The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #153915   Message #3626294
Posted By: Richie
15-May-14 - 06:52 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Child Ballads: US Versions Part 7
Subject: RE: Origins: Child Ballads: US Versions Part 7
Here is the first verse of a version collected in 1976.

LE TESTAMENT DU GARCON EMPOISONNE - Sung by M. Onsime Brideau and his wife Alvina (nee Saint-Pierre), respectively 63 and 53 years old; Saint-Ime, county Gloucester, N.B., summer 1976.

1. Oiiss' t'as 'te hier au soir, Honoré mon enfant?
Oiiss' t'as 'te hier au soir, dit'-moi mon cher enfant?
J'ai 'te courter les fill', maman rangez mon lit
Car j'ai grand mal au coeur, je veux aller me coucher

I've translated the verse:

Where did you go last night Honoré my child
Where did you go last night, my dear child?
I went to see maidens, Mother please make my bed
Cause I feel sick and I want to lie down.

There a similar but different version in 1978 by Gabriel Yacoub, the leader of Malicorne, titled "Honoré mon Enfant." Another version apparently translating Yacoub's text is done by Stone Circle on the CD Alchemy.

Richie