Provençal song

A Dancer

In Provençal: UN DANSAIRE

Song no. 38 Damase Arbaud, 1862

Song no. 38 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

Vous vau dir' un mot en passant De ma fieroue, de moun escan, Qu voudra se sarvir de iou Tire drech que se pau pas miou, Quand faou uno cavilho-couo Roumpriou l'escan en millo troues. Examinetz nouestr' arlequin Que n'es feneant et libartin, S''a soun habil tout pedaçat Deou remarciar la soucietat, Chascun l'y a pausat soun mouceou, Es ce que lou rende tant beou. Vesem venir nouestre servant Eme la boutelh' à la man Et de l'autro lou goubelet, Vous prendra toutes à darret, Se n'en es un pau vigilent De n'autres n'en sera countent. Adiousiatz ! braves habitans, Vous avem dit ce que sabiam ; S'avem oublidat quauquarem Siam pas pouetos va sabem, Excusatz-nous per estou souar, Vous souhaitem ben lou bouen souar.

English translation of the full text forthcoming.

Notes

A circumstantial song sung at the end of a gathering by a dancer or troupe leader, in a comic presentation style: he boasts of his distaff and spindle, describes the harlequin's patched costume, then the servant pouring wine. It closes with the farewell greetings typical of end of feast songs, where the singers apologize for not being poets.

Notable words

Provençal	French
escan	fuseau à main
arlequin	personnage à l'habit rapiécé de bariolures
goubelet	gobelet
darret	par derrière, à revers
pouetos	poètes

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