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Provençal song

The Herb of Love

In Provençal: L'HERBO D'AMOUR

Song no. 42 Damase Arbaud, 1862

Song no. 42 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

Moun pero me voou maridar (bis) Per les moutouns me far gardar ; (bis) L'herbo que grio Toujours reverdilho, L'herbo d'amour Reverdilho toujours. Per les moutons me far gardar, N'en garde pas ni un ni dous, N'en garde pas ni un ni dous, N'en garde jusqu'à trento-dous. . . . N'en garde jusqu'a trento-dous, Lou lou' 's vengut, m'en a pres dous. . ... Lou lou' 's vengut, m'en a pres dous; Gentil galant ount' eriatz-vous ? . . . .. Gentil galant ount' eriatz-vous ? — N'en er' au jardin de l'amour. . . .. N'en er' au jardin de l'amour, N'en fasiou tres bouquets de flours. . . . . N'en fasiou tres bouquets de flours, N'y a on per iou, l'autre per vous. . . . . N'y a un per iou, l'autre per vous, L'autre per Pierre l'amourous. . . . . L'autre per Pierre l'amourous, (bis) N'autres s''embrassarem tous dous; (bis) L'herbo que grio Toujours reverdilho, L'herbo d'amour Reverdilho toujours.

English translation of the full text forthcoming.

Notes

A shepherdess song with a refrain about the herb of love that always turns green again. The young girl, set to watch the sheep by her father, loses two of them to a wolf, then finds her suitor gathering bouquets of flowers in the garden of love. Arbaud notes a variant of the refrain's opening line and discusses in a footnote the dialogue verse, which he would have preferred to correct, while publishing the text as it was communicated to him and collected at Digne.

Notable words

ProvençalFrench
moutounsmoutons
louloup
galantamoureux, prétendant
reverdilhoreverdit
gardargarder, surveiller

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

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