To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=172814
7 messages

Origins: un festin de campagne

23 Oct 23 - 10:27 PM (#4186160)
Subject: Origins: un festin de campagne
From: luctem

Heard this tune originally from Folkways' Classic Canadian Songs, seen it titled with "le" instead of "un" as well

Doesn't seem to be much info on it (in English at least) .. my French is *okay* at best so I could start digging .. but wondering if anyone here has any more info on origins or knows anything about this one.

Looks to be popular in Quebec but found this video that shows two people singing it at a festival that I have gathered is in France. So based on that I'm assuming there could be lineage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs5FXHzfUwo

Folkways liner notes don't say too much either: “Le festin de campagne” is an invitation to a boisterous country feast, where passing the flask ensures another song

-Lucas

26 Oct 23 - 12:21 AM (#4186154)
Subject: ADD: un festin de campagne
From: Joe Offer

For a start, here are lyrics from one of "those" Websites. I'll ask Monique to stop by and help us out.

Le festin de campagne

Chez nous ils ont fait un festin
Un festin de campagne (bis)
Ils ont invité les voisins
Les parents de nos femmes

Refrain
Tout l' monde riait, pis moé j' chantais
Et pis pan pan, du fun, il y en avait
Y'en avait pour tout l'monde (bis)

Pis v'là l' bonhomme de la maison
Qui était pas mal en air (bis)
Y nous a chanté une p'tite chanson
A fallu faire chorus

(Refrain)

C'était le joueur de violon
Qui était pas mal en air (bis)
Y nous a joué un p'tit rigodon
À quat' pattes sur le poêle

(Refrain)

Quand c'est venu vers les 11 heures
On était tous à quat' pattes (bis)
Il ne restait personne debout
À part moé pis la chatte

(Refrain)

Voilà l' matou qui était jaloux
De m' voir avec sa compagne (bis)
Voilà qu'il me traita de fou
Ça r'vira à la chicane

(Refrain)

Le composeur de cette chanson
Y est pas ben loin d' vous autres (bis)
Vous n'avez qu'à y passer l' flacon
Y vous en chantera une autre

(Refrain)


Source: https://www.stlyrics.com/songs/l/labottinesouriante31999/lefestindecampagne1529277.html

The recordings I found most often were by:

And here's the Folkways recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zsGRlfSReg

Edition by Monique (below)

THE COUNTRY FEAST

At our house they had a feast
A country feast
They invited the neighbors
The parents of our wives

Chorus
Everyone was laughing, and I was singing
And also boom! Fun, there was some of it
There was some (fun) for everyone

And here's the man of the house
Who was pretty drunk
He sang us a little song
We had to join in chorus

(Chorus)

The violin player
Was pretty drunk
He played a little rigaudon for us
On all fours on the stove

(Chorus)

When it came around 11 o'clock
We were all on all fours
There was no one left standing
Except for me and the she-cat

(Chorus)

And then the tomcat who was jealous
To see me with his partner
Then he called me crazy
It turned into a quarrel

(Chorus)

The composer of this song
Is not far from you
You just have to pass him the bottle
He'll sing you another one

(Chorus)

26 Oct 23 - 02:22 AM (#4186158)
Subject: RE: Origins: un festin de campagne
From: DaveRo

Here it is with the accented characters
Le festin de campagne

Chez nous ils ont fait un festin
Un festin de campagne (bis)
Ils ont invité les voisins
Les parents de nos femmes

Refrain

Tout l'monde riait, pis moé j'chantais
Et pis pan pan, du fun, il y en avait
Y'en avait pour tout l'monde (bis)

Refrain

Pis v'là l'bonhomme de la maison
Qui était pas mal en air (bis)
Y nous a chanté une p'tite chanson
A fallu faire chorus

Refrain

C'était le joueur de violon
Qui était pas mal en air (bis)
Y nous a joué un p'tit rigodon
À quat' pattes sur le poêle

Refrain

Quand c'est venu vers les 11 heures
On était tous à quat' pattes (bis)
Il ne restait personne debout
À part moé pis la chatte

Refrain

Voilà l'matou qui était jaloux
De m'voir avec sa compagne (bis)
Voilà qu'il me traita de fou
Ça r'vira à la chicane

Refrain

Le composeur de cette chanson
Y est pas ben loin d'vous autres (bis)
Vous n'avez qu'à y passer l'flacon
Y vous en chantera une autre

Refrain
'Bis' means 'repeat'

From here

26 Oct 23 - 02:32 AM (#4186157)
Subject: RE: Origins: un festin de campagne
From: Monique

It's a Canadian song. It's mentioned in this pdf doc by Moncton University.
Here you have some notes about the meaning of some words/phrases.

This song has been recorded in 1955 and by that time nobody in France would use the English word "fun" -now we do. Besides, "moi" (I, me) pronounced "moé"(mweh) is nowadays only used in Canada in colloquial speech AFAIK. It's the old pronunciation (11th to late 16th century) of the diphthong "oi" that has been pronounced /wa/ since that time. Louis the 14th was announced as "Le roé!" (kind of "rweh" with a rolled "r").

26 Oct 23 - 02:34 AM (#4186155)
Subject: RE: Origins: un festin de campagne
From: Monique

Cross post, Dave. I'm afraid I've been editing the original post to include the accents while you were posting yours.

26 Oct 23 - 03:36 AM (#4186159)
Subject: RE: Origins: un festin de campagne
From: DaveRo

How typical that the English-language 'lyrics' sites I found all messed up the accents. They probably copied each other, and the first one was pre-unicode.

So I googled:
"Le Festin De Campagne" "paroles" site:*.fr

27 Oct 23 - 03:19 AM (#4186156)
Subject: RE: Origins: un festin de campagne
From: Monique

From here
UN FESTIN DE CAMPAGNE

Nous avons fait un p'tit festin,
Un festin de campagne.
Nous invitons tous nos parents,
Nos voisins et leurs femmes.

REFRAIN:
Tout le monde chantait et moi j'criais:
Hip! hip! pon pon du fun y en avait!
Y'en avait pour tout l' monde!(bis)

Quand ça venait sur les minuit,
Nous décorions les tables
Avec des fleurs de pissenlits
Et des bâtons de rhubarbe.

Y 'vait le joueur de violon
Qui était plein comme un œuf
Et qui cherchait son arcanson
À quatr' pattes sous le poêle.

L' compositeur de cette chanson
N'est pas ben loin d' vous autres
Si vous lui passez l' flacon
Il en chantera une autre...		 A COUNTRY FEAST

We had a little feast,
A country feast.
We invited all our parents,
Our neighbors and their wives.

CHORUS:
Everyone was singing and I was shouting:
Hip! hip! pon pon there was some fun!
There was some (fun) for everyone!

When it came about midnight,
We decorated the tables
With dandelion flowers
And rhubarb sticks.

There goes the violin player
Who was drunk as a skunk (lit. "full as an egg")
And who was looking for his rosin
On all fours under the stove.

The composer of this song
Isn't far from you
If you pass him the bottle
He will sing another one.