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Bilingual Bedtime/French songs
RondeCircle dance

Sur le pont d'Avignon.

The melody of Sur le pont d'Avignon 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. Sur le pont d'Avignon,sewr luh pohn dah-vee-nyohn,On the bridge of Avignon,
  2. L'on y passe, l'on y danse,lohn ee pah-suh, lohn ee dahn-suh,One passes there, one dances there,
  3. Sur le pont d'Avignon,sewr luh pohn dah-vee-nyohn,On the bridge of Avignon,
  4. L'on y danse tout en rond.lohn ee dahn-suh too tahn rohn.One dances there all in a ring.
  5. Les messieurs font comme ça,lay meh-syuh fohn kum sah,The gentlemen do like this,
  6. Les dames font comme ça.lay dah-muh fohn kum sah.The ladies do like this.

Verse 2

  1. Les abbés font comme ça,lay-zah-bay fohn kum sah,The priests do like this,
  2. Les soldats font comme ça,lay sohl-dah fohn kum sah,The soldiers do like this,
  3. Les buveurs font comme ça,lay bew-vuhr fohn kum sah,The drinkers do like this,
  4. Les gamins font comme ça.lay gah-mehn fohn kum sah.The street urchins do like this.

About this song

A ring dance printed by Weckerlin in 1870, who noted it had crossed to Canada; a song about the Avignon bridge dates to the 1500s. Children walk the ring singing, then mime in place: gentlemen tip their hats, ladies curtsy, priests nod, soldiers salute, drinkers wobble and street urchins thumb their noses.

Where it comes from

The words: Jean-Baptiste Weckerlin, Chansons et rondes enfantines (Garnier, 1870).

From the book

Bilingual Bedtime

Thirty-Five French Songs for Children

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AlouetteAll 35 songsNous n'irons plus au bois
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