Some songs transcend time, space, and even language, just like the Alouette song. This catchy traditional French-Canadian tune is often sung as a children’s lullaby, characterized by its playful melody and repetitive lyrics. It’s also very popular in classrooms to help kids learn French, since it lists various body parts in French.
However, few English speakers know that this song is actually about plucking the feathers off a lark, which is the meaning of une alouette in French!
Despite its obscure background, the Alouette song remains a classic. It also gives us an opportunity to learn and practice some grammar, vocabulary, and even culture. So, in today’s post, we’ll analyze the lyrics to the Alouette song in French and English!
The origins of the Alouette song
The exact origin of the Alouette song remains shrouded in a bit of mystery. The earliest documented version appears in a Canadian student songbook published in Montréal in 1879, suggesting a French-Canadian origin.
Some folklorists posit that the Alouette song may have originally come from France. The first published version showed up well into the period of North American colonization, however, suggesting that it was a home-grown folk song passed down through generations of immigrants before being documented.
Another theory suggests it might have been used as a rhythmic song by French fur traders in North America, helping them keep a regular cadence while rowing their canoes through the wilderness.
But why are the larks being plucked of their feathers? Keep in mind that this song seems to have originated during times of subsistence hunting, when European explorers and colonists in North America harvested a lot of their food from nature. Once an alouette was hunted, it needed to be defeathered before it could be eaten, so this song may have been sung while performing the task of preparing a meal.
Despite the lack of a definitive origin story, the Alouette song has become a popular fixture in French-Canadian culture, and a recognizable tune around the world. In fact, it was even taught in American schools through much of the 20th century. US Marines also learned the song while serving in France during the World Wars!
Thus, generations of native English speakers learned the Alouette song in French, passing it on to their children and grandchildren. Its repetitive rhythm lends itself to rocking children to sleep, so it’s even been used as a lullaby.
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Alouette lyrics in French and English
Now it’s time to take a closer look at the song itself! In the next sections, we’ll analyze the Alouette lyrics in French and English.
So what is the Alouette song about? In essence, we’re singing about plucking the feathers off of a lark, while adding a new body part to pluck in each verse.
We’ll start here with the full lyrics to the song Alouette, with straight English translations of each line. Then we’ll break it down by blocks to take a better look at the Alouette song meaning in English.
The full Alouette song lyrics
Alouette, gentille alouette – Lark, nice lark
Alouette, je te plumerai. – Lark, I’ll pluck you.
Je te plumerai la tête – I’ll pluck your head
Je te plumerai la tête. – I’ll pluck your head.
Et la tête ! – And your head!
Et la tête ! – And your head!
Alouette, alouette ! – Lark, lark!
A-a-a-ah
Alouette, gentille alouette – Lark, nice lark
Alouette, je te plumerai. – Lark, I’ll pluck you.
Je te plumerai le bec – I’ll pluck your beak
Je te plumerai le bec. – I’ll pluck your beak.
Et le bec, et le bec ! – And your beak, and your beak!
Et la tête, et la tête ! – And your head, and your head!
Alouette, alouette ! – Lark, lark!
A-a-a-ah
Alouette, gentille alouette – Lark, nice lark
Alouette, je te plumerai. – Lark, I’ll pluck you.
Je te plumerai les yeux – I’ll pluck your eyes
Je te plumerai les yeux. – I’ll pluck your eyes.
Et les yeux, et les yeux ! – And your eyes, and your eyes!
Et le bec, et le bec ! – And your beak, and your beak!
Et la tête, et la tête ! – And your head!
Alouette, alouette ! – Lark!
A-a-a-ah
Alouette, gentille alouette – Lark, nice lark
Alouette, je te plumerai. – Lark, I’ll pluck you.
Je te plumerai le cou – I’ll pluck your neck
Je te plumerai le cou. – I’ll pluck your neck.
Et le cou, et le cou ! – And your neck!
Et les yeux, et les yeux ! – And your eyes!
Et le bec, et le bec ! – And your beak!
Et la tête, et la tête ! – And your head!
Alouette, alouette ! – Lark, lark!
A-a-a-ah
Alouette, gentille alouette – Lark, nice lark
Alouette, je te plumerai. – Lark, I’ll pluck you.
Je te plumerai les ailes – I’ll pluck your wings
Je te plumerai les ailes. – I’ll pluck your wings.
Et les ailes, et les ailes ! – And your wings, and your wings!
Et le cou, et le cou ! – And your neck, and your neck!
Et les yeux, et les yeux ! – And your eyes, and your eyes!
Et le bec, et le bec ! – And your beak, and your beak!
Et la tête, et la tête ! – And your head, and your head!
Alouette, alouette ! – Lark, lark!
A-a-a-ah
Alouette, gentille alouette – Lark, nice lark
Alouette, je te plumerai. – Lark, I’ll pluck you.
Je te plumerai les pattes – I’ll pluck your feet
Je te plumerai les pattes. – I’ll pluck your feet.
Et les pattes, et les pattes ! – And your feet, and your feet!
Et les ailes, et les ailes ! – And your wings, and your wings!
Et le cou, et le cou ! – And your neck, and your neck!
Et les yeux, et les yeux ! – And your eyes, and your eyes!
Et le bec, et le bec ! – And your beak, and your beak!
Et la tête, et la tête ! – And your head, and your head!
Alouette, alouette ! – Lark, lark!
A-a-a-ah
Alouette, gentille alouette – Lark, nice lark
Alouette, je te plumerai. – Lark, I’ll pluck you.
Je te plumerai la queue – I’ll pluck your tail
Je te plumerai la queue. – I’ll pluck your tail.
Et la queue, et la queue ! – And your tail!
Et les pattes, et les pattes ! – And your feet, and your feet!
Et les ailes, et les ailes ! – And your wings, and your wings!
Et le cou, et le cou ! – And your neck, and your neck!
Et les yeux, et les yeux ! – And your eyes, and your eyes!
Et le bec, et le bec ! – And your beak, and your beak!
Et la tête, et la tête ! – And your head, and your head!
Alouette, alouette ! – Lark, lark!
A-a-a-ah
Alouette, gentille alouette – Lark, nice lark
Alouette, je te plumerai. – Lark, I’ll pluck you.
Je te plumerai le dos – I’ll pluck your back
Je te plumerai le dos. – I’ll pluck your back.
Et le dos, et le dos ! – And your back, and your back!
Et la queue, et la queue ! – And your tail, and your tail!
Et les pattes, et les pattes ! – And your feet, and your feet!
Et les ailes, et les ailes ! – And your wings, and your wings!
Et le cou, et le cou ! – And your neck, and your neck!
Et les yeux, et les yeux ! – And your eyes, and your eyes!
Et le bec, et le bec ! – And your beak, and your beak!
Et la tête, et la tête ! – And your head, and your head!
Alouette, alouette ! – Lark, lark!
A-a-a-ah
Alouette, gentille alouette – Lark, nice lark
Alouette, je te plumerai. – Lark, I’ll pluck you.
Alouette, gentille alouette
The first line of the song translates as “Lark, nice lark.” The adjective gentille is the feminine form of the masculine gentil, meaning nice. Note that in this case, the adjective precedes the noun instead of following it. This is common with short, often-used adjectives.
Alouette, je te plumerai
This line of the Alouette song in English translates to “Lark, I will pluck you,” or “Lark, I will pluck the feathers off of you.” The sentence begins with the subject pronoun je, meaning I in English. Te is the indirect object pronoun meaning you, indicating that the song is being sung to the lark and that the verb’s action is directed at it. Plumerai is the futur simple tense of the verb plumer, which means to pluck in French.
La tête / Le bec / Les yeux / Le cou / Les ailes / Les pattes / La queue / Le dos
As the song progresses, additional body parts are added. We’ll explain the meaning of each one here. Several are identical to human body parts in French, while others are specific to animals.
La tête means the head.
Le bec translates to the beak or the bill of a bird.
Les yeux and le cou translate respectively to the eyes and the neck.
Les ailes are the wings, which can be used for birds or planes
La patte is the word for an animal’s foot, often translated as a paw.
The meaning of la queue when talking about animals is the tail, though in other contexts une queue can also mean a line, like when you’re waiting in line (“faire la queue”).
Le dos translates simply as the back.
All of the body parts are preceded by the definite articles le, la, and les, which agree in gender and number with the noun.
Conclusion: The Alouette song
What do you think about the Alouette song? Have you heard it before? Despite its literal meaning about defeathering a wild bird, the song remains popular for its simple melody and repetitive lyrics delivered in a playful way. The Alouette song is therefore a useful tool for learning basic French vocabulary and grammar, like body parts and verb tenses.
Furthermore, the Alouette song holds a special place in French-Canadian culture. Did you know that Montréal’s home team in the Canadian football league is even named after the bird: Les Alouettes de Montréal!
This connection to a rich heritage makes learning the song a fun way to explore French-Canadian traditions. Now that you know the Alouette lyrics in French and English, it can even help you spark conversations and connect with others!
Finally, since the Alouette song is sometimes used as a children’s story or a lullaby before bed, we’ll end today’s post by wishing you good night and sweet dreams!