is it in some for'n language. Hope it has the same divine intervention as the Lego version.
I also like the painting 'The Raft of the Medusa' (1818) by Théodore Géricault.
d'accord okay okay
PatfromCH I am delighted you enjoyed this lovely song. I'm writing a longer reply about both songs.
I may have to beg you for a translation -- because these lyrics don't contain the McGarrigle's new chorus which ends ...
tout l'eternite ...
and les Seurs McG also do not sing all of cettes mots, which (as always) I filched from Wikipedia.
Yes, I have had my Gloomy Days recently -- medically, entirely attributal to my neurotic meshugineh personality -- but this is NOT a GLOOMY SONG!
This is actually a sick-o perverted KIDDIES SONG, un chanson pour les enfants!
In 1816 the French naval frigate Meduse was dispatched to the African colony of Senegal, commanded by an incompetent old desk officer who had not been to sea in 30 years. The idiot managed to wreck the ship about 60 miles off the Senegal coast.
Dozens of survivors, mostly sailors, quickly built a life raft. But they endured almost a month of unspeakable torment at sea on the raft.
And soon ran out of food.
This is where le petit navire enters l'histoire. He isn't good for much else, but the older sailors begin to imagine how tasty he would be prepared in different methods and with their favorite different sauces.
(In "The Gold Rush," Chaplin and another gold miner are starving in an Alaska cabin, and Chaplin magically turns into a delicious plump chicken.)
But ever since the great historical national catastrophe of 1816 (subsequently France chose its admirals by merit, not by social connections and bribery), little children like to sing about the unhappy plight of the plump little cabin boy.
In France, the image of the painting above is as famous and well-known and moving as "Washington Crossing the Delaware" is to us Yanks.
I vote for bechemelle (sp?) sauce.
Remember I also posted the McGarrigles' traditional song "Perrine etait servante", you need the url? waitasec ...
http://vleeptronz.blogspot.com/2008/11/perrine-tait-servante-why-young-people.html
... in which the unfortunate lover of the servant girl is stashed in a locked cabinet when the Abbe returns early, and then Perrine forgets that she has stashed Beau Geste ... after six weeks les rats have reduced him to mere bones.
This is also a Happy French Kiddies Song.
These songs are teaching me a very odd vocabulaire du francais.
You really like the Cajun stuff, n'est-ce pas? In the Canada Maritimes (Acadie), in Quebec, in Louisiana these people are a world-class musical treasury, as beautiful and thrilling and spiritual as Reggae.
Okay Phrosos see comment above for a brief summary of the disgusting story, with recipes. And then watch for a new post. More about this song and "Atlantic City," which is in the Jersey Shore dialect of American English. Like Snooki.
Uh oh whotf is Phroso, is this my Bostonian comrade-in-arms? Get a website, dude, some sort of link, or profile, or maybe a FB page.
A study released this week makes a strong statistical correlation between problems with alcohol, and college students who post lewd cell-phone photos of themselves and their dorm pals on FaceBook.
Oh yeah I love some of that cajun kebek stuff. that region has produced some strange and unusual music ranging from the progressive metal of VoiVod to Daniel Lanois and the McGonagall sisters
oh btwe I sent an e-mail with a not so brilliant translation to Vleeptron just in case someone wonders what this song is all about.
Nice article which the lyrics quite a latin or something that makes unique. In which this song is religious song which lots Christians. Thanks for sharing.
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