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Bilingual Bedtime/French songs
RondeCircle dance

Dansons la capucine.

The melody of Dansons la capucine on a staff, as engraved in the book
Download the tune

The melody as written on the staff, so you can learn the tune before you sing.

  1. Dansons la capucine,dahn-sohn lah ka-pew-see-nuh,Let's dance the capucine,
  2. Il n'y a pas de pain chez nous ;eel nee ah pah duh pehn shay noo ;There is no bread at our house;
  3. Y en a chez la voisine.ee ahn-nah shay lah vwah-zee-nuh,There is some at the neighbour's.
  4. Mais ce n'est pas pour nousmeh suh neh pah poor nooBut it's not for us

Refrain

  1. You !yoo!Whoop!

About this song

A ronde printed by Eugène Rolland in 1883, who called it known to children all over France, and still sung today. Everyone holds hands and turns; on the shout 'You !' the whole ring crouches down at once. Capucine is the nasturtium, a little hooded flower, though nobody quite knows why the dance carries its name.

Where it comes from

The words: Eugène Rolland, Rimes et jeux de l'enfance (Maisonneuve, 1883).

From the book

Bilingual Bedtime

Thirty-Five French Songs for Children

Buy paperbackBuy KindleBuy hardcoverAbout this edition
Promenons-nous dans les boisAll 35 songsGentil coquelicot
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