Partons, la mer est belle
Il ne s'attendait pas À y trouver la mort
Unlike the other songs on this website, “Partons la mer est belle” is not one I used to teach in my French classes; I have added it by special request.
From what I have been able to glean online, this song originated in France in 1800 and was adopted in French-speaking Canada in the course of the 20th century. Its popularizer in Canada (and I imagine the source of the info available on the web) is a certain Anselme Chiasson, o.f.m. cap., ethnologist and Acadian folklorist, whose 1940s series of publications Chansons d’Acadie I have not yet laid eyes on (see here and here).
Although the two melodies I find for this song are very peaceful, suitable for cradle use, its content is rather bleak. The sea is calm, as the fishermen set out, but it can turn violent at any time; it has taken the singer’s father, left his mother in poverty, and some day may take her remaining son as well.
Here is the version vendéenne, performed by les Tribordais:
And here is the version acadienne, performed by les frères Petit:
Here’s another version of the same, performed with social distancing:
Imperative
The first-person plural imperative, the equivalent of English “let us (do something),” is used repeatedly in the refrain. It consists of the nous-form of the present verb, minus the subject pronoun nous. (Consult if you wish this language file: Imperative Mood.)
- Partons, Embarquons, Guidons, Ramons, hissons (Let us leave, Let us embark, Let us guide, Let us row, let us hoist)
Subjunctive
Two basic uses of the present subjunctive appear in the song:
- After il faut que (it is necessary that): (…soyons)
- After avant que (before [subordinating conjunction]): (…soit)
(For more on these uses, see this language topic and this other language topic. For formation of the present subjunctive, see this language file.)
Negative Particles
In stanza 3 the line je n’ai plus que ma mère contains two negative particles, plus (no more, no longer) and que (except for), with the resulting meaning: “I have no longer [anybody] except for my mother.” The following line contains the particle rien: qui ne possède rien. (For more, see these language files: Negative Particles and Ne…que and What You Can Do With It.)
One other alternative (i.e, not pas) negative particle appears in stanza 2: Il ne s’attendait GUÈRE = “He SCARCELY expected…”
Versification
The line is six-syllabled (not including a final “mute” E, which although sung is not counted). The stanzas are made up of two quatrains each with the rhyme scheme ABAB (called in French une rime croisée), the B-lines having feminine1 endings. Curiously, the first quatrain of the first stanza departs from this pattern: it has ABBA (called in French une rime embrassée) instead of ABAB.
Singing the “Mute” E
You will note that in this song the so-called “mute E” (e muet, e sourd, e caduc) is not at all mute but on the contrary sung, always getting its own note: in the first stanza pêchE, bonnE, lunE, rayonnE, éclairEra, aurorE, encorE and in the refrain bellE, nacellE, voilEs, étoilEs, matElots. However, even when sung, this E still cannot be emphasized; you will observe in the sheet music on this web page the “mute” Es regularly get an eighth note as contrasted to a quarter note and are sung either on the same or a lower pitch than the preceding syllables. For more on this matter, see this answer of mine to a Quora question.
What Kind of a Boat?
I have translated nacelle (in the refrain) as “skiff,” meaning by that not a racing sailboat (its frequent modern meaning), but a smallish vessel with both oars and sails that could be used for fishing in the sea not far off the coast (a meaning “skiff” sometimes had in the past, as I understand). The French word une nacelle, meanwhile, originally meant (according to the TLFi entry) une petite embarcation à rames (a small rowing vessel) and subsequently took on the meanings of “cradle” or “basket” (both having boat-like shapes) and later various objects in engineering, particularly aeronautics (see the Wikipédia article on nacelle). (It is I suppose possible that the song involves two different vessels, the one with oars being used to get to the one with masts.)
If you can come up with an alternative English word to “skiff,” please put it in a comment below.
French Lyrics (English Translation Follows)
1 Amis, partons sans bruit;
La pêche sera bonne,
La lune qui rayonne
Éclairera la nuit.
Il faut qu’avant l’aurore
Nous soyons de retour,
Pour sommeiller encore
Avant qu’il soit grand jour.
Partons, la mer est belle;
Embarquons-nous, pêcheurs,
Guidons notre nacelle,
Ramons avec ardeur.
Aux mâts hissons les voiles,
Le ciel est pur et beau;
Je vois briller l’étoile
Qui guide les matelots!
2 Ainsi chantait mon père,
Lorsqu’il quitta le port,
Il ne s’attendait guère
À y trouver la mort.
Par les vents, par l’orage,
Il fut surpris soudain;
Et d’un cruel naufrage
Il subit le destin.
Partons, la mer est belle, etc.
3 Je n’ai plus que ma mère,
Qui ne possède rien,
Elle est dans la misère
Je suis son seul soutien.
Ramons, ramons bien vite,
Je l’aperçois là-bas;
Je la vois qui m’invite
En me tendant les bras.
Partons, la mer est belle, etc.
French Lyrics With English Translation
| 1 Amis, partons sans bruit; La pêche sera bonne, La lune qui rayonne Éclairera la nuit. Il faut qu’avant l’aurore Nous soyons de retour, Pour sommeiller encore Avant qu’il soit grand jour. | 1 Friends, let’s leave quietly; The fishing will be good, The moon that is shining Will illumine the night. Before the dawn We must be back, To doze some more Before it is full day. |
| Partons, la mer est belle; Embarquons-nous, pêcheurs, Guidons notre nacelle, Ramons avec ardeur. Aux mâts hissons les voiles, Le ciel est pur et beau; Je vois briller l’étoile Qui guide les matelots! | Let’s leave, the sea is lovely; Let’s embark, fishermen, Let’s guide our skiff, Let’s row vigorously. Let’s hoist the sails on the masts, The sky is pure and lovely; I see the star shining That guides all sailors! |
| 2 Ainsi chantait mon père, Lorsqu’il quitta le port, Il ne s’attendait guère À y trouver la mort. Par les vents, par l’orage, Il fut surpris soudain; Et d’un cruel naufrage Il subit le destin. | 2 Thus my father would sing Whenever he left port. He hardly expected To encounter death there. By the winds, by the storm He was suddenly taken by surprise; And of a cruel shipwreck He underwent the fate. |
| Partons, la mer est belle, etc. | Let’s leave, the sea is lovely, etc. |
| 3 Je n’ai plus que ma mère, Qui ne possède rien, Elle est dans la misère Je suis son seul soutien. Ramons, ramons bien vite, Je l’aperçois là-bas; Je la vois qui m’invite En me tendant les bras. | 3 I have none left but my mother, Who doesn’t own anything. She lives in abject poverty; I am her only support. Let’s row, let’s row very fast, I see her over there; I see her welcoming me Stretching out her arms. |
| Partons, la mer est belle, etc. | Let’s leave, the sea is lovely, etc. |
- “Feminine” here means simply that the last word in the line ends in a “mute” E.[↩]
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