by
Max Jacob (1876 - 1944)
Berceuse
Language: French (Français)
Available translation(s): ENG ENG GER
Ton père est à la messe,
Ta mère au cabaret,
Tu auras sur les fesses
Si tu vas encore crier.
Ma mère était pauvresse
Sur la lande à Auray
Et moi je fais des crêpes
En te berçant du pied.
Si tu mourais du croup,
Coliques ou diarrhées
Si tu mourais des croûtes
Que tu as sur le nez,
Je pêcherais des crevettes
À l'heure de la marée
Pour faire la soupe aux têtes:
Y a pas besoin de crochets.
First published in the revue Commerce, no. 22, Winter 1929, as the second of a collection of poems titled "Morven Le Gaëlique- Poèmes", and then later in Chants Bretons et inédits signés Morven le Gaélique, Paris, Éd. NRF Gallimard, 1953.
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "Lullaby", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (Michael P Rosewall) , "Lullaby", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Wiegenlied", copyright © 2015, (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: 16
Word count: 80
Lullaby
Language: English  after the French (Français)
Papa has gone to church, dear,
Mama – to clubs nearby,
And you’ll soon get a spank here
If you will continue to cry.
My mother scroung’d for little
In Auray long ago.
I make crepes on the griddle,
Rocking you with my toe.
If you expire from croup,
Or diarrhea woes,
Or even from the goop,
There, encrusting your nose.
I’ll wait ‘til high tide comes through,
Then, gather shrimp to cook.
You see, to make fish head stew:
We don’t even need a hook.
Authorship:
- Singable translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2023 by Michael P Rosewall, (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:
This text was added to the website: 2023-07-23
Line count: 16
Word count: 86