Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Je Te Plumerai

Now that I have a young son, my mind often goes back to the time when I was very young.Long forgotten memories of my parents,my grandmother and my early school days pop up regularly.For the most part, these are pleasant memories.
My son is very fond of music and I've made an effort to recall some of those songs I learned as a boy.I don't know if it's still sung in school, but one of the songs we were taught was a folk song (sung in French) called "Alouette". It has a very cute and lighthearted melody;it's quite catchy,in fact.
I wanted to teach the song to my son but,I couldn't recall the lyrics... it's been so long ago and I don't think I ever knew the English translation.So,it was off to the P.C. to search the Internet.
I was surprised by what I found.The song is of French Canadian origin.
Alouette means "Lark" in French.A lark is considered to be a small "game bird" such as the coot, dove, grouse, hazel hen, mud hen, partridge, pigeon, plover, or quail.The song is actually about "plucking" the feathers (plumage) from a lark, presumably in preparation for cooking.

Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai
Je te plumerai la tête
Je te plumerai la tête
Et la tête, et la tête
Alouette, Alouette
O-o-o-o-oh
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai

La tête is the head.....plucking the feathers from the head. The song goes on to mention plucking the feathers from Le nez - the nose; Les yeux - the eyes; Le cou - the neck; Les ailes - the wings; Le dos - the back; Les pattes - the legs; Le queue - the tail.
It's not what I expected.
By the way,the painting is "Song of the Lark" by Jules Breton.It has nothing to do with the song but putting the two together makes an even more bizarre impression.

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