Growing up in the French-Canadian milieu of my youth, there was always ‘Le Chansonier’
This edition has been in the family since the 1950s
accompanying family get-togethers. This compilation of songs had been published by a French Canadian priest who had the bright idea of encouraging the use of French by offering songs for people to sing.
I am indebted to this tradition and, as a way to give back, offer this compilation of some of the songs from the Chansonier along with others I learned from my parents. Enjoy – amusez-vous bien!
- Frère Jacques a classic wake-up call – getting us off to a fresh morning!
- Quand on a du foin… a simple fact of the original Canada (and maybe France?)farmer life: you got hay, all goes well; no hay, not so…
- A la Claire Fontaine- a fellow just sauntering about lovelorn, jumping into fountains
- Vive la Canadienne- ah … the object of our affections – the Canadian woman!
- Il etait un petit navire- seagoing and storytelling adventures!
- C’est l’aviron- nd the energy and rewards of rowing – why not?!
- Dans la foret- the forest is where we spend most of our time — with the owls and cuckoos- the original is ‘prochaine’ but I’ve always sung it as ‘lointaine’
- Au Clair de la Lune- this classic not only introduces the nighttime adventures we engaged in (pretty tame eh?!) but the goodnight theme of the end of this compilation
- Meunier tu dors- just happening upon the miller who has fallen asleep
- Bonsoir mes amis- the difficult parting after such a wonderful evening – you can hear goodbyes as we part in the woods
- DoDisJeDoDo- and going to sleep – this one dedicated to Roman, Mia, Henry, Dakota, and all children being introduced to French !
- Y en a pas comme nous
Many of these songs now appear in the Cabaret I have put together
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