La finforleta
This song is about how difficult it was for poor people to marry and settle down decently…
"La finforleta" and "la finforla" have no meaning.
La finforleta
The Wren and the Robin
Traditional Song
Traditional Song
(Occitan)
(English)
La petosa ame lo rigaud
Parlavan de se maridar,
La finforleta,
La petosa ame lo rigaud
Parlavan de se maridar,
La finforlà.
Ara maridats que ne siam
Coma farem per manjar
La finforleta,
Ara maridats que ne siam
Coma farem per manjar
La finforlà.
Se ne van trobar la Guirlan
Sus son còu i a un sac de blat,
La finforleta
Se ne van trobar la Guirlan
Sus son còu i a un sac de blat,
La finforlà.
Ara de manjar que n'avèm
Coma farem per dançar
La finforleta,
Ara de manjar que n'avèm
Coma farem per dançar
La finforlà.
Se ne van trobar lo rat
Que lei venga violonar
La finforleta,
Se ne van trobar lo rat
Que lei venga violonar
La finforlà.
Ara de dançar que n'avèm
Coma farem per cochar,
La finforleta,
Ara de dançar que n'avèm
Coma farem per cochar,
La finforla.
Se ne van trobar lo palhièr
Que lei forniga un bon lièch,
La finforleta,
Se ne van trobar lo palhièr
Que lei forniga un bon lièch,
La finforlà.
The wren and the robin
Were talking about getting married,
La finforleta,
The wren and the robin
Were talking about getting married,
La finforla.
Now that we're married,
How will we manage to eat?
La finforleta,
Now that we're married,
How will we manage to eat?
La finforla.
They go to meet "Guirlan"*
On her neck there's a bag of wheat,
La finforleta
They go to meet "Guirlan"
On her neck there's a bag of wheat,
La finforla.
Now that we have food to eat,
How will we manage to dance?
La finforleta,
Now that we have food to eat,
How will we manage to dance?
La finforla.
They go to meet the rat
For him to come and play the violin,
La finforleta,
They go to meet the rat
For him to come and play the violin,
La finforla.
Now that we have dancing
How will we manage to sleep?
La finforleta,
Now that we have dancing
How will we manage to sleep?
La finforla.
They go meet at the hayloft
For it to provide them with a good bed,
La finforleta,
They go meet at the hayloft
For it to provide them with a good bed,
La finforla.
Notes
*Nobody seems to know who "la Guirlan" was.
Comments
This traditional song was recorded in 1978 by the Provençal band Montjòia. On their LP sleeve, they mention that they sing only a few verses, so we can suppose there's a longer version somewhere.
You can hear a recording here.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Translated by Monique and Lisa.
