La Monaco Lyrics
Dancers go round in a ring and then form a chain in this French song. The words are only eight lines, and the book's note tells the dancers what to do.
La Monaco
A la monaco
L'on chasse, l'on déchasse;
A la monaco,
L'on chasse comme il faut.
Les demoisell's qui ne sav' pas danser,
On leur fait faire la chaîne anglaise.
Les demoisell's qui ne sav' pas danser,
On leur fait faire la chaîne anglaise.
In English
At the monaco
We chassé, we unchassé;
At the monaco,
We chassé as we should.
The young ladies who do not know how to dance,
We have them do the English chain.
The young ladies who do not know how to dance,
We have them do the English chain.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/la-monaco/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- A quick country-dance tune, with a clear change at the start of the second part
- Best for ages
- 4 to 10 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| A la monaco | Hold hands and walk round in a ring. |
| L'on chasse, l'on déchasse | Slide two steps to the right, then two steps back to the left. |
| On leur fait faire la chaîne anglaise | Drop hands and weave in single file, passing one another by turns. |
What Does La Monaco Mean?
La Monaco is a French song and a dance at once, pronounced roughly la mo-na-KO. Nothing in the words explains the name. The first verse is about dancing in a ring: l'on chasse, l'on déchasse. Chasser is a sliding step in dance, the one English dancers call a chassé, in which one foot chases the other along the floor. The book does not explain déchasser, so a group can slide one way and then back. "Comme il faut" means as it should be done.
The second verse names a figure, la chaîne anglaise, the English chain, in which dancers weave past one another in a line. The words say the young ladies who do not know how to dance are given the chain to do. The line is a friendly one, since the chain is a figure that anyone can learn by following the person in front.
The book's note gives the plan: dance in a ring during the first part and do the chain during the second, "as in La Boulangère", another song in the same book that uses the same two figures. In practice the leader decides when to change, and a group of beginners can manage it after one practice.
History and Origin
The songbook prints a note below the music, in French, saying how the dance goes, because the dance matters as much as the words. It points to another song in the same book that uses the same two figures, the ring and the English chain.
The book's piano parts are by Charles-Marie Widor (1844 to 1937), a Paris organist and composer.
Learning Activities
- Ring then chain: sing the first four lines walking in a ring, then break into a line for the last four.
- Slide practice: practise two slides right, two slides left, without singing, until the feet know it.
- Callers: a child calls out 'ring' or 'chain' and everyone changes figure on the next line.
- Follow the leader: in the chain part, the leader weaves between chairs placed in a row.