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Micheline's Blog

~ Art, music, books, history & current events

Micheline's Blog

Daily Archives: November 28, 2013

La Paimpolaise: Music & Lyrics

28 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Art

≈ Comments Off on La Paimpolaise: Music & Lyrics

Tags

Breton, Britanny, Brittany Pardon, Charles Cottet, fishermen, French chanson, Hervé David, La Paimpolaise translation, post-Impressionism, Théodore Botrel

Charles_cottet_douarnenez
Douarnenez, Charles Cottet, 1905-1907
(Photo credit [all images]: Wikipedia)
Singer: Hervé David (Site : www.hervedavid.fr)
 

 —ooo—

La Paimpolaise , Théodore Botrel

http://www.lyricsmania.com/la_paimpolaise_lyrics_theodore_botrel.html

1.
Quittant ses genêts et sa lande,  (Leaving his ‘broom shrubs‘ and his moorland,)
Quand le Breton se fait marin,  (When the Breton joins the navy,)
En allant aux pêches d’Islande   (Going fishing in Iceland)
Voici quel est le doux refrain  (Here is the gentle refrain)
Que le pauvre gars/gâs  (The poor lad)
Fredonne tout bas :  (Hums to himself:)
“J’aime Paimpol et sa falaise,  (I love Paimpol and its cliff,)
Son église et son Grand Pardon,[i]  (Its church and its Grand Pardon)
J’aime surtout la Paimpolaise  (I love above all the Paimpol girl)
Qui m’attend au pays breton”  (Awaiting me in Brittany)
2. (skip)
Quand leurs bateaux quittent nos rives,  (When their boats leave our shores,)
Le curé leur dit “Mes bons fieux,[ii]  (The parish priest tells them “My dear sons,)
Priez souvent monsieur saint Yves  (Often pray to our Sir Saint Ives)
Qui nous voit, des cieux toujours bleus.”  (Who sees us, from the sky always blue.”)
Et le pauvre gars  (And the poor lad)
Fredonne tout bas:  (Hums to himself;)
À Saint Yvon, notre Patron,  (Forgive me, my patron Ivon,)
“Le ciel est moins bleu, n’en déplaise  (“The sky is less blue)
Que les yeux de ma Paimpolaise  (Than the eyes of my girl from Paimpol)
Qui m’attend au pays breton ! ” (Who awaits me in Brittany!”)
3.
Le brave Islandais, sans murmure,  (The brave Icelander, without muttering,)
Jette la ligne et le harpon;  (Casts the line and the harpoon;)
Puis, dans un relent de saumure,  (Then, in the stench of the brine,)
Il se couche dans l’entrepont…  (He lies down on the deck…)
Et le pauvre gars  (And the poor lad)
Soupire tout bas:  (Sighs quietly)
“Je serions bien mieux à mon aise,  (“I’d be more comfortable,)
Devant un joli feu d’ajonc,  (Sitting by a fire of gorse,)
À côté de la Paimpolaise  (Next to my girl from Paimpol)
Qui m’attend au pays breton !”  (Who awaits me in Brittany!”)
4.
Mais, souvent, l’océan qu’il dompte  (But often the ocean he tames)
Se réveille lâche et cruel,  (Awakes, a coward so cruel,)
Lorsque le soir on se compte,  (When evening comes, and we count ourselves,)
Bien des noms manquent à l’appel…  (Many names are missing at roll call…)
Et le pauvre gars  (And the poor lad)
Fredonne tout bas: (Hums to himself:)
“Pour former la marine française (“To build the French Navy)
Comme il faut plus d’un moussaillon,[iii] (Since more than one ship boy is needed,)
J’en f’rons deux à ma Paimpolaise,  I’ll make two with my girl from Paimpol,)
En rentrant au pays breton !” (When I return to Brittany!”)
5.
Puis, quand la vague le désigne,  (Then, when the wave chooses him,)
L’appelant de sa grosse voix,  (Calling him in its loud voice,)
Le brave Islandais se résigne  (The brave Icelander is resigned)
En faisant un signe de croix…  (Crossing himself…) (the sign of the cross)
Et le pauvre gars  (And the poor lad)
Quand vient le trépas,  (When death comes,)
Serrant la médaille qu’il baise,  (Gripping the medal [tag] he kisses,)
Glisse dans l’océan sans fond  (Slides down a bottomless ocean)
En songeant à la Paimpolaise  (Thinking of his girl from Paimpol)
Qui l’attend au pays breton !  (Awaiting him in Brittany!) (Who awaits)
_________________________
[i] The “Pardon” is a religious feast in Britanny.  It’s a day of atonement rooted in a Hebrew tradition.
[ii]  ‘Sons’ instead of ‘fils’
[iii] Diminutive for ‘mousse:’ ship boy
 
 Charles_cottet_rayons
Rayons du soir, Charles Cottet, 1889
 
Singer: Hervé David 
Site : www.hervedavid.fr
 
rayons-du-soir-1892© Micheline Walker
November 28, 2013
WordPress
 
 
Coucher de soleil sur les voiliers,
Charles Cottet, 1892

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