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Bilingual Bedtime/French songs
BerceuseLullaby

Fais dodo, Colas, mon p'tit frère.

The melody of Fais dodo, Colas, mon p'tit frère 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.

Verse 1

  1. Fais dodo, Colas, mon p'tit frère ;feh doh-doh, koh-lah, mohn ptee freh-ruh ;Go to sleep, Colas, my little brother;
  2. Fais dodo, t'auras du lolo ;feh doh-doh, toh-rah dew loh-loh ;Go to sleep, you will have some milk;

Refrain

  1. Maman est en hautmah-mahn eh-tahn ohMama is upstairs
  2. Qui fait du gâteau,kee feh dew gah-toh,Making a cake,
  3. Papa est en baspah-pah eh-tahn bahPapa is downstairs
  4. Qui fait du chocolat :kee feh dew shoh-koh-lah :Making hot chocolate:

Verse 2

  1. Fais dodo, Colas, mon p'tit frère,feh doh-doh, koh-lah, mohn ptee freh-ruh,Go to sleep, Colas, my little brother,
  2. Fais dodo, t'auras du lolo.feh doh-doh, toh-rah dew loh-loh.Go to sleep, you will have some milk.

About this song

A hushing lullaby printed in Boutet de Monvel's 1883 collection. Dodo is baby-talk for sleep and lolo for milk; Colas is short for Nicolas, and parents often swap in their own child's name. While baby drifts off, Mama bakes a cake upstairs and Papa makes hot chocolate downstairs; then the opening lines are sung again.

Where it comes from

The words: Maurice Boutet de Monvel, Vieilles chansons et rondes pour les petits enfants (Plon, 1883).

The tune: Boutet de Monvel, Vieilles chansons et rondes pour les petits enfants (Plon, 1883), p. 38: the song's own vocal staff (G major, 6/8, Allegretto, dotted-quarter pickup), read from the fr.wikisource scan of the page (djvu page 42) and checked note for note against the Page's <score> transcription, which agrees throughout; verse 1 then the refrain engraved at the source's key and system break, the source's closing reprise of verse 1 (its bars 8-12) not engraved

From the book

Bilingual Bedtime

Thirty-Five French Songs for Children

Buy paperbackBuy KindleBuy hardcoverAbout this edition
Papa, les p'tits bateauxAll 35 songsDodo, l'enfant do
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