French Songs > Chants de Noël, Traditional

D’où viens-tu, bergère?
Je viens de l'étable, de m'y promener

Traditional carol of the Périgord, collected by Emmanuel Casse and Eugène Chaminade, Vieilles Chansons patoises du Périgord, 1888, 2e éd. 1903.

The text in Vieilles chansons is much longer than the five stanzas given here. The melody given there is also somewhat different from the one usually used today.

Recorded versions are multiple on YouTube. To encourage your own efforts, here are three little kids singing it (admittedly they have been helped out by the editing).

French Lyrics (English Translation Follows)

1 D’où viens-tu, bergère, d’où viens-tu? (bis)
—Je viens de l’étable, de m’y promener;
J’ai vu un miracle ce soir arriver.

2 Qu’as-tu vu, bergère, qu’as-tu vu? (bis)
—J’ai vu dans la crèche un petit enfant
Sur la paille fraîche mis bien tendrement.

3 Rien de plus, bergère, rien de plus? (bis)
—Saint Joseph, son père, Saint Jean, son parrain,
Saint’-Marie sa mère, qui l’aime si bien.

4 Rien de plus, bergère, rien de plus? (bis)
—´Y a¹ le bœuf et l’âne qui sont par devant
Et de leur haleine réchauffent l’enfant.

5 Rien de plus, bergère, rien de plus? (bis)
—´Y a trois petits anges descendus du ciel,
Chantant les louanges du Père éternel.

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French Lyrics With English Translation

1 D’où viens-tu, bergère, d’où viens-tu? (bis) —Je viens de l’étable, de m’y promener; J’ai vu un miracle ce soir arriver.	1 Where do you come from, shepherdess, where do you come from? (twice) —I come from the stable, I have just been walking there; I have seen a miracle happen this evening.
2 Qu’as-tu vu, bergère, qu’as-tu vu? (bis) —J’ai vu dans la crèche un petit enfant Sur la paille fraîche mis bien tendrement.	2 What did you see, shepherdess, what did you see? —I saw in the manger a little child Placed very tenderly on the fresh straw.
3 Rien de plus, bergère, rien de plus? (bis) —Saint Joseph, son père, Saint Jean, son parrain, Saint’-Marie sa mère, qui l’aime si bien.	3 Nothing more, shepherdess, nothing more? —St Joseph, his father, St John, his godfather,2 St Mary his mother, who loves him so well.
4 Rien de plus, bergère, rien de plus? (bis) —´Y a le bœuf et l’âne qui sont par devant Et de leur haleine réchauffent l’enfant.	4 Nothing more, shepherdess, nothing more? —There’s the ox and the ass who are in front And who warm the child with their breath.
5 Rien de plus, bergère, rien de plus? (bis) —´Y a trois petits anges descendus du ciel, Chantant les louanges du Père éternel.	5 Nothing more, shepherdess, nothing more? —There are three little angels come down from heaven, Singing the praises of the eternal Father.

1. = Il y a.[↩]
2. As a second cousin, St. John could theoretically have served as godfather to Jesus, but he would have been on the young side (about three months old), in addition to which St Luke doesn’t mention his or his parents’ being present. Nevertheless, it is a pleasing idea. The maker of the song was perhaps influenced by paintings showing the two holy babies and their mothers all together at one time.[↩]

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