Song no. 44 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
English translation of the full text forthcoming.
Notes
A children's round sung as a dialogue between two lines of players over a fine castle, sharing its origin with the French round "Ah! mon beau château". Arbaud reports, from M. Letuaire, how it is played by young girls in Toulon: the leader names a playmate, who steps into the middle of the circle and must, by the end of the following verse, kiss another girl or boy in the round. The proper name ("N***") is replaced at each performance by the child singled out; the closing verse, given as an example by Letuaire, names "Suzano".
Notable words
| Provençal | French |
|---|---|
| casteou | château |
| desmouliren | nous démolirons |
| maçoun | maçon |
| coutilloun | jupon |
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. 44. Public domain. Digitization: https://archive.org/details/chantspopulaire00arbagoog. Transcription and formatting by Lingua Nostra.