L'Empereur, sa femme et son petit prince
"Here's a cute French song we learned as kids - many years ago. It's a great one to teach the days of the week to children. Great with gestures. Children shake each other's hands, etc." -Therese Siemers
This is a well-known folk song from the second half of the 19th century that's mostly sung by children. It refers Napoleon III, Empress Eugénie and the Imperial Prince.
L'Empereur, sa femme et son petit prince
The Emperor, His Wife and His Little Prince
Chanson traditionnelle
Folk Song
(French)
(English)
1. Lundi matin,
L'emp'reur, sa femme et son p'tit prince
Sont venus chez moi, pour me serrer la pince.
Mais comme j' n'étais pas là,
Le petit prince a dit :
"Puisqu'il n'est pas là, nous reviendrons mardi."
2. Mardi matin,
L'emp'reur, sa femme et son p'tit prince
Sont venus chez moi, pour me serrer la pince.
Mais comme j' n'étais pas là,
Le petit prince a dit :
"Puisqu'il n'est pas là, nous reviendrons mercredi."
3. Mercredi matin,
L'emp'reur, sa femme et son p'tit prince
Sont venus chez moi, pour me serrer la pince.
Mais comme j' n'étais pas là,
Le petit prince a dit :
"Puisqu'il n'est pas là, nous reviendrons jeudi."
4. Jeudi matin,
L'emp'reur, sa femme et son p'tit prince
Sont venus chez moi, pour me serrer la pince.
Mais comme j' n'étais pas là,
Le petit prince a dit :
"Puisqu'il n'est pas là, nous reviendrons vendredi."
5. Vendredi matin,
L'emp'reur, sa femme et son p'tit prince
Sont venus chez moi, pour me serrer la pince.
Mais comme j' n'étais pas là,
Le petit prince a dit :
"Puisqu'il n'est pas là, nous reviendrons samedi."
6. Samedi matin,
L'emp'reur, sa femme et son p'tit prince
Sont venus chez moi, pour me serrer la pince.
Mais comme j' n'étais pas là,
Le petit prince a dit :
"Puisqu'il n'est pas là, nous reviendrons dimanche."
7. Dimanche matin,
L'emp'reur, sa femme et son p'tit prince
Sont venus chez moi, pour me serrer la pince.
Mais comme j' n'étais pas là,
Le petit prince a dit :
"Puisqu'il n'est pas là, nous ne reviendrons plus."
On Monday morning
The emperor, his wife and his little prince,
Came to my house
To shake my hand.
But since I wasn't there
The little prince said,
"Since he isn't there,
We'll return on Tuesday."
On Tuesday morning
The emperor, his wife and his little prince,
Came to my house
To shake my hand.
But since I wasn't there
The little prince said,
"Since he isn't there,
We'll return on Wednesday."
On Wednesday morning
The emperor, his wife and his little prince,
Came to my house
To shake my hand.
But since I wasn't there
The little prince said,
"Since he isn't there,
We'll return on Thursday."
On Thursday morning
The emperor, his wife and his little prince,
Came to my house
To shake my hand.
But since I wasn't there
The little prince said,
"Since he isn't there,
We'll return on Friday."
On Friday morning
The emperor, his wife and his little prince,
Came to my house
To shake my hand.
But since I wasn't there,
The little prince said,
"Since he isn't there,
We'll return on Saturday."
On Saturday morning
The emperor, his wife and his little prince,
Came to my house
To shake my hand.
But since I wasn't there,
The little prince said,
"Since he isn't there,
We'll return on Sunday."
On Sunday morning
The emperor, his wife and his little prince,
Came to my house
To shake my hand.
But since I wasn't there,
The little prince said,
"Since he isn't there,
We won't come back again."
Notes
"Pour me serrer la pince" is an old French expression meaning "to shake my hand". Pince is a slang word for "hand". But it's only used nowadays in the phrase "serrer la pince", to shake hands.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Thanks to Therese Siemers for sharing this song with the translation.
Merci beaucoup!
