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4 Responses to “A French Song about Apples”

1. kim Says:
   June 19th, 2008 at 2:02 pm

   I have heard that this song is actually sung/recited by french children in the manner that american children would use eenie-meenie-miney-mo. anyone else know if this is accurate?

2. Monique Says:
   June 20th, 2008 at 1:43 am

   It is. I remember that we would add “sorti!” (“out!”) at the end to eliminate the one on which “ti” would fall.

   Btw, there’s a version that goes:

   “Pomme de reinette et pomme d’api,
   D’api, d’api rouge,
   Pomme de reinette et pomme d’api,
   D’api, d’api gris.
   Cache ton poing derrière ton dos
   Ou tu auras un coup d’ marteau”

   Literal Translation:

   Pippin apple and lady apple,
   Red, red lady (apple),
   Pippin apple and lady apple,
   Grey, grey lady (apple).
   Hide your fist behind your back
   Or you’ll have a hammer blow.

   The children stand in a circle and one does the counting-out. The child on which the last syllable falls must hide his/her fist behind his/her back, the last one is “It”.

   I suppose this one is the original song, the second and last lines make sense. While in the first version of the song posted above, “tapis” (“carpet”) has no relation whatsoever with apples and must be an alteration from the original “d’api”, its meaning being long forgotten by most French people.

3. happeulle Says:
   November 21st, 2011 at 6:35 pm

   Excellente la recette

4. 5yearslate Says:
   December 30th, 2013 at 4:53 pm

   kim was rigth whit eenie-meenie-miney-mo in french song, it this:

   “iniminimanimo
   Cache ton poing derrière ton dos
   iniminimanimo
   ou t’aura un cou d’marteau.”

   But I have never hear “cache ton poing derrière ton dos” sentence for the “pomme de Reinette” song. Lisa was rigth it this:

   “Pomme de reinette et pomme d’api
   Tapis, tapis rouge
   Pomme de reinette et pomme d’api
   Tapis, tapis gris.”

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