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Bilingual Bedtime/French songs
Chanson à gestesAction song

Notre âne.

Notre âne, notre âne

The melody of Notre âne 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. Notre âne, notre ânenot-rah-nuh, not-rah-nuhOur donkey, our donkey
  2. A bien mal à la tête ;ah byehn mahl ah lah teht ;Has a bad headache;
  3. Madame lui fit fairemah-dah-muh lwee fee feh-ruhMadame had made for him
  4. Un bonnet pour ses fêtes ;uhn bo-neh poor say feht ;A bonnet for his feast days;

Refrain

  1. Et des souliers lilas, la, la,ay day soo-lyay lee-lah, lah, lah,And lilac shoes, la, la,
  2. Et des souliers lilas.ay day soo-lyay lee-lah.And lilac shoes.

Verse 2

  1. Notre âne, notre ânenot-rah-nuh, not-rah-nuhOur donkey, our donkey
  2. A bien mal à son cou ;ah byehn mahl ah sohn koo ;Has a bad sore neck;
  3. Madame lui fit fairemah-dah-muh lwee fee feh-ruhMadame had made for him
  4. Un collier de velours.uhn ko-lyay duh vuh-loor.A velvet collar.

Verse 3

  1. Notre âne, notre ânenot-rah-nuh, not-rah-nuhOur donkey, our donkey
  2. A bien mal aux oreilles ;ah byehn mahl oh zo-rehy ;Has bad sore ears;
  3. Madame lui fit fairemah-dah-muh lwee fee feh-ruhMadame had made for him
  4. Une paire de boucles d'oreille ;ewn peh-ruh duh boo-kluh doh-rehy ;A pair of earrings;

Verse 4

  1. Notre âne, notre âne,not-rah-nuh, not-rah-nuh,Our donkey, our donkey,
  2. A bien mal aux épaules ;ah byehn mahl oh zay-poh-luh ;Has bad sore shoulders;
  3. Madame lui fit fairemah-dah-muh lwee fee feh-ruhMadame had made for him
  4. Une paire d'épaulettes ;ewn peh-ruh day-poh-leht ;A pair of epaulettes;

Verse 5

  1. Notre âne, notre âne,not-rah-nuh, not-rah-nuh,Our donkey, our donkey,
  2. A mal à l'estomac ;ah mahl ah lehs-toh-mah ;Has a sore stomach;
  3. Madame lui fit fairemah-dah-muh lwee fee feh-ruhMadame had made for him
  4. Un très beau cataplasme ;uhn treh boh kah-tah-plas-muh ;A fine poultice;

Verse 6

  1. Notre âne, notre âne,not-rah-nuh, not-rah-nuh,Our donkey, our donkey,
  2. A bien mal à son ventre ;ah byehn mahl ah sohn vahn-truh ;Has a bad sore belly;
  3. Madame lui fit fairemah-dah-muh lwee fee feh-ruhMadame had made for him
  4. Une salade aux oranges ;ewn sah-lahd oh-zoh-rahnzh ;An orange salad;

Verse 7

  1. Notre âne, notre âne,not-rah-nuh, not-rah-nuh,Our donkey, our donkey,
  2. A bien mal à ses jambes ;ah byehn mahl ah say zhahnb ;Has bad sore legs;
  3. Madame lui fit fairemah-dah-muh lwee fee feh-ruhMadame had made for him
  4. Une culotte de velours ;ewn kew-lot duh vuh-loor ;Velvet breeches;

Verse 8

  1. Notre âne, notre âne,not-rah-nuh, not-rah-nuh,Our donkey, our donkey,
  2. A bien mal à ses pieds ;ah byehn mahl ah say pyay ;Has bad sore feet;
  3. Madame lui fit fairemah-dah-muh lwee fee feh-ruhMadame had made for him
  4. Des souliers en papier ;day soo-lyay ahn pah-pyay ;Paper shoes;

About this song

A folk song, better known today as Mon âne, collected in the Loiret and printed in 1881: each verse gives the donkey a new ache and Madame fits him out with something new. Today's Mon âne repeats the earlier gifts, so the list grows. Point to the sore body part, then mime the bonnet and the lilac shoes.

Where it comes from

The words: Eugène Rolland, Faune populaire de la France, Tome IV: Les Mammifères domestiques (Maisonneuve, 1881).

The tune: Mama Lisa's World, 'Mon âne' (Chansons enfantines françaises): the page's score image (G major, 2/4, eighth-note pickup) transcribed and checked note for note against its MIDI file; the tune is the standard modern one, and no period engraving of the song was found (it is not in Weckerlin 1870, and the fr.wikipedia article has no score block). Set to Rolland's 1881 text with the mute e's of 'Notre â-ne' and 'Ma-da-me lui fit fai-re' sounded; the reciting phrase for the repeated list line is not engraved

From the book

Bilingual Bedtime

Thirty-Five French Songs for Children

Buy paperbackBuy KindleBuy hardcoverAbout this edition
Les petits poissons dans l'eauAll 35 songsMeunier, tu dors
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