La mist'en laire Lyrics
Each verse adds an instrument in this French ring game. A good fellow is asked what he can do, and he plays the mist' en laire, then the mist' en flûte, then the mist' en basse, each verse adding one more instrument to the line-up. The three printed verses come with the dance directions.
La mist'en laire
Bonhomme, bonhomme, que savez-vous faire?
Savez-vous jouer de la mist' en l'aire?
L'aire l'aire l'aire,
De la mist' en l'aire?
Ah! ah! ah! que savez-vous faire?
Bonhomme, bonhomme, que savez-vous faire?
Savez-vous jouer de la mist' en flûte?
Flûte, flûte, flûte,
De la mist' en flûte,
Laire, laire, laire,
De la mist' en laire,
Ah! ah! ah! que savez-vous faire?
Bonhomme, bonhomme, que savez-vous faire?
Savez-vous jouer de la mist' en basse?
Basse, basse, basse,
De la mist' en basse,
Flûte, flûte, flûte,
De la mist' en flûte,
Laire, laire, laire,
De la mist' en laire,
Ah! ah! ah! que savez-vous faire?
In English
Good fellow, good fellow, what can you do?
Can you play the mist' en l'aire?
L'aire, l'aire, l'aire,
The mist' en l'aire?
Ah! ah! ah! What can you do?
Good fellow, good fellow, what can you do?
Can you play the mist' en flûte?
Flûte, flûte, flûte,
The mist' en flûte,
Laire, laire, laire,
The mist' en laire,
Ah! ah! ah! What can you do?
Good fellow, good fellow, what can you do?
Can you play the mist' en basse?
Basse, basse, basse,
The mist' en basse,
Flûte, flûte, flûte,
The mist' en flûte,
Laire, laire, laire,
The mist' en laire,
Ah! ah! ah! What can you do?
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/la-mist-en-laire/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- A lilting tune that gets longer each verse, with the call Ah! ah! ah! as the turning point
- Best for ages
- 4 to 9 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Laire, laire, laire | Wave both hands in the air. |
| Ah! ah! ah! | Turn once on the spot and clap three times. |
| Flûte, flûte, flûte | Pretend to play a flute, fingers moving along a pretend pipe. |
What Does La mist'en laire Mean?
This French ring game opens with Bonhomme, good fellow, and que savez-vous faire?, what can you do? The title sounds roughly like la mist ahn LAIR. The words mist' en laire are not explained in the book. The song works as a nonsense name for a make-believe instrument, and laire is a sound sung on a tune.
The songbook gives full directions for the game. The children dance in a ring for the first eight measures of the music. On laire, laire, laire they wave their hands in the air, and on ah! ah! ah! they turn round and clap three times, and then they go back to the ring. In later verses the word laire is replaced by the name of an instrument with two syllables, such as flûte, basse, lyre or viole, and the dancers copy the way it is played. Each new verse adds the new instrument in front of the earlier ones and always ends on laire, laire, laire.
That makes it a memory game as much as a song. By the third verse the group sings basse, flûte and laire in order, and anyone who loses their place has a chance to catch up on the repeat. The book prints three verses; the instruments it lists after them (lyre, viole) show how the game can go on.
History and Origin
The songbook prints this game over two pages, and the directions are the book's own, in French, under the first verse. They describe a short dance, a call and a turn, and how each new verse adds an instrument.
The book's note shows that this one was meant to be danced, with the singing and the moves done together.
Learning Activities
- Add an instrument: after three verses, add a fourth of your own, such as lyre or tambour, and mime how it is played.
- Ring and turn: practise the ring dance without words first, then add the hand waves and the turn.
- Instrument cards: draw a card for each instrument and lay them in the order of the verses.
- Memory check: sing verse three and see who can say the instruments in order afterwards.