Song no. 34 from the collection Chants populaires de la Provence by Damase Arbaud (1814-1876), published in 1862. Public domain. The text follows Arbaud's own spelling, which predates the Félibrige standard, and is reproduced unchanged.
Text
Ai rescountrat ma mio,
Diluns,
Que s'en anavo vendre
De fum,
Luns fum, toou !
Retourno-te ma mio
Retourno-te que ploou.
Ai rescountrat ma mio
Dimars,
Que s'en anavo vendre
De lard,
Mars lard, luns fum, toou !
Retourno-te. . . . .
Ai rescountrat ma mio
Dimercres,
Que s'en anavo vendre
De lebre,
Mercres lebre, mars lard, luns fum, toou!
Retourno-le. . . ..
Ai rescountrat ma mio
Dijoous,
Que s'en anavo vendre
De biou,
Joous biou, mercres lebre, mars lard, luns fum, toou !
Retourno-te. . . . .
Ai rescountrat ma mio
Divendres,
Que s'en anavo vendre
De cendres,
Vendres cendres, joous biou, mercres lebre, mars lard, luns fum, toou |
Retourno-te. . . ..
Ai rescountrat ma mio
Dissato,
Que s'en anavo vendre
De pato,
Sato pato, vendres cendres, joous biou, mercres lebre, mars lard, luns fum, toou !
Retourno-te. . . ..
Ai rescountrat ma mio
Dimenche,
Que s'en anavo vendre
de penche,
Menche penche, sato pato, vendres cendres, joous biou, mercres lebre, mars lard, luns fum, toou !
Retourno-te. . . . .
Ai rescountrat ma mio
Un jour,
Que s'en anavo vendre
De flour,
Jour flour, menche penche, sato pato, vendres cendres, joous biou, mercres lebre, mars lard, luns fum, toou |
Retourno-te. . . ....
Ai rescountrat ma mio
Un mes,
Que s'en anavo vendre
De pes,
Mes pes, jour flour, menche penche, sato pato, vendres cendres, joous biou, mercres lebre, mars lard, luns fum, toou !
Retourno-te. . . ..
Ài rescountrat ma mio
Un an,
Que s'en anavo vendre
De pan,
An pau, mes pes, jour flour, menche penche, sato pato, vendres cendres, joous biou, mercres lebre, mars lard, luns fum, toou!
Retourno-te ma mio
Retourno-te que ploou.
English translation of the full text forthcoming.
Notes
A cumulative, enumerative song built on the days of the week and then on a single day, month and year, each verse adding a new good sold by the beloved and chaining back through all the previous ones. Arbaud notes it was sung by olive pickers calling to one another from hillside to hillside across Provence, and that it is the only genuinely popular song in a Castil-Blaze collection he attributes it to.
Notable words
| Provençal | French |
|---|
| mio | mie, bien-aimée |
| lebre | lièvre |
| biou | bœuf |
| pato | pâte |
| penche | peigne |
| toou | onomatopée de refrain, sans traduction |
Glosses are given in French, as delivered by our lexicographic source; an
English gloss is not yet available for these words.
Source: Damase Arbaud, Chants populaires de la Provence, 1862,
song no. 34. Public domain. Digitization:
https://archive.org/details/chantspopulaire00arbagoog. Transcription and formatting by Lingua Nostra.