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- Alouette
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai
Je te plumerai la tete
Je te plumerai la tete
Et la tete, et la tete
Et la tete, et la tete
O-o-o-o-oh
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai
Je te plumerai le nez
Je te plumerai le nez
Et le nez, et le nez
Et le nez, et le nez
O-o-o-o-oh
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai...
( " ")
"Alouette" is a popular French Canadian children's song about plucking the feathers off a skylark, a small bird. It originated with the French Canadian fur trade. Although it is in French, it is well-known among speakers of other languages; in this way it is similar to "Frère Jacques". Many American doughboys learned the song while serving in France during World War I and brought it home with them.
French colonists ate skylarks, which they considered a game bird. The song was first published in A Pocket Song Book for the Use of Students and Graduates of McGill College (Montreal, 1879). However, Canadian folklorist Marius Barbeau was of the opinion that the song's ultimate origin was France.
The songs of the French fur trade were adapted to accompany the motion of paddles dipped in unison. Singing helped to pass the time and made the work seem lighter. In fact, it is likely that the Montreal Agents and Wintering Partners sought out and preferred to hire voyageurs who liked to sing and were good at it. They believed that singing helped the voyageurs to paddle faster and longer. "Alouette" informs the lark that the singer will pluck its head, nose, eyes and wings and tail. En roulant ma boule sings of ponds, bonnie ducks and a prince on hunting bound. Many of the songs favored by the voyageurs have been passed down to our own era.
Today, the song is used to teach French and English speaking children in Canada the names of their body parts. Singers will point or touch the part of their body that corresponds to the word being sung in the song.
"Alouette" usually involves audience participation, with the audience echoing every line of each verse after the verse's second line. It is a cumulative song, with each verse is built on top of the previous verses, much like the English carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas".
(Wikipedia)
