Nicolas s'était fait tondre
Nicolas s'était fait tondre
Nicholas Had His Hair Shaved Off
Chanson enfantine
Children's Song
(French)
(English)
Nicolas s'était fait tondre,
Il n'avait plus de cheveux,
On lui mit une perruque,
Une perruque sans queue.
Il alla en Amérique
La perruque lui tomba,
Oh là là ! Quelle misère
Pour ce pauvre Nicolas.
Nicholas had his hair shaved off
He had no more hair,
They put a wig on him,
A wig without a ponytail.
He went to America
His wig fell off.
Oh la la! Such misery
For poor Nicholas!
Notes
Monique wrote, "The version above is how it was sung by my Mom when I was a child. Below you'll find an alternate version found in Chants et chansons populaires du Languedoc Tome 1, by Louis Lambert (1906).
Nicolas s'était fait tondre
Il n'avait plus de cheveux.
Il fut obligé de mettre
Une perruque sans queue.
En passant par l'Angleterre
La perruque s'envola.
Ah ! Mon Dieu ! Quelle misère
Pour le pauvre Nicolas !
English Translation
Nicholas had his hair shaved off
He had no more hair,
He was forced to put on
A wig without a ponytail.
While passing by England
His wig flew away.
Oh! My God! Such misery
For poor Nicholas!
*****
Alexandra sent us a longer version. She wrote, "I had in mind the tune of a song that my great-grand-mother (born in 1899 in Eastern France) would sing to me and I found it on your site that featured the lyrics of this song. But I knew other verses and a chorus. I point them out below. Best regards. Alexandra."
Nicolas s'était fait tondre (Nicholas had his hair shaved off)
Il n'avait plus de cheveux (He had no more hair)
Il fut obligé de prendre (He was forced to take)
Une perruque sans queue (A wig without a ponytail)
S'en allant pour l'Amérique (Going to America)
Sa perruque il a perdu (He lost his wig)
Ah ! Mon Dieu quelle misère (Oh! My God! Such a misery)
De se voir ainsi tondu. (To see oneself shaved off in such a way!)
(Refrain)
Tra la la, la la lère
La perruque, la perruque (The wig, the wig)
Tra la la, la la lère
La perruque de Nicolas (The wig of Nicholas)
(Autre strophe :) (Another verse)
Un passant qui la ramasse (A passerby who picked it up)
La mit au bout d'un bâton (Put it at the top of a stick)
Et dit à la populace : (And said to the populace,)
"Voyez ce joli papillon." ("See this pretty butterfly")
Comments
You can find both tunes for this song on the score.
You can hear both versions of this song in the mp3 and both tunes in the midi.
Thanks to Monique Palomares for singing this song for us!
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Monique Palomares for contributing this song. Translated by Monique and Mama Lisa. Many thanks to Alexandra Borer for contributing a longer version.
Merci beaucoup!
