rjzeller

All hail La Bottine Souriante and their album "Chic & Swell"!!!

I just got my copy today and my feet haven't stopped tapping yet. La Ziguezon is just a feet tapping party! I mean it, this music is AWESOME.

Well...that is...if you're into French-Canadian-Celtic music. I haven't the damnedest idea what on earth they're saying, but I like it!

Anyone else got reccomendations on unusual or strang music that is very catchy or enjoyable (P.D.Q. Bach and Hooked on Classics does not count)?

anyone here speak French and want to translate for me?

__________________
There are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who understand binary and those who do not.

jpkaminga

I speak french pretty well, however the accent of french-canadians is almost impossible to understand, but if you had the written lyrics I could proly do a pretty good translation

__________________
perhaps truth is a woman who has reasons for not letting us see her reasons-Nietzsche

Tootsall

That's certainly a fact! It's a whole different language from Parisian French.

rjzeller

....dang filters. The *** is actually "t .. i ... t", gues that little bit of prose is an unacceptable slang on this end of the border....

Okay, here are the lyrics to "Le Ziguezon", I assume the first bit is just some information on the song since I can't match it to any of the singing...

***

Il existe une foule de facons de chanter cette chanson avec des refrains tout aussi deroutants les uns que les autres. Celle-ci nous vient de Normand Miron, tres bon chanteur mais aussi exellent accordeoniste. Depuis longtemps deja, La Bottine chante cette chanson sur scene. Aussi, avons-nous decide, quoique difficile a interpreter dans un studio, de la mettre sur ce disque.

M'en va a la fontaine
Pour y pecher du poisson (bis)
La ziguezon zin zon
La fontaine est profonde
Me suis coule au fond

Regrain
Ziguezon zin zon, fille en haut
Fille en bas, fille fille fille-femme
Femme, femme, femme, aussi pis la
Bottine-tine-tine le rigolet ha ha
Son p'tit porte-cle tout rouille, tout rouille
Son p'tit porte-cle tout rouille gaiement (bis)
La fontaine est profonde
Me suis coule au fond
Par icit il y passe
Trois cavaliers barons

Refrain
Par icit il y passe
Trois cavaliers barons
Que m'donneriez vous belle
Si j'vous tirais du fond

Refrain

Que m'donneriez vous belle
Si j'vous tirais du fond
Tirez, tirez dit-elle
Apres ca nous verrons

Refrain

Tirez, tirez dit-elle
Apres ca nous verrons
Quand la belle fut a terre
Se sauve a la maison

Refrain

Quand la belle fut a terre
Se sauve a la maison
S'assoit a la fenetre
Compose une chanson

Refrain

S'assoit a la fenetre
Compose une chanson
Mon petit coeur en gage
N'est pas pour un baron

Refrain

Mon petit coeur en gage
N'est pas pour un baron
Mais pour un homme de guerre
Qui a du poil au menton

Refrain

***

There it is. The repetitive pattern is interesting, wondering what this all translates into. The song is basically a call-echo where a soloist sings and there's a response from the ensemble.

__________________
There are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who understand binary and those who do not.

jpkaminga

there exists a crowd(bunch?) of ways to sing this song with each refrain as disconcerting as the next. This one comes to us from Normand Miron, a very good singer and just as good accordeonist. It's already been a long time, The Boot sings this song on stage. Also, we have decided, although it was difficult to interpret in the studio, to put it on this CD.

I take myself to the fountain
to fish for some fish
the ziguezon zin zon (I have no idea, I'm pretty sure the zin zon is onomatopoeia)
the fountain is deep
I've slipped in the fountain

ziguezon zin zon, girl up high
girl down low, girl girl girl-woman
woman woman woman even worse there
boot oot oot the joke ha ha
make a sound with the little keyring around around
sound the little keyring around happily
the fountain is deep
I've slipped to the bottom of the fountain
by here there passes
three baron knights

by here there passes
three baron knights
who give me to your beautiful self
if I pull you to the bottom

who give me to your beautiful self
if I pull you to the bottom
pull, pull she says
after this we go

pull pull she says
after this we go
when beauty has fled to earth (weird construction, might be a quebec thing, I think it might mean 'has fled from')
it saves itself in the house

when beauty has fled to earth
it saves itself in the house
sits itself in the window
composes a song

sits itself in the window
composes a song
my little heart in gage(no idea)
is not for a baron

my little heart in gage
is not for a baron'
but for a man of war
who has hair on his chest

__________________
perhaps truth is a woman who has reasons for not letting us see her reasons-Nietzsche

Tootsall

Pretty good try, JP... and probably with as much validity as the interpretation I put on it.

Quote:
There are a number of ways of singing this song with refrains that can go one way or the other. This one comes us from Norman Miron, very good singer but also exellent accordeonist. This song has been sung at La Bottine (“The Boot”.. a common name for small bistro/pub with entertainment) for some time. We have decided to record this song.


Going to the fountain to catch some fish
La ziguezon zin zon
The fountain is deep
Pours me to the bottom

Refrain:
Ziguezon zin zon, Girl on top
Girl in bottom, girl girl girl-woman
Woman, woman, woman, also worse
Bottine-tine-tine le rigolet ha ha
His little door key is rusted, rusted
His little door key is merrily rusted
The fountain is deep
Pours me to the bottom
Passing by here
Three cavalier barons

Refrain
Three cavalier barons
Three cavalier barons
Who gave to me your beauty
If I lose you


Refrain

Who gave to me your beauty
If I take you to the bottom
Row, row she said
After that we shall see

Refrain

Row, row she said
After that we shall see
When the beautiful one comes to shore
And runs away from the house

Refrain

When the beautiful one comes to shore
And runs away from the house
To try at the window
Write a song

Refrain

To try at the window
Write a Song
My small heart is given
Not for a baron

Refrain

My small heart is given
Not for a baron
But for a soldier
With a beard

Refrain

***
Unquote:

Now.... make of that what you will! It certainly points out some of the differences between Quebecois and French. I rather suspect that it has to do with a fisherman who has lost his little heart to this girl but she seems to be rather taken by one of the three soldiers... the one with the beard.

M'aidez, M'aidez!!! LOL.

jpkaminga

thanks toots, I like your version better, a little more poetic, I was trying to be pretty literal, and I was also pretty hasty, kind of embarrassing to read my translation now, I've mainly got a good accent as I was taught at an early age, buut my grammar (as it might be obvious to those who know french) is pretty lousy

I realize I really need to brush up on my irregular verbs when I saw that you translated 'verrons' correctly, I was between 'come' and 'go' but after reading your version I realize it's definitely neither, and for some reason I though rouille meant round but hey I definitely didn't know the word for rusted anyways, and round is definitely ronde, anybody ever heard Itzhak Perlman play "La ronde des lutins", its like 'the carnival of venice' for a violin, that is it's a showpiece, the tune is different, and also I dunno how many people in the world can play 'the carnival of venice' but 'la ronde des lutins' is the kind of piece people attempt, Itzhak is one of the few who can actually play it, but I digress, there were a bunch of other mistakes in my translation but those two seemed particularly glaring, in any case toots seems to have done a much better translation, nice job toots

as for the interpretation, i dunno, at first I thought it was a drinking song, but it definitely turns into a love song in which some girl prefers an experienced man (hair on chin) to a guy who merely looks nice (a baron, a guy with a title)

__________________
perhaps truth is a woman who has reasons for not letting us see her reasons-Nietzsche

Tootsall

Thanks for the compliments but my French really sucks for a guy who lived in France for four years as a kid and then in Montreal for four years as a sub-adult! (ie, anything under 30)

I was basing my translation about the soldiers based more on the historical sense that the French had garrisons stationed in Quebec to protect their settlers (farmers and fishermen) from "les maudites Anglais" and had the sense that it was more about a tug-of-war between the soldiers and a "habitant" or resident (who would have been either a fisherman or farmer). Kind of a "contextual" interpretiation if you will. Anyway I'm sure that with sufficient beer on board, an absolutely correct interpretation is secondary to the foot-tapping that undoubtedly accompanies the musicians! To go back to the original post I wonder if this is the kind of folk tune that forms the basis for today's Cajun "zydeco" music. Wouldn't surprise me at all.