Monique wrote, "We had the 4th graders dance it when the topic of the ‘fête de fin d’année’ (the end of the school year party) was Occitania.  Occitania is a region of France, Spain and Italy where they speak Occitan.  Occitan was the language of the troubadours.

Thanks for pointing out that lovely video Monique!

Monique works with me on the French and Spanish versions of Mama Lisa’s World and has shared many songs from Occitania.

What are the names for ladybugs in your language?

Ladybugs belong to the Coccinellidae family, from a Latin word meaning "scarlet".  But they also have many other names: in English, they’ve been called ladybug, ladybird, lady beetle, lady clock, lady cow and lady fly. 

The name ladybird was originally "Our Lady’s bird" in England.  This name referred to the fact that the ladybug is red and so was the Virgin Mary’s dress when pictured in the Middle Ages. Also, the most common ladybug has seven spots and there are the Seven Joys and the Seven Sorrows of Mary.  In Spanish, ladybugs are called mariquita, meaning little Mary.  In German "Marienkäfer" – Mary’s bug. All those names are related to the Virgin Mary.

Ladybugs have other names related to cows or hens.  We were working lately on a Swedish rhyme that goes…

Guld-höna, guld-ko!
Flyg öster, flyg vester,
Dit du flyger der bor din älskade!

Gold-hen, gold-cow!
Fly east, fly west,
You’ll fly to where your sweetheart lives.

"Guld-höna" and "guld-ko" is literally "gold-hen" and "gold-cow" in Swedish.  In English, the creature is sometimes referred to as "lady cow".  In the Occitan language of the troubadours, there’s "galineta" (little hen) and "buòu de Nòstre Sénher" (Our Lord’s ox).  In French, there’s "poulette de la Madone" (Our Lady’s little hen) and "vache à Dieu" (God’s cow).

Many centuries ago, people seem to have related the seven spots on ladybugs to the seven brightest stars of the Pleiades or Seven Sisters in the constellation of Taurus (the Bull). The Pleiades have different vernacular names related to hens.  In French there’s the term "la Poussinière" (the Chicks House).  In Italian, they’d say "le Gallinelle" (the Little Hens) or "la Chioccietta" (the Little Broody Hen).  That’s the relation between ladybugs and hens.

Whatever name they get, they seem to bring luck. So what are the names for the ladybug in your language and are there any rhymes about this sweet little creature in your country?  Please let us know in the comments below!

Written by Monique Palomares, who works with Mama Lisa on the French and Spanish versions of Mama Lisa’s World.

My Leg Hurts, La cambo me fai mau, is a well-known Provençal Christmas carol sung in the south of France. It was originally written by Micolau Sabòli (1614 – 1675) in Occitan, the language of the Troubadours.

This is not a typical carol! It’s about a pilgrimage to see the new-born Jesus. What’s fascinating is that it has a whole back-story about a guy whose leg hurts and he doesn’t know if he can go. He finally goes by horse. On the way he gets into a fight with a rotund shepherd. Like I said, it’s not typical!

Below I’m posting the original lyrics to La cambo me fai mau in Occitan, an English translation, an mp3 of it being sung and a YouTube of a chorus singing it.

MP3 of La cambo me fai mau

La cambo me fai mau
(Occitan)

Li a proun de gènt
Que van en roumavage,
Li a proun de gènt
Que van en Betelèn.
Li vole ana,
Ai quàsi proun courage :
Li vole ana,
S’ieu pode camina.

Refrin
La cambo me fai mau,
Bouto sello, bouto sello ;
La cambo me fai mau,
Bouto sello à moun chivau.

Tous li bergié
Qu’èron sus la mountagno,
Tous li bergié
An vist un messagié
Que li a crida :
Metès-vous en campagno!
Que li a crida :
Lou Fiéu de Diéu es na!

(Refrin)

En aquest tèm
Li fèbre soun pas sano ;
En aquest tèm
Li fèbre valon rèn ;
Ai endura
Uno fèbre quartano,
Ai endura
Senso me rancura.

(Refrin)

Un gros pastras
Que fai la catamiaulo,
Un gros pastras
S’envai au pichot pas ;
S’èi revira,
Au brut de ma paraulo ;
S’èi revira,
Li ai di de m’espera.

(Refrin)

Aquéu palot
Descausso si sabato,
Aquéu palot
S’envai au grand galop ;
Mai, se’n cop l’ai,
lé dounarai la grato,
Mai, se’n cop l’ai,
Iéu lou tapoutarai.

(Refrin)

Ai un roussin
Que volo dessus terro,
Ai un roussin
Que manjo lou camin !
L’ai achata
D’un que vèn de la guerro :
L’ai achata,
Cinq escut de pata.

(Refrin)

Quand aurai vist
Lou Fiéu de Diéu lou Paire,
Quand aurai vist
Lou Rèi de Paradis,
E quand aurai
Felicila sa maire
E quand aurai
Fa tout ço que déurrai,

Refrin:
N’aurai plus ges de mau,
Bouto seIlo, bouto selIo,
N’aurai plus ges de mau,
Bouto sello à moun chivau.

English Translation:

My Leg Hurts

There’re many people
Who go on a pilgrimage,
There’re many people
Who go to Bethlehem.
I want to go there
I nearly have enough courage
I want to go there
If I can walk.

Chorus:
My leg hurts,
Put the saddle, put the saddle,
My leg hurts,
Put the saddle on my horse.

All the shepherds
Who were on the mountain,
All the shepherds
Saw a messenger
Who shouted to them:
Get going!
Who shouted to them:
The Son of God was born!

(Chorus)

These days,
The fevers are not healthy
These days,
The fevers are very bad
I suffered
From a quartan* fever
I suffered
Without complaining.

(Chorus)

A fat shepherd
Acting like a hypocrite,
A fat shepherd
Goes slowly,
He looked back
When he heard me talk,
He looked back
I told him to wait for me.

(Chorus)

This lout
Takes his shoes off
This lout
Runs forward
But if I catch up with him
He’ll get his due,
But if I catch up with him
I’ll punch him.

(Chorus)

I have a steed
That flies on the earth
I have a steed
That tears up the road!
I bought it
From someone back from the war
I bought it,
Five copper crowns**.

(Chorus)

When I have seen
God the Father’s Son,
When I have seen
The King of Paradise,
And when I have
Congratulated his mother
And when I have
Done all that I must.

Final Chorus:
I won’t have any pain,
Put the saddle, put the saddle,
I won’t have any pain,
Put the saddle on my horse.

Many thanks to Monique Palomares for singing this song for us! Translated by Monique and Mama Lisa. The illustration is from Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Volume 8, Issues 43-48 and edited by Mama Lisa.

Check out the song page for La cambo me fai mau for a score, midi and French and Spanish translations. There’s also a French version of this carol called, La jambe me fait mal.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

Carnival in Southern France

Carnival in Southern France

Carnival celebrates the end of Winter and the arrival of Spring. It’s all about Spring energies bringing everything back to life. It’s all about breaths; the breath of Spring and Life that you breathe in, and the old breath of Winter and Death that you breathe out. This is why people are supposed to eat food such as beans, onions, etc… anything that makes you break wind.

Spring Wild Forces

Spring Wild Forces

Here is what I learned during the previous weeks:

A traditional Carnival should have four stages. There is an Occitan song tied to each of them (Occitan because we’re here in this region, the language is not relevant).

Photo of the old women and “young maidens” trying to wake the Lady from her Winter sleep.

1st Stage: Song: “Carnaval es arribat” (”Carnival Has Arrived”). It’s not about the song or the language but that “the time has come for a new cycle to begin” and the cycle is as old as the world – which in other words means it’s much older than our Western culture. People usually dance a farandole to the tune. Carnival is also the day on which everything is the other way round, so men dress up as women, rich people as poor (it’s harder for poor people to dress up as rich!), everybody changes his/her look to avoid being recognized. So they dress up and most taboos are removed.

Then we must remember that Carnival is just before Lent in Christian culture, so people have their last meals with meat and fat since they’ll be fasting during the 40 oncoming days. That’s why they then sing Pòrc gras (Fat Pig). This song is also danced to. The dance is called a quilted polka as can be seen there…

The 2nd stage of the Carnival is “Chagrin fai ta mala” (”Sorrow, pack your lot”) i.e. the time has come to forget, and get rid of our sorrows and grievances. Mr. Carnival represents all the wrong doings, the sorrows, the bad things that happened during the entire previous year. Everything we don’t want to deal with again. Mr. Carnival is tried and sentenced to be burnt on a pyre. If no Mr Carnival is available to symbolize all the evils of the year, people can find another way to get rid of them, such as throwing significant objects or pieces of paper where people have written down their grievances into a big can and then setting fire to it at the end of the whole process.

3rd Stage is “Buffa-ie al cuol” (”Blow to her bottom”). It’s the title of the song for “the dance of the bellows”. It’s about the exchange and rising of Spring energies. The dance is mostly performed on Ash Wednesday. The dancers dance in a lame way to show the lack of balance in the world at the moment when Winter yields to Spring, even if the meaning is clearly sexual, it’s supposed to be a ritual not bawdy. It’s about the revival of nature and its fertilizing power, life regaining the upper hand against death. I think I saw it danced a couple of times when I was a child -around 6 or 7- some would fill their bellows with flour, some with ashes or even soot and people around would be blown at with whatever was in the bellows. You can find some videos with kids doing it, but it’s not meant to be a kids’ dance. It was danced by men, and men it needs because this “bellows” “blowing” to the “old woman’s bottom” (that’s what the song says) is not meant to be kids’ business as far as I know.

You can forward in the video below to 2:27 to see the dance…

The 4th and last stage is “Adiu Paure Carnaval” (”Farewell, poor Carnival”). Mr Carnival is burnt and we tell him “good bye, we’ll see you next year”: the old cycle must die so that the new cycle can begin.

Burning Mr. Carnival

Thanks for explaining the stages of the Occitan Carnival from southern France and for sharing your photos Monique! It’s very interesting!

Mama Lisa

Ai vist lo lop, lo rainard, la lèbre

Ai vist lo lop, lo rainard, la lèbre
Ai vist lo lop, lo rainard dançar
Totei tres fasián lo torn de l’aubre
Ai vist lo lop, lo rainard, la lèbre
Totei tres fasián lo torn de l’aubre
Fasián lo torn dau boisson folhat.

Aquí trimam tota l’annada
Per se ganhar quauquei sòus
Rèn que dins una mesada
Ai vist lo lop, lo rainal, la lèbre
Nos i fotèm tot pel cuol
Ai vist lo lèbre, lo rainal, lo lop.

English Translation:

I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,
I saw the wolf, the fox dance.
All three were circling round the tree
I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,
All three were circling round the tree,
They were circling round the sprouting bush.

Here we slave away all the year round
So we can earn a few coins
And just in a month’s time
I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare,
There is nothing left
I saw the hare, the fox, the wolf.

Check out the song page for Ai vist lo lop, lo rainard, la lèbre for the score, midi, mp3 and French and Spanish translations.

Check out this metal version of the song!

Many thanks to Monique Palomares from the French and Spanish versions of Mama Lisa’s World for the translation!

Enjoy, but remember the tax collector is still around, nowadays in a different guise!

Mama Lisa

Here are some proverbs in Occitan, Catalan, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German about March.

I chose the “cuckoo” March proverbs on purpose to show that some things cross borders and languages. There’s an Italian proverb that says more or less the same thing about cuckoos, but it’s about April:

A’ cinque d’aprile, il cucco deve venire; se non viene a’ sette o agli otto, o ch’è preso o che è morto.
On April 5th, the cuckoo must come, if it doesn’t come on the 7th or the 8th, either it’s been taken or it’s dead.

Occitan Proverbs about March:
(Occitan is the language of the troubadours, spoken in southern France and parts of Italy and Spain.)

Quand en març trona, l’annada serà bona .
When it thunders in March, the year will be good.

Al mes de març, tan de nívols coma de clars .
In the month of March, as many clouds as clearings.

Se plòu en març, adiu lo blat .
If it rains in March, there will be no wheat. (Literally, “Farewell to the wheat”.)

Quand març maieja, mai marceja.
When March acts May-like, May acts March-like.. (I like these verbs built on the name of a month and meaning “to act name of the month-like” that exist in Occitan and Catalan.)

Entre març e abrial, se lo cocut es pas vengut , es qu’es malaut o s’es perdut!
Between March and April, if the cuckoo hasn’t come, it must be ill or lost.

Catalan Proverbs about March:

No hi ha Març que no marcegi, ni boig que no bogegi, ni fill d’ase que no brami.
There’s neither a March that doesn’t act March-like, nor a madman who doesn’t act mad, nor a son of an ass that doesn’t bray. (I like this one!)

Pel Març qui no té sabates ja pot anar descalç.
In March, he who has no shoes can now go barefoot.

De flor de Març, fruit no en veuràs.
On March flowers, you’ll see no fruit.

Si pel març no canta el cucut, ni per l’abril la puput, tant de bo que l’any no hagués vingut.
If by March the cuckoo doesn’t sing, and by April the hoopoe bird doesn’t, the year might as well not have come.

French Proverbs about March:

En mars quand il fait beau, prends ton manteau.
In March, when the weather’s fine, take your coat.

Soit au début soit à la fin, Mars nous montre son venin.
Either at the beginning, or at the end, March shows us its venom.

Mars sec et chaud, remplit caves et tonneaux
A dry and warm March fills cellars and casks.

Entre mars et avril, on sait si le coucou est mort ou en vie.
Between March and April, we know if the cuckoo is dead or alive.

Marzo engañador, un día malo y otro peor.
Deceiving March, one day bad and the next one worse.

Marzo marcero, por la mañana rostro de perro, por la tarde valiente mancebo.
“Marchy” March, in the morning the face of a dog, in the evening a brave young man..

Marzo con lluvias, buen año de alubias.
March with rain, good year for beans.

En marzo, la veleta, ni dos horas está quieta.
In March, the weathervane doesn’t keep quiet for even two hours.

Si marzo se va y el cuco no viene, o se ha muerto el cuco o el fin del mundo viene.
If March goes away and the cuckoo doesn’t come, either the cuckoo died or the end of the world is coming.

Se queres bom cabaço, semeia em Março.
If you want a good basket, sow in March.

Quem poda em Março, vindima no regaço.
Whoever prunes in March; grapes harvest in his lap.

Em Março, cada dia chove um pedaço.
In March, it rains a little every day.

Vento de Março e chuva de Abril, vinho a florir.
March wind and April rain; thriving wine.

Em vinte cinco de Março, se o cuco não se ouvir, ou é morto ou não quer vir.
On March 25th, if the cuckoo can’t be heard, either it’s dead or it doesn’t want to come.

German Proverbs about March:

Nasser März ist Bauernschmerz.
Rainy March is the farmers’ grief.

März grün, Jungfrau kühn.
Green March; bold young woman.

Märzenschnee Tut der Frucht weh.
March snow wounds the fruit.

So remember, in March, even if the weather’s fine, take your coat!

Cheers!

Monique

Click on the icon below to access the group. If you have a Facebook account already, you just need to click on “Join the Group” to join. If you’re not a member, you simply have to sign up for free to become a member and then you can join the Mama Lisa Group…

Looking forward to seeing you in Facebook!

Mama Lisa

Last week, Monique wrote about an Occitan Wedding Custom and Song from France. The custom revolves around a soup called Torrin, that’s given to the newlyweds. Here’s the recipe from Monique…

Recipe for Torrin Soup for Newlyweds
(Serves 4)

Ingredients

A large spoonful of goose or duck fat (or oil)
5 or 6 garlic cloves
A spoonful of flour
2 eggs
Salt & Pepper
Vinegar
(I usually use wine or balsamic vinegar but it’s just a dash of it so I suppose you can use any.)

1. Boil 4 to 6 cups of water in a pot.

2. Put the fat in a large frying pan and slowly fry the garlic, but don’t allow it to brown. Add the flour, stirring it quickly.

3. Pour in the boiling water. Add salt and pepper. Allow to boil for 15 min.

4. Separate the egg yolks and whites. Beat the yolks with a dribble of vinegar.

5. After 15 minutes, pour the egg whites into the garlic/flour mixture and stir quickly. Lower the flame. Add the yolks, stir and DO NOT allow to boil (or the yolks will coagulate and you’ll have yellow threads instead of a beautiful yellow broth).

Torrin Soup can be served with croutons or thin slices of bread.

In some areas they cook it with equal amounts of onions and garlic, then they sprinkle grated Swiss cheese on top and broil it in the oven.

My mother used to cook it. She’d use oil, not goose fat. She used peanut or sunflower oil, but you can use olive oil or any frying oil. The “genuine” recipe is with goose or duck fat. My mother also added vermicelli in step three, after the water started to boil again. Then came the egg whites and the yolks. But we didn’t serve it with bread, the vermicelli would be enough carbohydrates! We called it “Soupe à l’œuf” – “Soup with egg”.

“Torrin” is a word from the South-West.

-Monique

Recently, Peter emailed us asking about the lyrics of a Gascon Occitan song called “Lo torrin”. (Gascon is an Occitan Dialect.) Peter’s wife is learning how to play the “boha” (the Gascon bagpipe) and he wanted to sing along. He got the lyrics and forwarded them to us.

The song “Lo torrin” is a “wedding song” that the wedding party-goers would sing to the newlyweds. “Lo torrin” specifically refers to a garlic soup spiced with pepper. This soup was traditionally brought to newlyweds on the morning after their wedding night.

In this old tradition, the bride and the groom would ride around the village in a cart with their brand-new chamberpot, on their wedding day. It symbolized the start of their new life together and it also let people know about their wedding. Remember that at that time there were no bathrooms, only outhouses. Yet people wouldn’t go out at night to “go” in the outhouse (”la cabane au fond du jardin”*). During the evening meal and party the newlyweds would sneak out around midnight and they would go to sleep at some accomplice’s place (an aunt’s, a grandma’s…). Later in the night or early in the morning, the young people at the wedding (those in their late teens and their twenties) would search for them. When they found them, they’d get them out of bed so that they could eat the soup that had been cooked especially for them.

In some areas, they wouldn’t cook a soup, they would pour into a brand new chamberpot the leftovers of the drinks with chocolate and biscuits (nobody needs further description to guess what it was supposed to look like). This was supposed to help them recover from the wedding night.

When I was a child and in my neighborhood the bride and groom wouldn’t tour around the town with their brand-new chamberpot, but they’d still be gotten out of bed. Nowadays the tradition survives in some places. Since nobody now uses chamberpots, “pots de la mariée” (brides’ chamberpots) are still on sale for this event.

*”La cabane au fond du jardin” refers to the little wooden cabin used as toilets at the other end of the garden and it’s also the title of a spoof song imitating the style of the French singer Francis Cabrel.

Below, you can hear Jane Thomasson playing the “boha” and Peter Horton singing the first verse of the song. After that you’ll find the lyrics in Occitan, and then an English translation…

Click to Hear the first verse of Lo Torrin

Lo torrin
(Gascon Occitan)

Obritz la pòrta, obritz (x2)
La novèla maridada luron lonla (x2)

Vos portèm lo torrin (x2)
E la sopa ben pebrada luron lon la (x2)

Coma obrirei jo (x2)
Que soi dens mon lheit cochada luron lon la (x2)

Au pròche de mon marit (x2)
Que me ten tota embraçada luron lon la (x2)

Que me ten e me tendrà (x2)
Tota la nèit empenada luron lon la (x2)

Se perdèvi mas amors (x2)
Ont las anguerei o quèrre luron lon la (x2)

Seren per debat París (x2)
A dus cent cinquanta legas luron lon la (x2)

Dabans la pòrta i a (x2)
Un grand pè de heuguèra luron lon la (x2)

Dens ‘quera heuguèra (x2)
Un beròi nid de tortèla luron lon la (x2)

La tortèla i a cohat (x2)
E apèi s’es envolada luron lon la (x2)

En partint a feit rocó (x2)
E la bèra n’es plus bèra luron lon la (x2)

Obritz la pòrta, obritz (x2)
La novèla maridada luron lon la (x2)

Se no l’obrissètz pas (x2)
En ‘questa ora vos l’enfoncèm luron lon la (x2)

The “Torrin”
(English Translation)

Open the door, open it, (2 x’s)
You, bride (newlywed) luron lon la…

We bring you the tourrin*
And the soup spiced with pepper.

How would I open it
If I’m lying in my bed?

Close to my husband,
Who holds me in his arms**.

Who holds me and will hold me
Saddened, all night long.

If I lost my love
Where would I go for him?

He’d be, northwards, near Paris,
250 leagues from here.

In front of the door is
A big fern.

In this fern is
A pretty turtle dove nest.

The turtle dove hatched there
Then she flew away.

When she left, she went “coo”,
And the pretty one isn’t pretty any more.

Open the door, open, (twice)
You, bride.

If you don’t open it
Now we’ll break it open.

Click here for the Lo torrin Song Page – where you can access the Sheet Music, midi tune and French and Spanish translations.

Note: There are some other songs about getting married in Occitan and French, most of which are addressed to girls. They’re along the lines of Joan Baez’s song The Wagoner’s Lad: “Oh hard is the fortune of all womankind, she’s always controlled, she’s always confined, controlled by her parents until she is wife, a slave to her husband the rest of her life!”

Many thanks to Peter Horton for contributing the lyrics to “Lo torrin”and the sheet music (which came from the “Bohaires de Gasconha”), and for singing the first verse for us, accompanied by Jane Thomasson playing the “boha” (local bagpipe).

-Monique Palomares

UPDATE: Here’s a Recipe for Lo Torrin Soup!

Occitan Christmas Carols

Nadal tindaire – Jingling Christmas – from Occitania
Nadal tindaire – Jingling Christmas – Recording only – from Occitania

Pastres, rintratz vòstrei tropèus – Shepherds, Bring Your Flocks In – Occitania
Lo paure Satan – Poor Satan – Occitania

French Christmas Carols

Nous étions trois bergerettes – We Were Three Young Shepherdesses – France
Patapan – France
Willie Take Your Little Drum – English Version of the French Carol Called Patapan

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

Monique Palomares, who works with me on Mama Lisa’s World en français, sent sent the poem to me.

The poem was written by Louisa Paulin (1888 – 1944). Below you’ll find the original poem in Occitan with a recording, followed by an English translation. The translation was mainly done by Monique, with a little help from me. It was recited by Monique.

Silenci de l’auton
(Occitan)

Silenci de l’auton quand lo vent s’es pausat
doç coma una pluma de palomba
escapada de la negra man del caçaire.
Silenci saure de l’auton
ont s’ausís la darrièra vèspa
e lo mai escondut al plus prigond del còr.

Recording of Silenci de l’auton

Here’s an English Translation:

Silence of the Fall
by Louisa Paulin

Silence of the Fall when the wind calmed down
as soft as a dove’s feather,
slipped from the hunter’s black hand.
Golden silence of the Fall
when one hears the last wasp
and what’s most hidden in the depths of the heart.

Many thanks to Monique for the poem, recording and translation!

Mama Lisa

Matt, a music teacher from Rhode Island, wrote a question to me, the other day, about Mama Lisa’s World:

Hey Mama,

I love the concept of your site. It’s been exciting to watch it grow. My only frustration is not being able to find either written (preferably) or audio music to accompany the lyrics. How do I find the tunes for all these great lyrics?

Matt
Music Teacher, Rhode Island, USA

Here’s what I wrote back, I’m sharing it with you, in case it helps you too…

Hey Matt,

Thanks for writing!

We’ve just added basic sheet music to a lot of songs on the Germany, France, Hungary, Spain and Mexico pages – plus many others.

We’re now in the process of converting the whole site to a database. We’re halfway through. Hopefully by the summer we’ll have a feature that will let you do a search on songs that have sheet music, midis or mp3’s. Midis play the tune of a song. MP3’s are recordings – usually of someone singing the song.

But for now, the songs on the countries that are in the database are working on a simple system. On the country pages they have symbols next to the song if they have special features. Here’s the key…

KEY TO SYMBOLS
– this song has sheet music
Midi – this song has a Midi tune
MP3 – this song has an MP3 recording
– this song has a Video recording

If there’s anything in particular you’re looking for, you’re welcome to ask – in case I know if we have it or not – I may be able to guide you to the right place to find what you’re looking for.

And, of course, we’re always looking for more sheet music, midi’s and mp3’s, so if you’d like to contribute any from your culture, we’d be thrilled!

I hope this helps!

Mama Lisa

Paure Satan is about the Devil having a hard time because of Jesus’ birth. Below you’ll find the lyrics in the original Occitan, followed by an English translation and then a French translation…

MP3 of Lo paure Satan

Lo paure Satan
(Occitan)

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.

Poor Satan
(English)

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 like killed him,
He put him in a bad position
Tura lura lura
We won’t see him but in paintings**
Lan lan tura lura lura loo.

Prunette and the 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 as if a great lord
He bit a hard apple
Tura lura lura
An unripe apple
Lan lan tura lura loo.

*“cuèch” = “cooked, done, baked” also means exhausted and allows this play on words.
**idiom: to see someone (only) in paintings means not to see him at all.
***Pet name for “Mireille”, a typical Provencal girl’s name.

Le pauvre Satan est blet
(French)

Le pauvre Satan est blet
Il part cuit comme un poulet
Il mourra de la meurtrissure
Tura lura lura
Il y a un petit qui lui donne du souci
Lan lan tura lura lou.

L’enfant qui vient d’arriver
L’a pratiquement crevé
Il l’a mis en mauvaise posture
Tura lura lura
Il ne paraîtra plus qu’en peinture
Lan lan tura lura lura lou.

La Prunette et les Miouns*
Lui ont donné du bâton,
Elles l’ont cuit dans la friture
Tura lura lura
Il ressemble à une misérable pêche,
Lan lan tura lura lura lou.

Il se disait diable d’honneur
Et faisait le grand seigneur
Il a mordu une pomme dure
Tura lura lura
Une pomme pas mûre
Lan lan tura lura lura lou.

Many thanks to Monique Palomares for contributing and translating this song and for singing it for us!

-Lisa

Hugues wrote to me about a custom they follow in his school at Christmastime. It involves a recitation in Occitan. Here’s what he wrote:

Here is a small Occitan custom that’s practiced at Christmastime. I don’t know it’s date or precise origin (the term “cachafuoc” for “Yule log” comes from the Cévennes mountains in south central France). Nonetheless, in the school where I work, we organize a little party for Christmas where we recapture this custom.

During this party the gifts are given out to all the people there. That’s the “soca” (a log) that brings the gifts. Two people (the youngest and the oldest of the group) carry the log into the room and say a ritual phrase in Occitan:

Bota fuòc, cachafuòc,
que nos alegre,
que nos fague la jòia d’èstre aquíi l’an que ven,
e se sèm pas mai,
que siaguem pas mens!

English Translation:

Light up, Yule log,
Delight us,
Give us the joy to be here next year,
And if we aren’t more numerous,
Let us not be less!

Many thanks to Hugues for sharing this nice saying and custom with us!

-Lisa

When you consider how many languages there are in those cultures – that’s a lot of information! In order to make it easier to access all of the songs, we are in the process of converting the sites to a database. The database allow our visitors to search for songs on the site by language, by songs with sheet music, recordings, etc.

While we’re putting the songs into the database, we’re trying to obtain as much information as possible about each song. So if we can find the tune, we’ll include a midi tune and sheet music. If we find a recording of the song on the internet, we’ll provide a link to the recording. Sometimes we’ll make a recording ourselves. Anything we can do to help you know everything possible about that song.

If you happen to see any songs on the site that are missing a tune or recording and you know it, we’d be very pleased if you could help us get the tune. We’re able to make midis from sheet music, if that’s what you can send. We’re also happy to post recordings if you’d like to sing the song, play it on an instrument, or even hum it. Really, anything to help others get an idea how to sing or play the song.

Once the database is complete Mama Lisa’s World will have 98 countries and cultures and over 850 songs. How great is that!

-Lisa

UPDATE: The Database is now complete! We have 100 countries and cultures. We’re now working on a Spanish version of Mama Lisa’s World which will feature children’s songs, folks songs and nursery rhymes from around the world with Spanish translations.

For instance, in English, if it’s pouring out, you can say, It’s raining cats and dogs. If there’s thunder, some people say God is bowling. At least that’s said to little kids.

You can also say, It’s raining buckets. That’s interesting because in French, there’s the same expression, Il pleut à seaux.*

The French also have the saying, Il pleut comme vache qui pisse. In English, that’s… It’s raining like a cow that’s pissing.

More politely, the French would say, Il tombe des cordes. That expression is literally, It’s falling ropes, or we’d say, Ropes are falling.

There are also expressions for more violent rain. In Spanish there’s, Caen chuzos de punto. Which means, Spears are falling point first. Similarly, in French there’s, Il tombe des hallebardes. That means, Halberds are falling. A halberd is a weapon that was used during the 14th and 15th centuries. It has a spiky axe on the end of a pole. You can see halberds in the image below. They sort of look like falling rain.

Finally, in Occitan (a language spoken in parts of southern France, Spain and Italy) they say, Tomba de rabanelas. That means, Wild radishes are falling. They also say, Tomba de pèiras de molin – Mill stones are falling.

Feel free to comment below about expressions concerning rain that are said in cultures you’re familiar with.

Many thanks to Monique of Mama Lisa’s World en français for telling me about some of the expressions about rain in French, Spanish and Occitan.

Lisa

Come visit the blog category about rain for some songs and rhymes about rain.

*UPDATE ABOUT “RAINING BUCKETS”:

Monique later wrote me…

Spaniards also say, “Llueve a cántaros” to say “it’s raining buckets”. It literally means the same thing. Portuguese have the same expression about buckets, “Está a chover a cântaros” = it’s raining buckets. Italians have “piove a catinelle”, which means “it’s raining basins/bowls”.

St. George’s Day is on April 23rd.

In France, Saint George’s Day is the first of the four “Horsemen” or “Horsemen of the Cold” (in French Les Cavaliers or Les Cavaliers du froid). What we call The Horsemen are 4 days at the end of April and beginning of May on which the weather is generally colder. Gardeners and vine growers are weary of late frosty days. The second one is St Mark’s Day (April 25th), the third one is St. Eutropius’ Day (April 30th), The fourth is The Invention of the Cross (May 3rd) and sometimes a 5th one is added: St John before the Latin Gate (May 6th). In Occitan, we call these days Jorget, Marquet, Tropet, Croset, Joanet. (Sometimes “Tropet” is left aside.)

Later come what we call “Les saints de glace” (The Saints of Ice). They are St. Mamertus, St. Pancratius and St. Servatius (in French St Mamert, St Pancrace, St Servais) on respectively May 11th, 12th, and 13th. On those days the weather’s supposed to be cold.

You won’t find these days on a regular calendar. The Catholic Church removed them in 1960. They seemed to be… “not very Catholic” (this expression means “not very Kosher”, so to speak). When they’re over, Winter is definitively over and Summer is on its way.

Monique works with me on Mama Lisa’s World en français. – Lisa

Monique of Mama Lisa’s World en français sent me a troubadour song about the Springtime. Here’s what she had to say about the song…

I translated Al’entrada del temps clar (When the Clear Days Come) into English. It’s an anonymous song from the 12th century about Spring, with the usual allegory of the young Spring Queen needing a young man in the dance of life, so she can renew. It’s a troubadour song which is a trobar lèu song, lèu meaning here light, easy.

Here’s Al’entrada del temps clar in the original Occitan language followed by an English translation. If you’re familiar with any of the romance languages, you might be able to recognize some words in the Occitan version.

A l’entrada del temps clar
(Occitan)

A l’entrada del temps clar, eya
Per jòia recomençar, eya
E per jelós irritar, eya
Vòl la regina mostrar
Qu’el’es si amorosa
A la vi’, a la via, jelós,
Laissatz nos, laissatz nos
Balar entre nos, entre nos.

El’ a fait pertot mandar, eya
Non sia jusqu’à la mar, eya
Piucela ni bachalar, eya
Que tuit non vengan dançar
En la dansa joiosa.
A la vi’, a la via, jelós,
Laissatz nos, laissatz nos
Balar entre nos, entre nos.

Lo reis i ven d’autra part, eya
Per la dança destorbar, eya
Que el es en cremetar, eya
Que òm no li vòlh emblar
La regin’ aurilhosa.
A la vi’, a la via, jelós,
Laissatz nos, laissatz nos
Balar entre nos, entre nos.

Mais per nïent lo vòl far, eya
Qu’ela n’a sonh de vielhart, eya
Mais d’un leugièr bachalar, eya
Qui ben sapcha solaçar
La dòmna saborosa.
A la vi’, a la via, jelós,
Laissatz nos, laissatz nos
Balar entre nos, entre nos.

Qui donc la vezés dançar, eya
E son gent còrs deportar, eya
Ben pògra dir de vertat, eya
Qu’el mont non aja sa par
La regina joiosa.
A la vi’, a la via, jelós,
Laissatz nos, laissatz nos
Balar entre nos, entre nos

When the Clear Days Come
(English)

When the clear days come, eya
To be joyful again, eya
And to annoy the jealous ones, eya
The queen wants to show
That she’s so amorous.
Go away, go away, you jealous ones,
Let us, let us,
Dance together, together.

She had a message sent everywhere, eya
That as far as the sea, eya
Let there be neither maiden nor young man, eya
Who shall not come to dance,
The joyous dance.
Go away, go away, you jealous ones,
Let us, let us,
Dance together, together.

The king comes, eya
To disturb the dance, eya
For he is very afraid, eya
That someone will want to steal,
The April Queen.
Go away, go away, you jealous ones.
Let us, let us,
Dance together, together.

But she wouldn’t let him do it, eya
For she needs not an old man, eya
But a graceful young one, eya
Who would well know how to comfort,
The delightful lady.
Go away, go away, you jealous ones,
Let us, let us,
Dance together, together.

Whoever would see her dance, eya
And her pretty body move, eya
Could well say, in truth, eya
That in all the world she has no equal,
The joyous queen.
Go away, go away, you jealous ones,
Let us, let us,
Dance together, together.

***

Monique further mentioned…

About the Occitan word that’s in the song, joia, in the troubadours’ time, the word had a very strong meaning of joy of life, it was a very deep feeling of happiness.

Hear you can hear this poem:

Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World’s Occitan Page for more Occitan Songs, and the Mama Lisa’s World Blog Occitan Page for more about Occitan.

Many thanks to Monique for translating this song for us and for her interesting comments.

Mama Lisa

The verb in Occitan is marcejar. It means “March-like weather”, meaning sun, then sudden rain, then sun again.

Marcejar comes from the Occitan word for March, which is Març. Març is similar to the French word for March, which is Mars. They’re pronounced the same.

I love finding words that exist in one language but not in others. If you know of any words like this, please share them in the comments below.

Thanks to Monique of Mama Lisa’s World en français for pointing out this interesting word to me.

Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World Occitan Page for Occitan Songs.

Dear Mamalisa,

I was delighted to find your website and will be using it in the future. I am researching translations for the word “grandma” in various languages. I am most interested in the familiar, sweet terms children might call this individual. I am aware that in some cultures this would be a different word for the mother or the father’s side of the family. I have spent hours on Internet, through many websites as well as your website and links. I have thus found: Cajun, Hawaiian, Ukrainian, Italian, Scottish, Irish, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, French, Spanish, and Farsi. I am not clear about Russian or Greek since I am not completely sure of their letters. Now I am certainly not expecting you to do hours of research for my project. But I thought you might be familiar with an easier way for me to accomplish my task.

For example, I happened on a page called “I Love You” in Various Languages and found 18 pages for “I love you”. Wow! Anyway, whatever help you can give me would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Kathy

If anyone knows any endearing terms for “grandma” and “grandpa”, including any in those languages listed, please comment below.

Thanks!

Lisa