Out of the Côtes-d’Armor in the Brittany Peninsula, bordering the shores of Saint-Malo, from whence hailed and sailed the seafaring ancestors of the legendary Surcouf, “le roi des corsaires“ (“the King of Corsairs”), came up a cheerful tune.
A highly melodic theme, it revolved around a local demoiselle whom everybody called “Marie la dondaine.”
So far, so good.
But what’s a “dondaine“, anyway?
Is it the name of a navire à voile (sailing ship), perhaps?
Also known as a “carreau“, a dondaine is a sort of a bolt that was used in medieval times as ammunition for une arbalète (a crossbow.)
As in many other old French songs, the word “dondaine” is most likely used here as mere onomatopée (onomatopoeia)
Ooo! Thank you for this post! I’ve seen that word show up in Quebec folk songs and have wondered about it. I knew it was being used as a nonsense word on choruses but had not known where it came from.
Hichem:
@Angela Korra'ti You are very welcome, Angela. As you probably already know, Canadian French has preserved an increadible amount of old French words which French people have long forgotten since. The same can be said about Belgian or Swiss French!
andreas:
Salut Hichem!
C’est une chanson vraiment belle. Et si je ne me trompe pas, il ya quelque chose de celtique dans cette mélodie. Maintenant je regarde “Lost Girl” sur les fées c’est pourquoi j’y pense.
Hichem:
Tu as bien raison, Andreas, la culture bretonne est effectivement celtique.
Comments:
Angela Korra’ti:
Ooo! Thank you for this post! I’ve seen that word show up in Quebec folk songs and have wondered about it. I knew it was being used as a nonsense word on choruses but had not known where it came from.
Hichem:
@Angela Korra'ti You are very welcome, Angela. As you probably already know, Canadian French has preserved an increadible amount of old French words which French people have long forgotten since. The same can be said about Belgian or Swiss French!
andreas:
Salut Hichem!
C’est une chanson vraiment belle. Et si je ne me trompe pas, il ya quelque chose de celtique dans cette mélodie. Maintenant je regarde “Lost Girl” sur les fées c’est pourquoi j’y pense.
Hichem:
Tu as bien raison, Andreas, la culture bretonne est effectivement celtique.