Au clair de la lune

Not to be confused with Clair de Lune.

"Au clair de la lune" from a children's book, c. 1910–1919.

"Au clair de la lune" (French pronunciation: [o klɛʁ də la lyn(ə)], lit. "By the Light of the Moon") is a French folk song of the 18th century. The author is unknown. Its simple melody () is commonly taught to beginner students of the glockenspiel, as it provides an easy way for students to become comfortable with how notes are played on their instrument.

Lyrics

Chords, melody and words

The song is now considered a lullaby for children but carries a double entendre throughout (the dead candle, the need to light up the flame, the God of Love, etc.) that becomes clear with its conclusion.

« Au clair de la lune, Mon ami Pierrot, Prête-moi ta plume Pour écrire un mot. Ma chandelle est morte, Je n'ai plus de feu. Ouvre-moi ta porte Pour l'amour de Dieu. » Au clair de la lune, Pierrot répondit : « Je n'ai pas de plume, Je suis dans mon lit. Va chez la voisine, Je crois qu'elle y est, Car dans sa cuisine On bat le briquet. » Au clair de la lune, L'aimable Lubin; Frappe chez la brune, Elle répond soudain : –Qui frappe de la sorte ? Il dit à son tour : –Ouvrez votre porte, Pour le Dieu d'Amour. Au clair de la lune, On n'y voit qu'un peu. On chercha la plume, On chercha du feu. En cherchant d'la sorte, Je n'sais c'qu'on trouva ; Mais je sais qu'la porte Sur eux se ferma.

« By the light of the moon, My friend Pierrot, Lend me your quill To write a word. My candle is dead, I have no more fire. Open your door for me For the love of God. » By the light of the moon, Pierrot replied: « I don't have any pens, I am in my bed Go to the neighbor's, I think she's there Because in her kitchen Someone is lighting the fire. » By the light of the moon Likable Lubin Knocks on the brunette's door. She suddenly responds: - Who's knocking like that? He then replies: - Open your door for the God of Love! By the light of the moon One could barely see The pen was looked for, The light was looked for. With all that looking I don't know what was found, But I do know that the door Shut itself on them.

In classical music

19th-century French composer Camille Saint-Saëns quoted the first few notes of the tune in the section "The Fossils", part of his suite The Carnival of the Animals.

Erik Satie quoted this song in the section "Le flirt" (No. 19) of his 1914 piano collection Sports et divertissements.

The Pierre-Auguste Vafflard's painting

In the 1804's painting and sculpting exposition, Pierre-Auguste Vafflard presented a painting of Edward Young burying his protestant daughter-in-law by night. An anonymous commentator wrote those lyrics, which can still be heard instead of the classic "Au clair de la lune":

Au clair de la lune Les objets sont bleus Plaignons l'infortune De ce malheureux Las ! sa fille est morte Ce n'est pas un jeu Ouvrez-lui la porte Pour l'amour de Dieu.

By the light of the moon All things are blue Cry for the misfortune Of this poor soul Sadly! His daughter is dead It is no game Open the door to her For the love of God.

1860 recording

In 2008, a phonautograph paper recording made by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville of Au clair de la Lune on April 9, 1860 was digitally converted to sound by U.S. researchers. This one-line excerpt of the song was widely reported to have been the earliest recognizable record of the human voice and the earliest recognizable record of music.

According to those researchers, the phonautograph recording contains the beginning of the second verse of the song, "Au clair de la lune, Pierrot répondit...". It has also been reported that the recording contains the beginning of the song, "Au clair de la lune, mon ami Pierrot...".

External links

•  French Wikisource has original text related to this article: Au clair de la lune
• Works related to Au clair de la lune at Wikisource
• Media related to Au clair de la lune at Wikimedia Commons
• Listen 1931 recording by Yvonne Printemps.
• Possibly original French lyrics