Drapeau de Nantes (Flag of Nantes) by Ec.Domnowall, CC BY 3.0.

La fête de la Saint-Patrick est à l’approche (St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner) and that means a lot of green, music, and Guinness. The holiday brings up thoughts of Ireland and its culture with des bars et des restaurants (bars and restaurants) playing traditional Irish music as a part of the celebration.

Cette musique (this music) comes from a long Celtic history in Europe. Bretagne (Brittany), the part of France in the Northwest corner of l’hexagone (the hexagon, French term for France) also has a strong Celtic culture, and a part of that is of course, la musique!

There are many Celtic chansons (songs) from Bretagne that you could think come from Ireland if you have only heard la musique celtique (Celtic music) during la fête de la Saint-Patrick before.

Dans les prisons de Nantes (In the Prisons of Nantes) is one of them, une chason dating back to le XVIIe siècle (the 17th century) that  was inspired by Jean-François Paul de Gondi, the cardinal of Retz who escaped prison in 1654. La chanson is about un prisonnier (a prisoner) who is about to be hanged, but with the help of une jeunette (a young girl) he manages to escape la prison.

Since l’évasion du cardinal de Retz (the cardinal of Retz’s escape) la chanson has become well known around la francophonie. Des mariniers français (French sailors) brought la chanson with them as they traveled around France and the world.

Les paroles (the lyrics) changed as la chanson moved with references to la Loire (the Loire, famous French river in Western France) becoming la mer (the sea) or even les prisons de Nantes becoming les prisons de Londres (the prisons of London).

Écoutez la chanson (listen to the song) and add some French into your celebrations!

Voici les paroles :

Dans les prisons de Nantes
In the prisons of Nantes

Y avait un prisonnier
Was a prisoner

Personne ne vint le voir
No one came to see him

Que la fille du geôlier
But the jailer’s daughter

Un jour il lui demande
One day he asked her

Qu’est-ce que l’on dit de moi ?
What are they saying about me?

On dit de vous en ville
In the town they say

Que vous serez pendu
That you are going to be hanged

Puisqu’il faut qu’on me pende
Since they will hang me

Déliez-moi les pieds
Untie my feet

La fille était jeunette
The girl was young

Les pieds lui a délié
She untied his feet

Le prisonnier alerte
The lively prisoner

Dans la Loire s’est jeté
Jumped into the Loire

Dès qu’il fût sur la rive
Once he had made it to the shore

Il se mit à chanter
He began to sing

Je chante pour les belles
I sing for all the beauties

Surtout celle du geôlier
But especially the daughter of the jailer

Si je reviens à Nantes
And if I return to Nantes

Oui je l’épouserai
Yea, I will marry her

Dans les prisons de Nantes
In the prisons of Nantes

Y avait un prisonnier
There was a prisoner

Translation from Lyrics Translate.