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French Nursery Rhymes: Une Souris Verte Posted by on Feb 26, 2018 in Culture, Music, Vocabulary

One of my son’s favorite French children’s songs is “Une Souris verte.” It’s a very strange—albeit catchy—tune that dates back to the late seventeenth or eighteenth century.

Courtesy of Pixabay.

The song’s lyrics, or paroles, are below:

Une souris verte qui courait dans l’herbe
Je l’attrape par la queue
Je la montre à ces messieurs
Ces messieurs me disent :
trempez la dans l’huile,
trempez la dans l’eau
Ça fera un escargot tout chaud

Une souris verte qui courait dans l’herbe
Je la mets dans mon chapeau
Elle me dit qu’il fait trop chaud
Ces messieurs me disent :
trempez la dans l’huile,
trempez la dans l’eau
Ça fera un escargot tout chaud

Une souris verte qui courait dans l’herbe
Je la mets dans mon tiroir
Elle me dit qu’il fait trop noir

Ces messieurs me disent :
trempez la dans l’huile,
trempez la dans l’eau
Ça fera un escargot tout chaud

Une souris verte qui courait dans l’herbe

Je la mets dans ma culotte
Elle me fait trois petites crottes

Ces messieurs me disent :
trempez la dans l’huile,
trempez la dans l’eau
Ça fera un escargot tout chaud

While the song’s author is anonymous, some historians believe that this cute nursery rhyme is actually about … torture. During the War in the Vendée, which was an uprising that occurred during the French Revolution in 1793, Vendéen soldiers (or soldiers from the Vendée region of France who opposed French revolutionary rule) were known colloquially as les souris. These Vendéen soldiers were hunted down by French revolutionary forces (les soldats republicains). If they were captured, they would be tortured for information about troop activity by forcing them into boiling water and hot oil. This doesn’t sound like a good basis for a children’s song, does it? Surprisingly, many children’s songs and nursery rhymes—not just in France, but around the world—have their origins in such gruesome historical events.

You can read the English translation of the song and then listen to it below.

A Green Mouse

A green mouse
Running through the grass
I catch it by the tail
I show it to those men
Those men tell me
“Dip it in oil
Dip it in water
It will turn into a snail…
A hot one!”
A green mouse
Running through the grass
I put it in a drawer
It tells me, “it’s too dark!”
Those men tell me
“Dip it in oil
Dip it in water
It will turn into a snail…
A hot one!”
A green mouse
Running through the grass
I put it in my hat
It tells me, “it’s too hot!”
Those men tell me
“Dip it in oil
Dip it in water
It will turn into a snail…
A hot one!”
A green mouse
Running through the grass
I put it in my pants
And it leaves three little droppings!
Those men tell me
“Dip it in oil
Dip it in water
It will turn into a snail…
A hot one!”
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About the Author: Elizabeth Schmermund

Bonjour tout le monde! I'm a freelance writer, doctoral student, mom, and Francophile. I'm excited to share some of my experiences living in France, as well as the cultural nuances that I've learned being married to a Frenchman, with all of you. To find out more about me, feel free to check out my website at http://www.imaginistwriter.com. A la prochaine!


Comments:

  1. Tim:

    One of my favorite French singers (Zazie) has a grown up version of this song that modifies some of the language but keeps the chorus essentially the same.

    • Elizabeth Schmermund:

      @Tim Thanks, Tim! I’ll have to check it out…