This has been a difficult year. I celebrated Valentine’s Day discretly and failed to write a post on the subject of love. However, if one clicks on Posts on Love Celebrated, a page, not a post, one will find discussion on this subject.
At any rate, I am wishing you, belatedly, a Happy Valentine’s Day.
In Gilles Durant’s poem, the first song, a lover invites his Lady to enjoy the pleasures of love, as life is much too brief. Carpe diem.
Let us first return to Guillaume Apollinaire’s poem “Marie,” set to music by Léo Ferré in order to introduce Édith Piaf’s Les trois cloches.
1. Vous y dansiez petite fille (This is where you dance as a little girl)/ 2.Y danserez-vous mère-grand (Will you dance there as a grandmother or Is thiswhere you’ll dance as a grandmother)/ 3.C’est la maclotte qui sautille (maclotte is a old dance) (This is maclotte [an old dance] hopping about)/ 4.Toutes les cloches sonneront(All the bells will ring)/ 5.Quand donc reviendrez-vous Marie (So when will you come back Marie or When will you be back Marie)
However, we are now emphasizing the fourth line of the first stanza of Guillaume Apollinaire’s “All the bells will ring” (octosyllabic [8]) poem: Toutes les cloches sonneront (Tou-tes-les-clo-ches-son-ne-ront): All the bells will ring.
I have singled out this particular line because of the role bells play in the life of many human beings, Christians in particular. Traditionally, in the Western and Eastern Church, bells rang on three of the most important events in life: birth (baptism), marriage and death. Marriage is a legitimate substitute to life, both brief and eternal, because human beings can have children. This allusion is confirmed by the words “petite fille” (little girl) and “mère-grand” (grandmother) (lines 1 & 2). As a child, Marie could dance, but will she dance as a grandmother?
The Three Bells
Édith Piaf and les Compagnons de la chanson sang “Les trois cloches,” a Swiss song written in French by Jean Villard Gilles. Piaf and les Compagnons de la chanson performed The Three Bells, at the beginning of their American tour, 1945-1946.
Summary
In Les trois cloches, a child is born in a village deep within the valley, on a starry night (nuit étoilée). He has chubby cheeks (joufflu) and is tender and pink. He will be baptized the following day (demain: tomorrow) and will be named Jean-François Nicot.
Bells are ringing and, from echo to echo, they announce the birth of Jean-François and welcome this new soul. He is a flower yet to bloom under the light (day). He is like a flame freshly lit, fragile. He will require protection, care and love.
When he marries la douce Élise, before God in the old church, Jean-François Nicot is only 19 years old. Élise, whom he is marrying, is as white as the blossoming flowers of an apple tree.
Bells are ringing. It is Jean-François’ wedding day. “One heart, one soul, and forever,” says the priest. “Be a pure flame rising and proclaiming the greatness of your love.”
In a village, deep within the valley, many days and many nights have passed. Time has fled. On a starry night, a heart falls asleep, François has died… For all flesh is like the grass. It is like a wildflower, corn, ripe fruit, bouquets and wreaths. Alas, everything dries up…
A bell is tolling. Jean-François’ allotted days on earth are over. His life is our life. We are born, we have a family and we return to eternal life.
The following link takes you to the French poem and its English translation. This performance is difficult to access.
Village au fond de la vallée
Comme égaré, presqu’ignoré (lost)
Voici qu’en la nuit étoilée(the starry night)
Un nouveau-né nous est donné (A newborn)
Jean-François Nicot il se nomme(he is named)
Il est joufflu, tendre et rosé (chubby cheeks) À l’église, beau petit homme, (At church, little man [pronounced pe-ti-thom])
Demain tu seras baptisé…
Une cloche sonne, sonne(A bell rings) Sa voix d’écho en écho (Its voice)
Dit au monde qui s’étonne: (people are astonished)
“C’est pour Jean-François Nicot” (It’s)
C’est pour accueillir une âme (to welcome a soul)
Une fleur qui s’ouvre au jour (opens) A peine, à peine une flamme (Barely)
Encore faible qui réclame(weak, asks for)
Protection, tendresse, amour…
Village au fond de la vallée Loin des chemins, loin des humains (Far from roads)
Voici qu’aprèsdix-neuf années(after nineteen years) Coeur en émoi, le Jean-François (His heart fluttering)
Prend pour femme la douce Élise (Marries Élise)
Blanche comme fleur de pommier(apple tree)
Devant Dieu, dans la vieille église (Before God, in the old church)
Ce jour ils se sont mariés… (On that day they married)
Toutes les cloches sonnent, sonnent Leurs voix d’écho en écho (Their voices) Merveilleusement couronnent (Marvelously crown)
La noce à François Nicot (François’ wedding)
“Un seul coeur, une seule âme”, (Only one heart, only one soul)
Dit le prêtre, “et pour toujours(Says the priest, forever) Soyez une pure flamme (Be a pure flame)
Qui s’élève et qui proclame (That rises)
La grandeur de votre amour.”
Village au fond de la vallée
Des jours, des nuits, le tempsa fui(time has fled)
Voici qu’en la nuit étoilée
Un cœur s’endort, François est mort… (A heart falls asleep, François has died)
Car toute chair est comme l’herbe (For all flesh is like the grass)
Elle est comme la fleur des champs (the wildflower) Épis, fruits mûrs, bouquets et gerbes, (Corn, ripe fruit, bouquets, wreaths)
Hélas tout va se desséchant… (all dries up)
Une cloche sonne, sonne (A bell tolls)
Elle chante dans le vent (Sa voix d’écho en écho)
Obsédante et monotone (Dit au monde qui s’étonne)
Elle redit aux vivants: (It tells the living again) (La mort de…) (The death of…)
“Ne tremblez pas coeurs fidèles
Dieu vous fera signe un jour! (God will call you one day)
Vous trouverez sous son aile (You will find under His wing)
Avec la vie éternelle
L’éternité de l’amour…” (Eternal love)
This post was published in 2012 and has been revised. When I first published it, I had very few readers.
Charles, Duke of Orléans (24 November 1394, Paris – 5 January 1465), was among the victims of the Hundred Years’ War (1337 to 1453). Had Charles reigned, he would have been a Valois king, a cadet branch of the Bourbon kings. The Salic Law ended the Valois line as women could not accede to the throne of France. Charles’ son,Louis XII, orphaned at the age of three, would be King of France.
Charles d’Orléans is associated with the lore about St Valentine’s Day or Valentine’s Day. He circulated in French courtly circles the Valentine stories told by Chaucer and Othon de Grandson‘s (FR, Wikipedia): birds, martyrs and a note signed “From your Valentine.” Coincidentally, his mother was named Valentina, Valentina Visconti. Her picture is featured below, mourning Louis.
Charles d’Orléans is a fascinating and intriguing figure. He became Duke of Orléans at the early age of 13, when his father, Louis d’Orléans, was assassinated by men acting on behalf of the Duke of Burgundy, the opposing faction. Charles was an Armagnac and, therefore, a supporter of the House of Valois. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, during Charles’ imprisonment in England. Because of her, a legitimate French king, Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461) ascended to the throne. He was crowned at Reims Cathedral.
Valentine of Milan, Charles’ mother, mourning her husband’s death, François-Fleury Richard(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Jeanne d’Arc, painting, c. 1485. (Centre Historique des Archives Nationales, Paris, AE II 2490) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Charles was wounded at the Battle of Agincourt (25 October 1415) and was taken prisoner by Sir Richard Waller. Because he was a “prince du sang,” literally a “prince of the blood,” i.e. a possible heir to the throne of France, Henry V, did not want him to return to France. In fact, Henry V of England also claimed he was heir to the throne of France. So Charles spent nearly 25 years detained in England. It is said that, upon his return to France, in 1440, he spoke English better than French. (See Charles d’Orléans, Wikipedia.)
the Beginning of a Lasting Friendship
During his imprisonment, Charles was seldom behind bars, but housed quite comfortably in various castles. One of these was Wallingford Castle, a castle that belonged to Sir Richard Waller, who had captured him at the Battle of Agincourt (now Azincourt), an English victory and a key moment in the Hundred Years’ War (1337 to 1453).
A very sincere and long-lasting friendship grew between Sir Waller and the Duke, who, upon his release, was very generous to his friend and jailor. In fact, Sir Richard Waller added the fleur-de-lis to the Waller Coat of Arms. Moreover, Charles was a relatively free prisoner, who frequently travelled to London, but never on his own. Yet, he was separated from his family and away from his native country for a very long time. Besides, he must have worried about the future. How could he tell whether or not he would one day return to France?
So Charles whiled away the years of his lengthy captivity writing poems and songs, which, I would suspect, helped him cope in his « Forêt delongue attente », to use his own words (The Forest of Long Awaiting, my very mediocre translation). It could be said, therefore, that he created for himself a “literary homeland,” and never left it. When he returned to France, he stayed at his castle in Blois and entertained poets.
I would also suspect our prisoner was not only rescued by art but that art, poetry in particular, was his true calling. Charles d’Orléans is an important figure in the history of French literature. Britannica describes him as:
“one of the greatest, of the courtly poets of France, who during exile in England also earned a reputation for his poems in English.”[1]
Charles d’Orléans & Marie de Clèves (a tapestry) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Charles’ Son: a Future King
After he was freed, in 1440, Charles lived at Château de Blois and befriended poets. But his poems are not his only legacy. At the age of 46, he married 14-year-old Marie de Clèves:
« Car pour moi fustes trop tart née, Et moy pour vous fus trop tost né. »
“You for me were born too late.
And I for you was born too soon.”
Marie de Clèves, whom he loved dearly, bore him three children, one of whom would be Louis XII, King of France. Charles was 68 when his son was born. He had turned to poetry, but he was a “prince du sang” (a Prince of the Blood, i.e. a possible heir to the throne of France). So was his son.
Charles reçoit l’hommage d’un vassal(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Hella Haasse
In England, Charles wrote ballades(ballads). In France, he wrote rondeaux and rondels.Therondeau however is also a musical form.[2] At the end of En la forêt de longue attente, we find un envoi, a few lines of praise or homage, or a short conclusion. Charles d’Orléans’ Le Printemps, the most famous rondel in the French language, uses a refrain, repeated lines.
Charles d’Orléans’ En la forêt de longue attente is a ballade, written in England and containing an envoi. It was translated in 1949, as Het Woud der verwachting, by Hella Haasse (2 February 1918 – 29 septembre 2011). Hella Haasse’s translations of Charles d’Orléans poetry created a revival of Charles’ poetry in France. But Debussy had already set some of Charles’s poems to music he composed. Edward Elgar set to music “Is she not passing fair.”
“Le Printemps,” the Best-Known Rondel
Charles d’Orléans’ “Le Printemps” (spring time) is the best-known rondel in the French language. A rondelconsists of 13 octosyllabic verses (8 syllables). The translation, not mine, is literal. There are more lyrical translations.
1)
Le-temps-a-lais-sé-son-man-teau (8 syllables)
De-vent,-de-froi-dure-et-de-pluie
Et s’est vêtu de broderie,
De soleil luisant, clair et beau.
The season removed his coat Of wind, cold and rain,
And put on embroidery,
Gleaming sunshine, bright and beautiful.
2)
Il n’y a bête ni oiseau,
Qu’en son jargon ne chante ou crie:
“Le temps a laissé son manteau!
De vent, de froidure et de pluie.”
There is neither animal nor bird
That doesn’t tell in it’s own tongue:
“The season removed his coat. Of wind, cold and rain.”
3)
Rivière, fontaine et ruisseau
Portent en livrée jolie,
Gouttes d’argent, d’orfèvrerie,
Chacun s’habille de nouveau
Le temps a laissé son manteau.
Rivers, fountains and brooks
Wear, as handsome garments,
Silver drops of goldsmith’s work;
Everyone puts on new clothing:
The season removed his coat.
So the story of Charles d’Orléans is a story of survival. During his years of exile, he found a refuge in poetry. He wrote Ballades, rondeaux mainly, but also composed songs and wrote lays (lais) and complaints (complaintes). His poetry is characterized by melancholy, yet it reveals a sense of humour.
Consider Charles’ legacy. Yes, his son would be King of France, Louis XII. But I am thinking of Charles d’Orléans’ poems and songs. Charles d’Orléans lived five hundred years ago, but we still read his poems. He is therefore alive and linked to the lore of St Valentine’s Day.
[2] Together with the ballade and the virelai, it [the rondeau] was considered one of the three formes fixes, and one of the verse forms in France most commonly set to music between the late 13th and the 15th centuries. It is structured around a fixed pattern of repetition of material involving a refrain.
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(please click on the titles to hear the music)Charles d’Orléans: “Le temps a laissé son manteau,” Michel Polnareff
poet: Charles d’Orléans
piece: “Le temps a laissé son manteau” (Le Printemps)
performer: Ernst van Altena
Medieval art is always new. It belongs to a collective childhood eager to chronicle every joyous moment of its journey into the future, despite calamities. The plague ended the golden era of the Provençaltroubadour (langue d’oc), the trouvères(langue d’oïl) of northern France, and the Minnesingers[i] of German-language lands.
The word “trouvère” applies to all three groups. They were finding (“trouver”), or creating, and they were preserving. The Codex Manesse is a comprehensive collection of German-language songs constituting a most precious and informative testimonial. The codex is an anthology of texts with portraits, but many of its folios are illuminated manuscripts that have survived the test of time. It could well be “the most beautifully illumined German manuscript in centuries.” (See Codex Manesse – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
Source
collection of Rüdiger II Manesse and his son
Zürich
14th century
The images featured above and below adorn the Codex Manesse, an extensive song book compiled and illumined “between c. 1304 when the main part was completed, and c. 1340.” It is “the most important single source of medieval Minnesang poetry [love poetry].” (See Codex Manesse – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
The Codex Manesse‘s main source was the collection of patrician Rüdiger II Manesse and his son. It was produced in Zürich, and was written in Middle High German. (See Codex Manesse – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
Contributors
Emperor (Kaiser)
King (König)
Count (Graf)
Knight
Herr
The lyric poets who contributed songs to the celebrated Codex Manesse are listed on the website of Cod. Pal. germ. 848 and under the Codex’s Wikipedia entry Codex Manesse. Many of its contributors were aristocrats and among these dignitaries are Kaiser [Emperor] Heinrich (fol. 6r), König (King) Konrad der Junge (fol. 7r), König Tyro von Schötten (fol. 8r), König Wenzel von Böhmen (fol. 10r), Herzog Heinrich von Breslau (fol. 11v). Earlier folios feature the more aristocratic lyric poets. (See Codex Manesse.)
Folio 124r is a portrait of the most famous Minnesinger, Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1170 – c. 1230). Walther’s main theme was love, but he introduced greater realism in his depiction of love and other topics: political, moral, or religious.[ii]
It appears Walther was born in the Tirol, but learned to sing and speak in Austria. “Ze ôsterriche lerntich singen unde sagen [sic].”According to Wikipedia, Walther was probably knighted and “was initially a retainer in a wealthy, noble household and had rooms.” (See Walther von der Vogelweide – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)
In about 1224, he settled on the fief given to him by Frederick II, in Würzburg. Walther died on his fief.[iii]
If the Province of Quebec had an anthem, it could be À la claire fontaine. According to Wikipedia’s French-language entry on À la claire fontaine, the song dates back to the 18th century and it was the national anthem (un hymne national) of New France. If so, it is unlikely to date back to the 18th century. It would be an older song, as indicated in Wikipedia’s English-language entry on the same song. (See À la claire fontaine, Wikipedia.)
The canoemen (coureurs des bois or voyageurs) went up and down the St Lawrence River (the fountain) carrying fur pelts. Bathing in the St Lawrence River meant settling in New France. There were oak trees on both sides of le fleuve Saint-Laurent. After 1763, the year France ceded Nouvelle-France to England, the rose symbolized the English and the rosier (rosebush), England. Moreover, the you in il y a longtemps que je t‘aime (I have loved you for a long time) was France. (See À la claire fontaine, Wikipedia FR.)
À la claire fontaine was a favourite song among voyageurs, who were singers. This song has five hundred versions.
A movie entitled The Painted Veil contains a lovely rendition of À la claire fontaine, so I have included the relevant video. The Painted Veil is a 2006 film adaptation of Somerset Maugham‘s The Painted Veil. Nostalgia is a feeling all human beings share.
About: À la claire fontaine
This song, a ballad, is about a young man who strolls by a clear fountain. The water (eau[f]) is so beautiful that he goes in to bathe (se baigner).
He lets himself dry (sécher: dry up) under the leaves (feuilles[fp]) of an oak tree (chêne[m]).
On the highest (la plus haute) branch, a nightingale (unrossignol [m]) sang.
He tells the nightingale to sing (chanter) because he has a happy heart (tu as le cœur gai). You feel like laughing (rire), but I feel like crying (pleurer).I lost (J’ai perdu) my lady friend (ma maîtresse/mon ami/e) without deserving it (sans l’avoir mérité). Because I refused to give her (Je lui ai refusai) a bouquet of roses (la rose[f]).
Would that the rose still be (fût) on the rosebush and the rosebush itself be (fût) thrown (jeter: to throw) into the sea (la mer).
f: feminine, m: masculin, p: plural
Chorus: So long I’ve been loving you, I will never forget you. (incomplete)
At the clear fountain, While I was strolling by, I found the water so nice That I went in to bathe.Chorus
Under an oak tree, I dried myself. On the highest branch, A nightingale was singing.Chorus
Sing, nightingale, sing, Your heart is so happy. Your heart feels like laughing, Mine feels like weeping.Chorus
I lost my beloved, Without deserving it, For a bunch of roses, That I denied her.Chorus
I [would like] the rose To be still on the bush,And even the rosebushTo be thrown in the sea.Chorus
À la claire fontaine
À la claire fontaine,
M’en allant promener, (to stroll)
J’ai trouvé l’eau si belle, (the water)
Que je m’y suis baigné.
RefrainLui y a longtemps que je t’aime, (Il y a longtemps)
Jamais je ne t’oublierai. (Never will I forget you)
Sous les feuilles d’unchêne, (an oak tree)
Je me suis fait sécher, (to dry)
Sur la plus haute branche,
Lerossignol chantait. (the nightingale)
Refrain
Sur la plus haute branche, (the highest)
Le rossignol chantait, (sang)
Chante, rossignol, chante,
Toi qui as le cœur gai. (heart)
Refrain
Chante, rossignol, chante,
Toi qui as le cœur gai,
Tu as le cœur à rire, (to laugh)
Moi, je l’ai à pleurer. (to cry)
Refrain
Tu as le cœur à rire,
Moi, je l’ai à pleurer,
J’ai perdu ma maîtresse/mon amie, (I lost my lady friend) (I lost my friend)
Sans l’avoir mérité. (without deserving it)
Refrain
J’ai perdu ma maîtresse,
Sans l’avoir mérité,
Pour un bouquet de roses,
Que je lui refusai. (I denied her)
RefrainJe voudrais que la rose (I would like)
Fût encore au rosier, (still)/*Et que lerosier même (the rosebush itself)
À la mer fût jeté. (the sea) (to be thrown)
RefrainThe Painted Veil*/Et que mon doux ami (And that my gentle friend)
Fût encore à m’aimer. (Still loved me)
____________________À la claire fontaine (from The Painted Veil.) Lang Lang (accompanist)
The Painted Veil Poster, 2006 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen(Photo credit: YouTube)
1. Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen, ich fahr dahinmein Straßen
in fremde Land dahin.
Mein Freud ist mir genommen,
die ich nit weiss bekommen, wo ich im eland bin. (repeated)
1. Innsbruck, I must leaveyou, I will gomy way to foreign land(s). My joy has been taken away from me, that I cannot achieve where I am in misery. (repeated)
2. Groß Leid muss ich nun tragen,
das ich allein tu klagen
dem liebsten Buhlen mein.
Ach Lieb, nun lass mich Armen
im Herzen dein erbarmen,
dass ich muss ferne dannen sein. (far; be) (2)
2.I must now bear great sorrow that I can only share with my dearest. Oh love, holdpoor me (and) in your heart compassion that I must part from you. (2)
3. Mein Trostob allen Weiben, dein tu ich ewig bleiben,
stet, treu, der Ehren fromm.
Nun muss dich Gott bewahren,
in aller Tugend sparen, bis das ich wiederkomm. (2)
3. My consolation: above all other women, I will forever be yours, always faithful, in true honor. And now, may God protectyou, keep you in perfect virtue, until I shall return. (2).
One morning, this song appeared on YouTube. So I wrote a post, but later the song was removed. I have therefore modified my post by inserting a new video that contains instrumental variations of the song, composed by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 1778 – 17 October 1837). We no longer hear the lyrics of Ach, du lieberAugustin but the melody still brings to mind part of my childhood. It was a Proustien (Marcel Proust) experience. The song had the same effect on me as Madeleines, French pastry dipped in teach had for Proust. My experience will not yield a literary masterpiece. Proust (10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) wrote In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past (À la recherche du temps perdu), a form of anamnesis (recollection) published between 1913 and 1927.
—ooo—
After World War II, many Europeans migrated to Canada and several French-speaking immigrants settled in Quebec. Somehow, my parents met a Belgian couple whose life became inextricably linked with ours. Henri and Mariette were closer to us than most of our relatives.
Henri was a jeweller and Mariette had been the wardrobe mistress for the Brussels Opera (called La Monnaie [the mint]). While my father had long conversations with Henri, my mother and Mariette sat together talking away as they did needlework and sewed. Mariette often designed and sewed clothes for us, frequently using fabric reclaimed from larger garments. As a student, I also designed and sewed clothes using reclaimed fabric. I then thought I was wearing inferior garments, but I have changed my mind. These garments were one-of-a-kind ‘designer clothes.’
Henri and Mariette both spoke French, but Mariette knew several languages, one of which was German. She therefore endeavoured to teach me little sentences in German as well as songs, one of which was the very well-known “Oh, du lieber Augustin” (Oh, you dear Augustin) or Ach, du lieber Augustin. Mariette did tell me that it was and was not a children’s song. How confusing! But she was right. “Du lieber Augustin” sounds like a children’s song, but it is about the plague. It laughs away the plague, so it is not a memento mori(remember your own mortality), good medicine for absolute monarchs.
The Plague
I am not taking us back to one of the worst pandemics in history, which took place between 1346 – 1353. It was called the Black Death and killed 6 to 7 persons out of 10, perhaps more, perhaps less. According to Wikipedia, the plague usually kills two-thirds of its victims within four days. (See Bubonic plague, Wikipedia.)
The Bubonic Plague is a zoonotic disease because it is transmitted from one species, fleas, Oriental rat fleas, to another species: human beings. The pathogen is Yersinia pestis, a bacterium. The 1346 – 1353 pandemic travelled the Silk Road. There were flea–infested rats on merchant ships. The bacterium entered the skin and then traveled through the lymphatics system.The patient developed buboes, from βουβών, the Greek word for “groin,” hence the name Bubonic plague. It caused swelling in the groin and the arm pits (For pictures, see Rare diseases, Wikipedia.)
There were many epidemics of the plague, one of which took the lives of the Limburg Brothers, the miniaturists who had been commissioned, by Jean de France, duc de Berry to illuminate his Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry. The Limburg brothers died in 1416, as did Jean de France. Plague epidemics lasted up to the beginning of the 19th century.
“Oh, du lieber Augustin”
The song “Oh, du lieber Augustin,” was composed by Marx Augustin who sang ballads, played the bagpipes and was called ‘dear Augustin.’ Marx Augustin passed away during the Great Vienna Plague, which occurred in 1679. He was asleep and seemed dead. So he was thrown in a pit with the corpses if victims of the plague. Marx Augustin had been a professional entertainer. Therefore, when he woke up, he decided to die as he had lived, composing and singing a ballad. The Wikipedia translations of Oh, du lieber Augustin (just click) differ from the German-language original. However, let us listen to the melody.
Oh, du lieber Augustin, Augustin, Augustin,Oh, du lieber Augustin, alles ist hin.Geld ist weg, Mensch ist weg,Alles hin, Augustin.Oh, du lieber Augustin,Alles ist hin.1.Money‘s gone, girlfriend’s gone,/ All is lost, Augustin!/ Oh, you dear Augustin./
All is lost!
RefrainRock ist weg, Stock ist weg,Augustin liegt im Dreck,Oh, du lieber Augustin,Alles ist hin.2. Coat is gone, staff is gone,/ Augustin lies in the dirt./ Oh, you dear Augustin,/
All is lost!
RefrainUnd selbst das reicheWien, Hin ist’s wie Augustin;Weint mit mir im gleichen Sinn,Alles ist hin!3. Even that rich town Vienna,/ Broke is like Augustin;/ Shed tears with thoughts akin,/ All is lost!
RefrainJeder Tag war ein Fest,Und was jetzt? Pest, die Pest!Nur ein groß’ Leichenfest,Das ist der Rest.4.Every day was a feast,/ Now we just have the plague!/ Just a great corpse’s feast,/
That is the rest.
RefrainAugustin, Augustin,Leg’ nur ins Grab dich hin!Oh, du lieber Augustin,Alles ist hin!5. Augustin, Augustin,/ Lay down in your grave!/ Oh, you dear Augustin,/ All is lost!
Related Article
A few posts ago, we listened to Ray Charles sing Georgia on my Mind. It is a beautiful song written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Stuart Gorrell(lyrics). Gorrell wrote the lyrics for Hoagy’s sister, Georgia Carmichael and it was recorded in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael.
But for many of us, Georgia is mainly home to Joel Chandler Harris (9 December 1845 – 3 July 1908), the author of The Tales of Uncle Remus, tales which are told by ablack slave raconteur, but which Joel Chandler Harris put in writing, using an eye dialect. But interestingly, The Tales of Uncle Remus find their source, on the one hand,
1) in Æsop’s fables and in the fables of La Fontaine‘s (8 July 1621 – 13 April 1695) and, on the other hand,
2) in the various versions of Reynard the Fox, the first of which is Nivardus of Ghent’s the Ysengrimus (1148 or 1149) a long — 6,574 lines of elegiac couplets — epic Latin fabliau or fabliaux and the birthplace of Reinardus or Reynard.
In other words, The Tales of Uncle Remus are not coyote tales, nor are they related to Anansi (spider, as in spider-man) tales, except, perhaps, remotely. The Anansi tales were probably brought to North America and the Carribbeans by black slaves except, perhaps, remotely. The Anansi tales from West Africa. The Tales of Uncle Remus are mostly European tales and, in particular, French tales and trickster tales. I suspect, however, that they are also rooted in African tales.
Nivardus of Ghent’s Ysengrimus
Born Reinardus, in Nivardus of Ghent’s Ysengrimus, the above-mentioned mock–epic poem, Reynard is indeed the trickster par excellence, the wolf, his nemesis, are anthropomorphic animals, which means that they have human attributes, the most important of which is their ability to speak. In literature, authors use speaking animals to say something without saying it. Such narratives are often described, in French, as a dire-sans-dire (to say without saying) and are usually defined as an oblique discourse.
Uncle Remus: Provenance
Assuming that Joel Chandler Harris, who lived in Georgia, is not Uncle Remus, how did Uncle Remus, a black raconteur also living in Georgia, learn Æsopic fables and Reynard stories? Provenance is our first mystery.
In the middle of the 19th century, La Fontaine was translated into the various patoisor dialects, créole in fact, of the French Carribbeans.[i] But, with respect to the tales of Uncle Remus, my best hypothesis would be that Uncle Remus heard his tales from Acadians[ii] deported as of 1755. Many of the ships filled with Acadians sailed down the east coast, from colony to colony, but the deportees were refused asylum by British colonies north of Georgia because they were Catholics. In Georgia, they were finally allowed to disembark.
Uncle Remus: a Black Raconteur
This takes us to our second mystery. Why were these tales told a black slave, or black slaves, rather than a white man? Regarding this issue, my best hypothesis would be that we are dealing with a matter of social status. It could be that the social status of deported Acadians did not differ much from the social status of black slaves.
The deported Acadians had spent weeks on ships. They had lost their homes and had been separated from wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, and other loved-ones. So, although they were not persons of colour, they were poor, deprived of their families and they had been exiled. In all likelihood the deported Acadians befriended the slaves rather than their owners.
As mentioned above, what I have written is hypothetical, but it makes sense. Just as it makes sense that the melody of Oh Shenandoah could have been a voyageur melody. As we know, there was a voyageur, Bonga, a name that could be derived from bon gars (good guy), who could easily have transmitted the melody. In fact, Bongas may have been a former black slave who had lived in Louisiana.
Wren’s Nest, Joel Chandler Harris’s Home
Joel Chandler Harris
In the latter part of 1880, Joel Chandler Harris (9 December 1848 – 3 July 1908) published Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings. Until then and for many years, Joel Chandler Harris’s UncleRemus stories had been published in various magazines. They were popular and had become an integral part of American culture. Joel Chandler Harris was therefore approached by D. Appelton and Company and asked to compile the stories so they could be published in book form. No sooner said than done, which takes us to the Tar–Baby story.
Br’er Rabbit and the Tar-Baby, drawing by E. W. Kemble from The Tar-Baby, by Joel Chandler Harris, 1904
The Tar-Baby story
The Tar-Baby story is a key story, if not the key story, in Joel Chandler Harris’s Uncle Remus. In the Tar-Babystory, Br’er (Brother) Fox makes a doll covered with tar and turpentine. Br’er Rabbit sees the doll and starts punching it because it will not respond to him. As a result, Br’er Rabbit gets stuck to Tar-Baby. In order to be freed, he begs Br’er Fox not to throw him in the briar patch. Br’er Fox does not suspect a ruse, so he throws Br’er Rabbit in the briar patch and the rabbit is again free.
So now we know, albeit hypothetically, how Reynard the trickster might have travelled to Georgia and we also know that Br’er Rabbit proved the better trickster than Br’er Fox. In North America, the fox ceased to be a trickster. Finally, we can understand why Reynard stories and La Fontaine’s largely Æsopic fables were told to a black slave rather than a white man.
Tar Baby as Metaphor & as Social Slur
“Tar baby” has since been used as a metaphor. It describes a sticky situation that intervention makes even stickier. The more you try to solve a problem, the greater the problem. But according to Wikipedia, “tar baby” has become a racial slur. The best is to quote Wikipedia.
“Several United States politicians—including presidential candidates John Kerry, John McCain, Michele Bachmann, and Mitt Romney—have been criticized by civil rights leaders, the media, and fellow politicians for using the “tar baby” metaphor. An article in The New Republic argued that people are “unaware that some consider it to have a second meaning as “a slur” and it “is an obscure slur, not even known to be so by a substantial proportion of the population.” It continued that, “those who feel that tar baby’s status as a slur is patently obvious are judging from the fact that it sounds like a racial slur”. In other countries, the phrase continues to refer to problems worsened by intervention.” (Wikipedia)[ii]
Conclusion
For the time being, I will continue to look upon The Tales of Uncle Remus as the moment when Reynard stories and Æsopic fables sailed down to Georgia with the deported Acadians (“Cajuns,” US) and were told Uncle Remus and committed to writing by Joel Chandler Harris who used an eye dialect, or nonstandard spelling replicating, more or less, African-American pronunciation. So there may exist a French connection to The Tales of Uncle Remus, except that in North America the rabbit will replace the fox and that tales originating in India were undoubtedly reshaped by an African collective unconscious. In other words, deported Acadians would have told Remus his tales, just as the voyageurs, perhaps Bongas himself, gave its melody to Oh Shenandoah, thereby creating another French connection.And, in the case of The Tales of Uncle Remus,we owe a debt of gratitude to Joel Chandler Harris who took the time to commit the tales he heard to writing. It is sad, however, that tar being black, tar baby should be acquiring a racial connotation.
The Song of the South
In 1946, Walt Disney produced the Song of the South, a film based on Uncle Remus. There is a video of this song on YouTube, which I am not embedding.
I have written several posts on Reynard the Fox and have included links to these articles.
_________________________[i]Another possible source could be a “version of La Fontaine’s fables in the dialect of Martinique [that] was made by François-Achille Marbot (1817–66) in Les Bambous, Fables de la Fontaine travesties en patois” (1846). In the middle of the 19th century, La Fontaine was translated into Creole and associated patois (dialects). (Wikipedia)
[ii] The word Acadie is derived from the Mi’kmaq “algatig.”[iii]See TimeUS.
If the “it” of Let’s do it is an invitation to make love, as was suggested by a commentator, “Let’s do it” was “a pioneer pop song to declare openly ‘sex is fun’.” (Wiki2.org.)
The Jan. 31, 1949, cover of TIME Cover Credit: BORIS CHALIAPIN
About Cole Porter
Cole Porter was born to a wealthy family in Indiana. He studied at Yale University and, as a student at Yale, Porter wrote 300 songs. He then attended the Harvard Law School, and “at the suggestion of the dean of the law school,” he switched to the study of harmony and counterpoint. (Let’s Fall in Love, Wiki2.org.)
In 1937, he was injured, a leg injury, as a result of a horseback riding accident. Several years later, in 1958, he grew ulcers on the injured leg, which had to be amputated. Cole Porter died of kidney failure on 15 October 1964. He was 73 and living in Santa Monica, California.
Vignette from Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings: The Folk-Lore of the Old Plantation, by Joel Chandler Harris, p. 148. Illustrations by Frederick S. Church and James H. Moser. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1881. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have just looked at the News, briefly. Three young girls were found guilty of hooliganism for a prayer critical of Vladimir Putin. Here in Quebec, the indépendantistes are gaining ground. That could change. As for the US, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the CBC, tightening access to voting facilities has been intensified. It surprises me that one should go to such an extreme to defeat President Obama.
In this respect, I would urge all my American readers to make sure their neighbours get to the polls before they are closed. Every American citizen should vote and, for some, making it to election facilities can be difficult. For instance, it can be difficult for the elderly and for persons who do not have a car or cannot walk to get to election polls. Some people tire easily.
I would like to tell you about Joel Chandler Harris‘s Tales of Uncle Remus. Uncle Remus is an African-American raconteur. But if I do so now, I would have difficulty sending the news at an appropriate time. I have been remiss in this regard.
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