Trois petits chats
Trois petits chats
Three Little Cats
Chanson pour frapper dans les mains
Hand Clapping Song
(French)
(English)
Trois petits chats
Trois petits chats
Trois petits chats, chats, chats
Chapeau de paille
Chapeau de paille
Chapeau de paille, paille, paille
Paillasson,
Paillasson
Paillasson, son, son
Somnambule,
Somnambule,
Somnambule, -bule, -bule
Bulletin
Bulletin
Bulletin –tin, -tin
Tintamarre,
Tintamarre
Tintamarre, -marre, -marre
Marabout,
Marabout,
Marabout – bout, -bout,
Bout de ficelle
Bout de ficelle,
Bout de ficelle, -celle –celle
Selle de cheval
Selle de cheval
Selle de cheval –val, -val
Cheval de course,
Cheval de course,
Cheval de course, course, course
Course à pied,
Course à pied
Course à pied, pied, pied
Pied à terre,
Pied à terre
Pied à terre, terre, terre
Terre de feu
Terre de feu
Terre de feu, feu, feu
Feu follet
Feu follet
Feu follet –let – let
Lait de vache
Lait de vache
Lait de vache, vache, vache
Vache de ferme
Vache de ferme
Vache de ferme, ferme, ferme
Ferme ta gueule
Ferme ta gueule
Ferme ta gueule, gueule, gueule
Gueule de loup
Gueule de loup
Gueule de loup, loup, loup
Loup des bois
Loup des bois
Loup des bois, bois, bois
Boîte aux lettres
Boîte aux lettres
Boîte aux lettres, lettres, lettres
Lettres d'amour
Lettres d'amour
Lettres d'amour –mour, -mour
'mour à trois
'mour à trois
'mour à trois, trois, trois
Trois petits chiens
Trois petits chiens
Trois petits chiens, chiens, chiens
Chien de garde,
Chien de garde,
Chien de garde, garde, garde
Garde à vous,
Garde à vous
Garde à vous, vous, vous
Vous voulez,
Vous voulez
Vous voulez, -lez, -lez
Lait de vache
Lait de vache
Lait de vache, vache, vache…
Three little cats,
Three little cats,
Three little cats, cats, cats.
Straw hat,
Straw hat,
Straw hat, hat, hat.
Doormat,
Doormat,
Doormat, mat, mat.
Sleepwalker,
Sleepwalker,
Sleepwalker, -ker, –ker.
Bulletin,
Bulletin,
Bulletin, –tin, -tin.
Big ruckus,
Big ruckus,
Big ruckus, -kus, -kus.
Marabout,
Marabout,
Marabout, –bout, -bout.
Piece of string,
Piece of string,
Piece of string, string, string.
Horse saddle,
Horse saddle,
Horse saddle, -dle, -dle.
Racing horse,
Racing horse,
Racing horse, horse, horse.
Foot race,
Foot race,
Foot race, race, race.
Foot on the ground, (1)
Foot on the ground,
Foot on the ground, ground, ground.
Land of fire, (2)
Land of fire,
Land of fire, fire, fire.
Will o' the wisp,
Will o' the wisp,
Will o' the wisp, wisp, wisp.
Cow's milk,
Cow's milk,
Cow's milk, milk, milk.
Farm cow,
Farm cow,
Farm cow, cow, cow.
Shut your mouth, (3)
Shut your mouth,
Shut your mouth, mouth, mouth.
Wolf's mouth, (4)
Wolf's mouth,
Wolf's mouth, mouth, mouth.
Woodland wolf,
Woodland wolf,
Woodland wolf, wolf, wolf.
Mailbox,
Mailbox,
Mailbox, box, box.
Love letter,
Love letter,
Love letter, -ter, -ter.
Love between three,
Love between three,
Love between three, three, three.
Three little dogs,
Three little dogs,
Three little dogs, dogs, dogs.
Guard dog,
Guard dog,
Guard dog, dog, dog.
Stand at attention,
Stand at attention,
Stand at attention, -tion, -tion.
You want,
You want,
You want, want, want.
Cow's milk,
Cow's milk,
Cow's milk, milk, milk...
Notes
(1) A "Pied à terre" is both a French and an English term meaning secondary lodging. But it also literally means "foot to the ground" in French.
(2) This can literally be translated as "Land of fire", or it can refer to the "Tierra del Fuego" which is a group of islands off the southern tip of South America.
(3) Note: "Ferme ta gueule" is rude because "gueule" is the word used to formally mean animals' mouths (i.e. snouts). It's used mostly for dogs, wolves, lions, tigers, etc... So to say "Ferme ta gueule" to a human being is considered rude. (Of course kids sing "Ferme ta gueule" because it's the rude way to say it, so it's much more exciting!)
(4) This can be either three separate French words, "gueule de loup" meaning "wolf's mouth" or it can be the compound word "gueule-de-loup" which refers to a "snapdragon" flower.
Comments
Since the structure of French is different from English, i.e. the qualifier goes after the qualified word rather than before it, you can't perfectly translate this type of rhyme.
Manuela sent us a shorter version of the song with a slight difference after the "foot race" verse:
Course à pied (foot race),
Course à pied
Course à pied, pied, pied
Pied de cochon (pig foot)
Pied de cochon
Pied de cochon, -chon, -chon
Cochon de ferme (farm pig)
Cochon de ferme
Cochon de ferme, ferme, ferme…
Many thanks to the CM2 (5th grade) students, St-Ambreuil (71), France, school year 2008-2009" for singing this song for Mama Lisa's World!
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Manuela de Araujo Alves for sending another version of this song.
Translated by Monique and Lisa.
Merci beaucoup!
