V'la L'Bon Vent (Go Good Wind) | Mama Lisa's World Blog

Canadian Folk Song, “V’la l’Bon Vent (Go Good Wind)”, in French with an English Translation

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2005

Dani Atkinson wrote me…

I spent several years in Quebec as a kid. While I was there, somebody gave me a picture book and an accompanying tape of French/French-Canadian folk songs. Both book and tape have since disappeared, but I remember some of the tunes, and I recently hunted up the lyrics to refresh them in my mind.

This one was my favourite. Apparently it’s Acadian, over three hundred years old. There are several gazillion variations; I’ve pieced together the one I remember.

V’la l’Bon Vent (Go Good Wind)

(Chorus)

V’la l’bon vent
V’la joli vent
V’la l’bon vent
M’amie m’appelle
V’la l’bon vent
V’la joli vent
V’la l’bon vent
M’amie m’attend

(verses)

Derrière chez nous y’a t’un étang (x2)
Il n’est pas large comme il est grand

Trois beaux canards s’en vont nageant (x2)
Le fils de roi s’en va chassant

Avec son grand fusil argent (x2)
Visa le noir tua le blanc

O, fils de roi, tu es méchant (x2)
Tu as tue mon canard blanc

Par dessous l’aile il perd son sang (x2)
Et par les yeux les diamants

Et par le bec l’or et l’argent (x2)
Que ferons-nous de tant d’argent?

Nous mettrons les filles au couvent (x2)
Et les garçons au régiment

My translation:

Go good wind
Go pretty wind
Go good wind
My friend is calling
Go good wind
Go pretty wind
Go good wind
She waits for me

Behind our house there is a pond
It’s not as deep as it is wide

Three handsome ducks went for a swim
The king’s son went hunting

With his great silver gun
Wounded the black, killed the white

O, son of the king, you are cruel
You have killed my white duck

From ‘neath its wing it loses blood
and from its eyes, diamonds

And from its beak, gold and silver
What use to us is lots of money?

We send all our girls to the convent
And all the boys to the army.

I don’t swear to the accuracy of my translation, Quebec and French class were a while ago.

That’s it for now. Maybe some other time, I’ll send you the lyrics to Cadet Rouselle, who has three houses, and three large dogs, and three of just about everything else you can think of, and is really a good child. :-)

Dani Atkinson