Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde

Subject: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Gypsy
Date: 12 Jul 04 - 11:24 PM

Does anyone have the ABC or tadpoles for this tune? Listened to the midi, but don't think that is going to work...........need to have for a benefit coming up. Thanks for the help, all.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Amos
Date: 12 Jul 04 - 11:41 PM

Gypsy:

PM me an email address and I'll email you an MP3 recording that may be a bit crude but will make the tune plain enough, assuming you can accept the file. I don't have tabs or ABC for it, sorry.

Aq

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Wilfried Schaum
Date: 13 Jul 04 - 03:03 AM

A good midi file you find at ingeb.org. Click at Melody

Sing and enjoy
Wilfried

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: sian, west wales
Date: 13 Jul 04 - 09:58 AM

Quite popular in Welsh here in Wales too.

sian

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Folkiedave
Date: 13 Jul 04 - 12:07 PM

Sheffield City Morris http://www.citymorris.f9.co.uk/
have often sung this on French tours and at festivals. It always goes down a bomb because we invariably seem to know more verses than the French. I have also divided the audience into two and had one half sing the Oui oui oui part and the other half doing the non, non, non part. Crude but effective!!

Dave
www.collectorsfolk.co.uk

Subject: Lyr Add: CHEVALIERS DE LA TABLE RONDE
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Jul 04 - 01:19 PM

Yet Another Digital Tradition (click) has the Digital Tradition tunes in various types of notation.

Can anybody give us a decent translation of this song, and some information about its origins? I figure it has something to do with the Knights of the Round Table, but that's all I've been able to figure out.

Here's the translation from the Rise Up Singing Songbook, such as it is. Actually, I guess it's a pretty good translation - although I think I'd let only a trained professional try to sing it.
-Joe Offer-

---

Knights of the round table,
let us see if the wine is good

If it's good stuff,
I will drink as much as I want

I'll drink down five or six bottles
with a girl sitting on my knees

Who's that rapping on the door:
I guess it's her husband

If it is, the devil take him
for messing up my fun

When I die, bury me
in a cave full of good wine

Let the world's four biggest drunkards
carry me in my shroud

With my two feet against the wall
and my head under the tap

On my tombstone write:
here lies the king of the drinkers

The moral of this story is:
Drink before you die!

Chevaliers de la table ronde
Goutons voir si le vin est bon

S'il est bon, s'il est agréable
J'en boirai jusqu'a mon plaisir

J'en boirai cinq ou six bouteilles
Une femme sur les genoux.

Toc, toc, toc, qui frappe 'a la porte?
J'crois bien que c'est le mari.

Si c'est lui, que le diabl' l'emporte
Car il vient troubler mon plaisir.

Quand je meurs je veux qu'on m'interre
Dans une cave ou il y a do bon vin.

Et les quatre plus grands ivrognes
Porteront les quat' coins du drap.

Les deux pieds contre la muraille
Et la têt' sous le robinet.

Sur ma tombe je veux qu'on inscrive
'Ici git le roi des buveurs'.

La morale de cette histoire
C'est 'a home avant de mourir.

Subject: RE: req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Jul 04 - 01:42 PM

Hey, there's a singable translation in the 1955 edition of Song Fest.

Let us drink, knights of the round table,
Let us see if the wine is good.
Let us drink, knights of the round table,
Let us see if the wine is good.
Let us see, oui, oui, oui
Let us see, non, non, non
Let us see if the wine is good.
Let us see, oui, oui, oui
Let us see, non, non, non
Let us see if the wine is good.

If it's good and if it is pleasant
I will drink it for pleasure sweet
(repeat)
I will drink, oui, oui, oui
I will drink, non, non, non
I will drink it for pleasure sweet

I will drink down five or six bottles
With a gal sitting on my knee

Knock, knock, knock, sounds upon the door
I suspect that it is her spouse

If it is, then the devil sent him
To disturb me in pleasure sweet

And if I die may I be buried
In the cave that is full of wine

And the country's four biggest drunkards
Will transport me in my black shroud

My two feet up on some partition
And my head right beneath the tap

On my tombstone I would have written
"Here asleep lies the king of drunks."

Now the moral of this long story
Is to drink while you're still alive.

Gee, and it sounds so romantic in French! Something must have been lost in the translation.
The French lyrics are the same in Song Fest and in Rise Up Singing, and almost the same in the Digital Tradition. Anybody have more verses to contribute?

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Amos
Date: 13 Jul 04 - 02:30 PM

Joe,

The RUS translation is as good as it needs to be and captures the spirit of the song.

I've spent many a boyhood evening by the fire leading the family in a rousing chorus of "Oui, oui, oui..." . Fond memories.

A

Subject: RE: req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Gypsy
Date: 13 Jul 04 - 11:04 PM

such a fathead i am! looked in the archives, and found the midi, didn't even think of numachi..............Joe, a tip of me hat to ye, laddie. Once again you save the day! Thanks ever so much!

Subject: RE: req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: GUEST,Barry T, not at home
Date: 14 Jul 04 - 03:35 PM

Dunno if you're performing alone or in a group, but you might get some ideas from my midi sequence...

http://members.shaw.ca/tunebook/chevaliers.htm

If you have sequencing software you'll be able to pick out the harmony track and the 'wandering' base line. The key change helps, too, in a song like this where there are many verses.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: GUEST,mel
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 09:45 PM

does anyone have the english translation for the lyrics to this song, Chevaliers de la Table Ronde? Thanks, mel email me: [e-mail]

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Gypsy
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 10:02 PM

Well, the rest of the story.........we DID perform the song, unfortunately, the "good" customer who tips heavily, was dissappointed at the lack of hurdy gurdy. Equal misfortune.......i opened my mouth, and mentioned that i had hurdy gurdy. Ah well, i have another 10 months to figure a simple melody line to go with it. Just what i need, another dainty little instrument to carry across 10 acres, along with my hammered dulcimer!

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Amos
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 12:07 AM

I answered Melissa's request, BTW.

A

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Wilfried Schaum
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 06:14 AM

Amos - please tell it to us here, too.

Wilfried

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 06:18 AM

Wilfried:
Melissa's question (English translation) is already answered in the thread with two versions.
I assume Amos merely did the neighbourly thing a copy'n'paste job into an e-mail

Nigel

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Amos
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 08:44 AM

Yup.


A

Subject: ADD: Fanchon (French drinking song)
From: Monique
Date: 08 Jul 08 - 06:29 PM

Since "Chevalier de la Table Ronde" is a drinking song, here's another one. Here are the lyrics, the midi and the harmonized sheet music coming soon.

FANCHON
(Traditional drinking song)

Amis, il faut faire une pause
J'aperçois l'ombre d'un bouchon
Buvons à l'aimable Fanchon
Chantons pour elle quelque chose.

Refrain
Ah ! Que son entretien est doux
Qu'elle a de mérite et de gloire,
Elle aime à rire, elle aime à boire
Elle aime à chanter comme nous,
Elle aime à rire, elle aime à boire
Elle aime à chanter comme nous,
Elle aime à rire, elle aime à boire
Elle aime à chanter comme nous
Oui comme nous ! oui comme nous !

Fanchon, quoique bonne chrétienne,
Fut baptisée avec du vin
Un Bourguignon fut son parrain
Une Bretonne sa marraine.
(au refrain)

Fanchon préfère la grillade
À tous les mets plus délicats
Son teint prend un nouvel éclat
Quand on lui verse une rasade.
(au refrain)

Fanchon ne se montre cruelle
Que lorsqu'on lui parle d'amour
Mais moi, je ne lui fais la cour
Que pour m'enivrer avec elle.
(au refrain)

Un jour, le voisin la Grenade
Lui mit la main dans son corset
Elle riposta d'un soufflet*
Sur le museau du camarade.
(au refrain)

* other versions go "elle répondit d'un soufflet" or "ell' répondit par un soufflet"

Diapason Turquoise, volume 1, Les Presses d'Île de France, Paris (2001) says that the lyrics are attributed to General de Lasalle and the music to Abbot de L'Attaignant. "The melody and the lyrics to the refrain appeared for the first time under the title "Amour, laisse gronder ta mère" in a collection from 1766 by Gabriel-Charles de L'Attaignant. The lyrics are attributed to General Antoine-Charles-Louis, earl de Lasalle who would have written them at Napoleon's table. This song became later, in 1814, the Marie-Louise's marching song. The Marie-Louise was the name given to the young soldiers that should have gone for their military service in 1814 and 1815 but were called in 1813 by empress Marie-Louise's order during Napoleon's absence. At first the godfather in the 2nd verse was German but after 1870's war against Germany he was said to originate in Burgondy.
M.P.

---

Click to play

(contact Monique by personal message if you want the harmony version)

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Dave Rado
Date: 13 Aug 17 - 04:32 PM

Further to Joe Offer's two translations above, I submit the following one, of the most commonly sung verses, based on his, but I think mine reads better:

1. Let us drink, knights of the round table,
Let us see if the wine is good.

Chevaliers de la table ronde
Goutons voir si le vin est bon

CHORUS:
Goûtons voir, oui, oui, oui, [etc.]


2. If it's good and if it's enjoyable,
I will drink 'till I've had my fill.

S'il est bon, s'il est agréable,
J'en boirai jusqu'à mon plaisir.

CHORUS

3. When I die, I want to be buried
In a cellar where there's good wine.

Quand je meurs, je veux qu'on m'enterre
Dans une cave où il y a du bon vin.

CHORUS

4. With my two feet up against the wall,
and my head underneath the tap.

Les deux pieds contre la muraille
Et la tête sous le robinet.

CHORUS

5. On my tomb I want the inscription:
"Here the king of the drinkers lies."

Sur ma tombe, je veux qu'on inscrive
« Ici gît le roi des buveurs »

CHORUS

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Dave Rado
Date: 13 Aug 17 - 04:47 PM

By the way, no one seems to have said anything about the song's origins in this thread. Can anyone offer any more information than is in the French Wikipedia article about the song, which Google translates a bit stiltedly as follows?

The song, presented in eighteenth century peddling booklets, is inspired by a previous one, The Woman Drunk, which was transcribed in 1749 in Bressan dialect. Among his words are the couplet "Si je meurs, que l'on m'enterre dans la cave où est le vin, les pieds contre la muraille, la tête sous le robin". This verse is found in various variants: Catherine Has Her Hair or The Sickness of the Drunk Girl; The Old Mathurine, and in a play by Eugene Labiche. Previously, the theme of Knights of the Round Table as synonymous with wine friends was already present in the 17th century: in 1643, a song 7 by André de Rosiers de Beaulieu begins with these verses:

Children of Love and Wine, Knights of the Round Table ...

Le Roux , in his comic dictionary, mentions in 1718 that "we call knights of the Round Table those who like to be long at table."

(The most interesting part of which, I think, is that the reference to "Chevaliers de la table Ronde" has apparently got nothing to do with Arthurian legend, but is a French metaphor for someone who enjoys carousing.)

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Dave Rado
Date: 14 Aug 17 - 02:46 PM

Actually I think the following translation of the "
Quand je meurs" verse scans better:

When I die, I want to be buried
In a cellar where the wine is good.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Dave Rado
Date: 16 Aug 17 - 08:50 PM

And in the following verse I think the following translation scans better:

With both feet up against the wall,
and my head underneath the tap.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Monique
Date: 17 Aug 17 - 05:03 AM

The actual original line of "When I die I want to be buried" is "Si je meurs..." not "Quand...". We usually don't have "When + indicative present tense" in the subordinate clause when the main clause is about something in the future. I've just checked on the internet and the only sites that give the lyrics as "Quand je meurs" (4 or 5) are not French. Well, I do admit that "Si" (If) doesn't translate the reality of life on earth as the only thing we can be sure about it's that we'll all die, so it's not about "if" but "when" but the song tells otherwise!

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Dave Rado
Date: 17 Aug 17 - 08:44 AM

Thanks Monique, that's very helpful.

Dave

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Dave Rado
Date: 17 Aug 17 - 08:50 AM

By the way, Monique, most sites have the next line as:

Dans une cave où il y a du bon vin

But the French Wikipedia article has:

Dans une cave où y a du bon vin

(No "il")

Which is correct?

Dave

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
From: Monique
Date: 17 Aug 17 - 12:13 PM

The correct way to word it is "Dans une cave où il y a du bon vin" but in informal speech "il y a" is reduced to "y a" often spelled "y'a". So "il y a du bon vin" is how it should be spelled but "y a du bon vin" is the way it's pronounced.