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Bilingual Bedtime/French songs
Chanson à gestesAction song

Jean Petit qui danse.

Jean-Petit danse

The melody of Jean Petit qui danse 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. Jean-Petit danse,zhahn-puh-tee dahn-suh,Jean-Petit dances,
  2. Avec le doigt il danse,ah-vek luh dwah eel dahns,He dances with his finger,
  3. Avec le doigt, doigt, doigt,ah-vek luh dwah, dwah, dwah,With his finger, finger, finger,
  4. Ainsi danse Jean-Petit.ehn-see dahn-suh zhahn-puh-tee.So dances Jean-Petit.

Verse 2

  1. Jean-Petit danse,zhahn-puh-tee dahn-suh,Jean-Petit dances,
  2. Avec le pied il danse,ah-vek luh pyay eel dahns,He dances with his foot,
  3. Avec le pied, pied, pied,ah-vek luh pyay, pyay, pyay,With his foot, foot, foot,
  4. Avec le doigt, doigt, doigt,ah-vek luh dwah, dwah, dwah,With his finger, finger, finger,
  5. Ainsi danse Jean-Petit.ehn-see dahn-suh zhahn-puh-tee.So dances Jean-Petit.

Verse 3

  1. Jean-Petit danse,zhahn-puh-tee dahn-suh,Jean-Petit dances,
  2. Avec la jambe il danse,ah-vek lah zhahnb eel dahns,He dances with his leg,
  3. Avec la jambe, jambe, jambe,ah-vek lah zhahnb, zhahnb, zhahnb,With his leg, leg, leg,
  4. Avec le pied, pied, pied,ah-vek luh pyay, pyay, pyay,With his foot, foot, foot,
  5. Avec le doigt, doigt, doigt,ah-vek luh dwah, dwah, dwah,With his finger, finger, finger,
  6. Ainsi danse Jean-Petit.ehn-see dahn-suh zhahn-puh-tee.So dances Jean-Petit.

Verse 4

  1. Jean-Petit danse,zhahn-puh-tee dahn-suh,Jean-Petit dances,
  2. Avec la tête il danse,ah-vek lah teht eel dahns,He dances with his head,
  3. Avec la tête, tête, tête,ah-vek lah teht, teht, teht,With his head, head, head,
  4. Avec le front, front, front,ah-vek luh frohn, frohn, frohn,With his forehead, forehead, forehead,
  5. Avec le nez, nez, nez,ah-vek luh nay, nay, nay,With his nose, nose, nose,
  6. Avec la bouche, bouche, bouche,ah-vek lah boosh, boosh, boosh,With his mouth, mouth, mouth,
  7. Avec le menton, menton, menton,ah-vek luh mahn-tohn, mahn-tohn, mahn-tohn,With his chin, chin, chin,

Verse 5

  1. Avec l'oreille, oreille, oreille,ah-vek loh-rehy, oh-rehy, oh-rehy,With his ear, ear, ear,
  2. Avec la main, main, main,ah-vek lah mehn, mehn, mehn,With his hand, hand, hand,
  3. Avec le bras, bras, bras,ah-vek luh brah, brah, brah,With his arm, arm, arm,
  4. Avec le coude, coude, coude,ah-vek luh kood, kood, kood,With his elbow, elbow, elbow,
  5. Avec l'épaule, épaule, épaule,ah-vek lay-pohl, ay-pohl, ay-pohl,With his shoulder, shoulder, shoulder,
  6. Avec l'échine, échine, échine,ah-vek lay-sheen, ay-sheen, ay-sheen,With his back, back, back,
  7. Avec le derrière, derrière, derrière,ah-vek luh deh-ryehr, deh-ryehr, deh-ryehr,With his seat, seat, seat,

Verse 6

  1. Avec le ventre, ventre, ventre,ah-vek luh vahntr, vahntr, vahntr,With his belly, belly, belly,
  2. Avec la cuisse, cuisse, cuisse,ah-vek lah kwees, kwees, kwees,With his thigh, thigh, thigh,
  3. Avec le genou, genou, genou,ah-vek luh zhuh-noo, zhuh-noo, zhuh-noo,With his knee, knee, knee,
  4. Avec la jambe, jambe, jambe,ah-vek lah zhahnb, zhahnb, zhahnb,With his leg, leg, leg,
  5. Avec le pied, pied, pied,ah-vek luh pyay, pyay, pyay,With his foot, foot, foot,
  6. Avec le doigt, doigt, doigt,ah-vek luh dwah, dwah, dwah,With his finger, finger, finger,
  7. Ainsi danse Jean-Petit.ehn-see dahn-suh zhahn-puh-tee.So dances Jean-Petit.

About this song

A cumulative dance-game collected in the Landes and printed in 1912: each round keeps every earlier body part and adds a new one to wiggle, so the list, and the dance, grows longer and sillier every time. Some folklorists link the name to a 17th-century rebel; children just know it as an ever-growing wiggle.

Where it comes from

The words: Félix Arnaudin, Chants populaires de la Grande-Lande et des régions voisines, tome I (Honoré Champion, 1912).

The tune: Félix Arnaudin, Chants populaires de la Grande-Lande I (1912), p. 232, the song's own vocal staff (no key signature, 2/4; 'XXXVI. Jan-Petit que danse'), read from the archive.org scan (leaf 330, saved as scratch/songbook-scores/jean-petit.jpg) after deskewing and bar-by-bar enlargement; the fr.wikipedia article has no score block. Arnaudin sings lines 1-2 twice each: the book sets line 1 to his first phrase and line 2 to his second, then his bars 9-12; 'dan-' of line 1 slurs the D-sharp and E where the French has no 'que', 'A-vec' of line 3 splits his first eighth, and his grace note before each 'danse' is not engraved

From the book

Bilingual Bedtime

Thirty-Five French Songs for Children

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Meunier, tu dorsAll 35 songsIl court, il court, le furet
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