Sur le pont d'Avignon
My family and I visited the town of Avignon in France and took this photo of the Bridge of Avignon. Warning: If you visit there you won't be able to get the tune of this song out of your head for weeks!
Sur le pont d'Avignon
On the Bridge of Avignon
Chanson enfantine
Children's Song
(French)
(English)
Refrain
Sur le pont d'Avignon
On y danse, on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
On y danse tout en rond*
1 Les beaux messieurs font comme ça
Et puis encore comme ça.
Refrain
Sur le pont d'Avignon
On y danse, on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
On y danse tout en rond.
2 Les belles dames font comme ça
Et puis encore comme ça.
Refrain
Sur le pont d'Avignon
On y danse, on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
On y danse tout en rond.
(Chorus)
On the bridge of Avignon
They are dancing, they are dancing,
On the bridge of Avignon
They are dancing all around.
1. The handsome gentlemen go this way
And then again go that way.
(Chorus)
On the bridge of Avignon
They are dancing, they are dancing,
On the bridge of Avignon
They are dancing all around.
2. The pretty dames go this way
And then again go that way.
(Chorus)
On the bridge of Avignon
They are dancing, they are dancing,
On the bridge of Avignon
They are dancing all around.
Notes
*This line can be found as either "tout en rond" or "tous en rond".
"Tout en rond" means something like "in a circle". It sounds as if it's insisting on the fact that it's in a circle.
"Tous en rond" means "all in a circle". It means that everybody should dance on a circle.
Game Instructions
Children dance in a circle while singing the chorus. On the first verse, the dance stops and the children bow and pretend to raise their hats. On the second verse, the children curtsey first on one side and then on the other.
Comments
Monique wrote: "There are usually 2 verses to Sur le pont d'Avignon: one about the gentlemen and the other about the ladies. In some versions, there's a verse about the shoemakers, and in other versions, there's quite a lot of people!
I found the following people in my French song books, and online..."
Les cordonniers (shoemakers) font comme ça...
Les blanchisseuses (laundresses) font comme ça...
Les musiciens (musicians) font comme ça...
Les soldats (the soldiers) font comme ça...
Les jardiniers (gardeners) font comme ça...
Les vignerons (grape growers) font comme ça...
Les couturiers (dressmakers) font comme ça...
*****
Le pont d'Avignon is also called Pont Saint-Bénezet.
The tune to this song was in print as far back as 1853. The full song has been around in its current form since 1876.
Come visit Mama Lisa's World Blog to read more about the Bridge of Avignon and to see more photos.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Monique Palomares for creating the midi music for this song.
The 1st illustration comes from The Baby's Bouquet, A Fresh Bunch of Rhymes and Tunes by Walter Crane (1878). The 2nd illustration is from Chansons et rondes enfantines (1871) with a little graphical editing by Lisa Yannucci.
Merci beaucoup!
