Provençal song

The three white benches

In Provençal: LES TRES BANCS BLANCS

Song no. 4 Damase Arbaud, 1862

Song no. 4 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

Au Paradis l'y a tres bancs blancs L'y a Sant Peyre eme Sant Jean Jesus es au mitan, N'a vist venir sa boueno Mero Que n'en fasie que plourar Que souspirar. — Que n'avetz-vous, ma boueno Mero, Que tant plouretz Tant souspirelz ? — Hai! moun enfant, mon doux enfant, N'ai ben resoun de plourar De souspirar ; Au Paradis degun se ves intrar, L'Infer fai que durbir et sarar. — Counsouletz vous, ma boueno Mero, Se ves plus que de renegats Que vous et iou ant parjural ; Mai se vouen pas se courrigear Les tempestos li mandarem, Les vignos li brularem, Les blads seran desteslats, Grando guerro l'y aura Et tout lou mounde perira. — Ah! moun enfant, mon doux enfant, Mandetz de vignos ben flouridos, Mandetz d'espigos ben fournidos, Lou ciel lusent, d'aiguo ben claro, Ansin se counvartiran Et lou caremo junaran, À Pasquo coumuniarän.

English translation of the full text forthcoming.

Notes

Seated in Paradise between Saint Peter and Saint John, Jesus sees his Mother weeping over the state of the world, filled with renegades and perjurers. He threatens to send storms, burnt vineyards and war unless people mend their ways; the Virgin intercedes and asks instead for abundant harvests in exchange for Lenten fasting and Easter communion. The genre is that of the apocalyptic religious lament, close to the oraison des Tres bancs blancs which Arbaud links to a sixteenth-century Catalan hymn.

Notable words

Provençal	French
renegats	renégats
parjural	se sont parjurés
caremo	carême
desteslats	dévastés, ravagés
coumuniarän	communieront

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. 4. Public domain. Digitization: https://archive.org/details/chantspopulaire00arbagoog. Transcription and formatting by Lingua Nostra.