Literal translation
it is not good to work when the cicada sings
Meaning
it's no good working while the cicada sings
Explanation
This saying evokes the crushing heat of the Provençal summer, marked by the ceaseless song of cicadas, as a time ill suited to physical work. The words to work, cicada, and to sing are all well attested, the last one denoting the cicada's action of making its characteristic sound heard during hot weather. The word rendered as good, in the exact form used here, could not be found directly in our sources, though it clearly corresponds to a variant of the common word for good. The cicada's song, in Provence, serves as a universal sound marker signalling the hottest hours of the day, those when physical activity becomes gruelling and even risky for one's health. The saying thus implicitly recommends suspending work during the scorching hours and resuming it once the heat subsides, a practical wisdom inherited from southern farming life, where the rhythm of chores bent more to the whims of climate than to a rigid schedule. It is used to justify a well earned break during a heat wave.