La tour, prends garde Lyrics
A French singing game. Two children hold hands to be the tower, and a captain and a colonel walk round it singing "Tower, take care". They go to the duke for one guard, then more, then his son, and finally the duke himself, who tries to part the tower's hands. The words are in French with an English translation.
La tour, prends garde
La Tour, prends garde, la Tour, prends garde de te laisser abattre.
Nous n'avons garde nous n'avons garde de nous laisser abattre.
J'irai me plaindre j'irai me plaindre au Duque de Bourbon.
Va t'en te plaindre Va t'en te plaindre au Duque de Bourbon.
Mon duc, mon prince,
Mon duc, mon prince,
Je viens me plaindre à vous.
Mon capitaine, mon colonelle,
Que me demandez-vous?
Un de vos gardes,
Un de vos gardes,
Pour abattre la tour.
Allez, mon garde,
Allez, mon garde,
Pour abattre la tour.
Votre cher fisse,
Votre cher fisse,
Pour abattre la tour.
Allez, mon fisse,
Allez, mon fisse,
Pour abattre la tour.
Votre présence,
Votre présence,
Pour abattre la tour.
Je vais moi-même,
Je vais moi-même,
Pour abattre la tour.
In English
Tower, take care, tower, take care not to let yourself be knocked down.
We take care, we take care not to let ourselves be knocked down.
I will go and complain, I will go and complain to the Duke of Bourbon.
Go and complain, go and complain to the Duke of Bourbon.
My duke, my prince,
My duke, my prince,
I come to complain to you.
My captain, my colonel,
What do you ask of me?
One of your guards,
One of your guards,
To knock down the tower.
Go, my guard,
Go, my guard,
To knock down the tower.
Your dear son,
Your dear son,
To knock down the tower.
Go, my son,
Go, my son,
To knock down the tower.
Your presence,
Your presence,
To knock down the tower.
I will go myself,
I will go myself,
To knock down the tower.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/la-tour-prends-garde/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- A marching question-and-answer tune, with the tower answering the officers each time
- Best for ages
- 5 to 10 years
What Does La tour, prends garde Mean?
Spoken, the title runs lah toor, prahn gard. La tour is the tower, and prends garde means take care or beware. In the first lines the officers sing "Tower, take care not to let yourself be knocked down" (abattre is to knock down), and the tower answers that it takes care and will not be knocked down. The captain and colonel then go to le duc, the duke, and ask for one of his guards "to knock down the tower".
The book describes how the game is played, and the description is part of the fun. Two children stand holding hands as the tower. The captain and colonel walk round them singing. The duke sits farther off, with his son at his side and his guards around him. After each request, a guard joins the officers and the song starts again, until the officers have asked for two, three and four guards, then the duke's son, then the duke himself. At the end the duke tries to part the children's hands. Each child tries in turn, and whoever manages it is cheered as duke in the other's place.
It is a pretend siege with no weapons: the only thing that falls is a tower of linked hands, and the roles are make-believe. The words are printed as the book gives them, with a few old spellings: Duque for duc, colonelle for colonel, and fisse for fils, son. The songbook marks lines to be sung twice with the word bis, and on this page those lines are written out twice.
History and Origin
Widor's songbook of old songs and singing games prints this one with the game's directions in French beneath the words, and the description on this page follows them. No year is printed in the book.
The words name the Duke of Bourbon, and the book does not say who made the game up or when it was first played.
Learning Activities
- The tower: two children hold hands as the tower, firmly but not tight. The tower's only job is to answer the officers.
- The asking: the officers sing for one guard, then two, and the duke sends them, so the group grows each round.
- Fair try: when the duke tries to part the hands, give each child one turn, and stop at once if a hand is pulled or hurts.
- Change places: the child who parts the hands becomes the duke, and the old duke becomes one of the tower.