On Monday Joe Fineman sang "Auprès de ma blonde".
The lyrics are already in Mudcat DT
There's also a thread about the song but no translation. So here is the version I learned as a child and a translation.
Note that the 2nd line of each verse becomes the 1st line of the next one making the song 11 verses long instead of 6.
AUPRÈS DE MA BLONDE (French)
1. Au jardin de mon père les lilas sont fleuris (x2)
Tous les oiseaux du monde viennent y faire leurs nids
Chorus
Auprès de ma blonde, qu'il fait bon, fait bon, fait bon,
Auprès de ma blonde, qu'il fait bon dormir.
2. La caille, la tourterelle, et la jolie perdrix (x2)
Et la jolie colombe qui chante jour et nuit.
3. Qui chante pour les filles qui n'ont pas de mari (x2)
Pour moi, ne chante guère car j'en ai un joli.
11
4. Dites-nous donc, la belle, où donc est vot' mari ? (x2)
Il est dans la Hollande, les Hollandais l’ont pris.
5.Que donn'riez-vous, la belle, pour avoir vot' mari ? (x2)
Je donnerais Versailles, Paris et Saint-Denis.
6. Les tours de Notre-Dame et les cloches de mon pays (x2)
Et ma jolie colombe qui chante jour et nuit. | NEXT TO MY GIRLFRIEND
1. In my father's garden the lilacs are in bloom (x2)
All the birds in the world come to build their nests here.
Chorus
Next to my girlfriend, how good, how good, how good,
Next to my girlfriend, how good it is to sleep.
2. The quail, the dove, and the pretty partridge (x2)
And the pretty dove that sings day and night.
3. That sings for girls who have no husband (x2)
It hardly sings for me as I have a pretty one.
4. Tell us, beauty, where is your husband? (x2)
He is in Holland, the Dutch took him.
5.What would you give, beauty, to have your husband? (x2)
I would give Versailles, Paris and Saint-Denis.
6. The towers of Notre-Dame and the bells of my home area (x2)
And my pretty dove that sings day and night. |
From English Wiki "Auprès de ma blonde" (French for "Next to My Girlfriend") or "Le Prisonnier de Hollande" ("The Prisoner of Holland") is a popular song dating to the 17th century... It appeared during or soon after the Franco-Dutch War (1672–78), during the reign of Louis XIV, when French sailors and soldiers were commonly imprisoned in the Netherlands.
The song's quick pace and lively melody made it well-suited to military marches, and it is still commonly played at parades. For the same reasons, it gained widespread popularity as a drinking song and nursery rhyme.
According to French Wiki, it's often attributed to André Joubert du Collet, lieutenant of the royal navy during the reign of Louis XIV: taken prisoner by the Dutch, he would have composed it after his release in 1741.
YouTube "Auprès de ma blonde" page where you'll find the song sung and/or played.
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