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Ils vont, les petits canards, Tout au bord de la rivière, Comme de bons campagnards. Barboteurs et frétillards, Heureux de troubler l'eau claire, Ils vont, les petits canards. Ils semblent un peu jobards, Mais ils sont à leur affaire, Comme de bons campagnards. Dans l'eau pleine de têtards, Où tremble une herbe légère, Ils vont, les petits canards, Marchant, par groupes épars, D'une allure régulière Comme de bons campagnards.1 Amoureux et nasillards, Chacun avec sa commère, Ils vont, les petits canards, Comme de bons campagnards.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Rosemonde Gérard, Les Pipeaux, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1889, pages 36-37.
1 Chabrier adds:Dans le beau vert d'épignards De l'humide cressonnière Ils vont, les petits canards, Et quoiqu'un peu goguenards, Ils sont d'humeur débonnaire Comme de bons campagnards! Faisant, en cercles bavards, Un vrai bruit de pétaudière, Ils vont, les petits canards, Dodus, lustrés et gaillards, Ils sont gais à leur manière, Comme de bons campagnards!
Text Authorship:
- by Louise-Rose Gérard (1866 - 1953), as Rosemonde Gérard, "Villanelle des petits canards", appears in Les pipeaux, in 1. Rustica, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1889 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Emmanuel Chabrier (1841 - 1894), "Villanelle des petits canards", 1889 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jules Mazellier (1879 - 1959), "Les petits canards" [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Le livre chantant, no. 10, Éd. Max Eschig [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English [singable] (Peter Low) , "The little ducks go walking", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Brian Charles Witkowski) , copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 19
Word count: 85
They go, the little ducks, All at the side of the river, Like good country folk! Paddlers and wrigglers, Happy to trouble the clear water, They go, the little ducks, They seem a little silly, But they are at their business, Like good country folk! In the water full of tadpoles, Where light grass trembles, They go, the little ducks, Marching in separate groups, In a regular pace Like good country folk!1 Amorous and nasal, Each one with its hearsay, They go, the little ducks, Like good country folk!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Translation of stanzas added by Chabrier:
In the pretty spinach green Of the humid cress-plot, They go, the little ducks, And what, than a little mocking, They are of a good-natured mood, Like good country folk! Making, in talkative circles, A true bedlam of noise, They go, the little ducks, Plump, glossy and lively, They are merry with their manner, Like good country folk!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2004 by Brian Charles Witkowski, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Louise-Rose Gérard (1866 - 1953), as Rosemonde Gérard, "Villanelle des petits canards", appears in Les pipeaux, in 1. Rustica, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1889
This text was added to the website: 2004-04-11
Line count: 19
Word count: 89