"Les trois mineurs" / "Les trois mineurs du chemin de fer" is a song from Berry (Center France) and was collected by Barbillat and Touraine in their book "Chansons populaires du Bas-Berry" (1930-31). There's a macaronic version in Breton and French on the French 'Voice of the People' thread There are some other slightly different versions of this song collected in other areas but mostly in Western France. LES TROIS MINEURS (French) Oh! Viens t'en donc mignonne, Viens t'en t'y promener, Bien gentiment, tout doucement, Sus l' bord de la rivière, Avec ceux trois jolis mineurs, Mineurs du chemin d' fer-e. Son père, aussi sa mère, Trois jours ils l'ont cherché'. Ils l'ont cherché', ils l'ont trouvé', Sus l' bord de la rivière. Avec ceux trois jolis mineurs, Mineurs du chemin d' fer-e. -Veux-tu venir, ma fille Venir à la maison? -Oh non, mon pèr', oh non ma mèr' Je suis l'abandonnée Mais de ceux trois jolis mineurs Je suis la bien-aimée. Si vous saviez mon père, Comm' je suis bien ici. L'un coup' mon pain, l'autr' tir' mon vin, Et l'aut' me verse à boire; Et tous les trois, le verre en main: -Mignonne, voulez-vous boire? Quand arriv' le dimanche Je suis encor bien mieux: L'un cass' mon bois, l'aut' fait mon feu, Et l'aut' chauff' ma chemise; Tous trois frisent mes blonds cheveux À la mode gentille. Si quelquefois mon père Passez par Orléans, Fait's compliments à nos parents, Aux garçons du village ; Ils n'auront pas eu l'agrément D'avoir mon cœur en gage. | THE THREE MINERS Oh! Come here, cutie, Come and walk there, Very nicely, very gently, On the river bank, With those three pretty miners, Miners of the railway. Her father, also her mother, Three days they looked for her. They looked for her, they found her, On the river bank. With those three pretty miners, Miners of the railway. "Will you come, daughter, Come home?" "Oh no, father, oh no mother I am the abandoned one But of those three pretty miners I am the beloved. If you knew, father, How well I am here. One breaks my bread, the other draws my wine, And the other pours me a drink; And all three, glass in hand: 'Sweetheart, would you like to drink?' When Sunday comes I am still much better: One breaks my wood, the other makes my fire, And the other warms my shirt; All three curl my blond hair In the nice fashion. If sometimes, father, You pass through Orléans, Give my compliments to our relatives, To the village boys; They will not have had the pleasure To have my heart as a pledge (= virginity)." | Note from the authors This song seems to us, especially by its tune, to predate by a long time the creation of the railway, where miners have little role to play. It is likely to have originated among the iron ore extractors who supplied the forges, very numerous in the past, in the center of France and one should say "miners of the iron mines". Note from the publisher The very place where this song was collected reinforces the authors' opinion; Vendœuvres-en-Bresse* was surrounded by iron mines and forges: La Caillaudière, Corbançon, which had been extinct for less than fifty years**. *Typo or mistake, it's "Vendœuvres-en-Brenne". The Brenne is an area located in the Indre department in center France while the Bresse (a former province) is located in eastern France, west of the Jura mountains. **The book was released in 1930-1931, so it means that the forges and mines had been extinct in the late 1800's. Recording by La Bamboche Recording from Anthologie de la chanson française, chansons de femmes You can also hear a slightly different version sung on Dastumla blog and here is the link to a pdf document where you can find the lyrics + explanations ref. the origins (p. 13 to 17) -French only. You can download Gueriff's collection here (4 pdf) (the songs are in the public domain but the books themselves aren't) Back to Index
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