A couple of weeks ago I posted the French lullaby Dodo, l’enfant do. Here is a lullaby from Belgium called Une Poule Blanche. It shares part of the 1st verse (the first four lines) with the French lullaby. The English translation is first, then the French version.
A White Hen
A white hen
Is in the barn.
She made a small egg
For the child who sleeps.
Sleepy time, sleepy time, pussy-cat,
Sleepy time, sleepy time, kitty-cat.A black hen
Is in the cupboard.
She made a small egg
For the child who sleeps.
Sleepy time, sleepy time, pussy-cat,
Sleepy time, sleepy time, kitty-cat.Here’s the original lullaby in French from Belgium.
Une Poule Blanche
Une poule blanche
Qui est dans la grange,
Elle a fait un petit coco
Pour l’enfant qui fait dodo,
Dodo, dodo, minette,
Dodo, dodo, Mino.Une poule noire
Qui est dans l’armoire,
Elle a fait un petit coco
Pour l’enfant qui fait dodo,
Dodo, dodo, minette,
Dodo, dodo, Mino.
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World Belgium Page for more Belgian Children’s Songs and the France Page for French Children’s Songs with their English translations.
You can also visit Mama Lisa’s World en français for children’s songs from around the world with their French translations.
Many thanks to Monique Palomares for creating the midi!
Stay tuned because more lullabies are coming soon!
-Lisa
This article was posted on Monday, October 17th, 2005 at 1:28 pm and is filed under A White Hen - Une poule blanche, Animal Songs, Belgian Children's Songs, Belgian Lullabies, Belgium, Cat Songs, Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Dodo, l'enfant do, French, French Lullabies, Hen Songs, Languages, Lullabies, Songs by Theme. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
5 Responses to “A Lullaby from Belgium called “The White Hen” or “Une Poule Blanche””
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April 26th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
Hi!
I was wondering if you have a midi-file for Une Poule Blanche. I would like to know how the tune goes! Thank you!
-Kate
April 26th, 2006 at 8:37 pm
I added to the entry above what we believe is the right tune. It comes from “Dodo, l’enfant do” which shares a verse with “Une poule blanche”…
Dodo, l’enfant do
Dodo, l’enfant do
L’enfant dormira bien vite
Dodo, l’enfant do
L’enfant dormira bientôt.
Une poule blanche
Est là dans la grange
Qui va faire un petit coco oh oh
Pour l’enfant qui va faire dodo oh oh
***
Thanks to Monique for creating the midi!
April 27th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
Thank you, Lisa and Monique! You’re the best!
-Kate
March 10th, 2021 at 3:19 am
Hi, I am wondering about this song. My grandmother, or we called her Memere, used to sing us a version of this song (at least I believe it is this song). But she used to sign Da disha, da disha, da disha dodo, Une Poule Blanche, a le poule est ce coco (not sure about these words), pour (our name) ci va dodo, da disha, da disha, da disha dodo. I appreciate any guesses as to the words ‘Da Disha’ I do not speak French and my Memere would not teach us. She was very self conscious about speaking it but she would sing us this and other French nursery rhymes. I appreciate your input or ideas.
Thanks! Amber
March 10th, 2021 at 1:23 pm
Indeed, it’s a version of the song. You can see it on our Belgium page with an explanation for “dodiche” in the notes. It’s actually a diminutive form of “dodo” which is itself baby talk for sleep (from “dors”, verb “dormir” in French). If you called your grandma “Mémère” she surely was from North-Eastern France or Normandy as you can see on this page.