Song no. 21 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
This lament tells of the return of a soldier, Pierrot, who spent seven years in the army leaving his sweetheart in Brignoles. On learning of her death, first by letter then by the sound of the church bells, he obtains leave and returns to find her funeral procession. He kisses her white face three times and dies himself of grief at the last kiss. The story closes on the motif of two lovers dead of love, united in death in the eyes of the people of Brignoles. Arbaud notes that a variant reported by M. Allègre gives a different ending, in which the sweetheart dies only after Pierrot's return, accompanied by thirty ladies and as many friars.
Notable words
| Provençal | French |
|---|---|
| armado | armée |
| capitani | capitaine |
| clochos | cloches |
| ginou | genou |
| trepassat | trépassé |
| priero | prière |
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. 21. Public domain. Digitization: https://archive.org/details/chantspopulaire00arbagoog. Transcription and formatting by Lingua Nostra.