Paure Satan
This Christmas Carol is sung in the language of the Troubadours.
Paure Satan
Poor Satan
Christmas Carol
Christmas Carol
(Occitan)
(English)
Lo paure Satan es blet
Se'n va cuèch coma un polet
Morrà de la macadura
Tura lura lura
Morrà de la macadura,
Lan tan tura lura lura.
L'enfant que n'es arribat
L'a quasi coma crebat
L'a mes en paura postura
Tura lura lura
Pareitrà plus qu'en pintura,
Lan tan tura lura lura.
Fasiá tròp lo sufisent
Disiá que non crenhiá ren
Mai aquesta cachadura,
Tura lura lura
Li a balhat de tablatura,
Lan tan tura lura lura.
Eu fasiá lo grand senhor,
Se disiá diable d'onor,
A mordut una poma dura,
Tura lura lura
D'una poma mau madura,
Lan tan tura lura lura.
Mai Dieu que lo coneis ben
E que sap que non vau ren
Ven prendre nòstra natura,
Tura lura lura
Per reparar aquela injura
Lan tan tura lura lura.
Poor Satan is drained,
He's as cooked* as a chicken,
He'll die from the wounds.
Tura lura lura
He'll die from the wounds
Lan tan tura lura lura.
The child who's just arrived
Nearly killed him,
He put him in a bad position.
Tura lura lura
We'll only see him in paintings**
Lan tan tura lura lura.
He was being too self-important,
He was saying he feared nothing
But this blow,
Tura lura lura,
Has given him some trouble
Lan tan tura lura lura.
He was acting like a great lord,
He called himself the "devil of honor",
He bit a tough apple
Tura lura lura
An ill-ripened apple
Lan tan tura lura lura.
But God, who knows him well,
And knows that he's worthless,
He comes to take human form,
Tura lura lura,
To mend this insult
Lan tan tura lura lura.
Notes
*"Cuèch" means "cooked, done, baked". It also means exhausted and allows this play on words.
**Idiom: To see someone only in paintings means to not see them at all.
*****
In the 70's, the Provençal band Mont-Jòia sang a slightly different version of this carol that you can hear in the 3rd video below.
Lo paure Satan es blet
Se'n va cuèch coma un polet
Morrà de la macadura
Tura lura lura
I a un pichòt que lo tafura
Lan lan tura lura lura lo.
L'enfant que ven d'arribar
L'a quasi coma crebat
L'a mes en paura postura
Tura lura lura
Pareirà plus qu'en pintura
Lan lan tura lura lura lo.
La Pruneta e lei Mions
Li an donat de baston
L'an colhut dins la fritura
Tura lura lura
Sembla paura pescadura
Lan lan tura lura lura lo.
Se disiá diable d'onor
E fasiá lo grand senhor
A mordut una poma dura
Tura lura lura
Una poma non madura
Lan lan tura lura lura lo.
English Translation
Poor Satan is drained
He's as cooked* as a chicken
He'll die from the bruises
Tura lura lura
There's a little one worrying him
Lan lan tura lura lura loo.
The child who's just arrived
Nearly killed him,
He put him in a bad position
Tura lura lura
We won't see him except in paintings**
Lan lan tura lura lura loo.
Prunette and Mions***
Beat him with a stick
They fried him in fat
Tura lura lura
He looks like a mean catch
Lan lan tura lura lura loo.
He'd say he was a devil of honor
And he'd act like a great lord
He bit a hard apple
Tura lura lura
An unripe apple
Lan lan tura lura loo.
*"Cuèch" means "cooked, done, baked". It also means exhausted and allows this play on words.
**Idiom: To see someone only in paintings means to not see them at all.
***Mioun is a pet name for Mireille.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Monique Palomares for contributing and translating this song.
Image: Lucifer, King of Hell (Detail), engraving by Gustave Doré illustrating Canto XXXIV of Divine Comedy, Inferno, by Dante Alighieri, 1861–1868 (created).
Mercé plan!
