Le chevalier du guet Lyrics
Question and answer make up this French game song. A knight of the watch comes by late at night asking for a girl to marry, the group says there is none, he keeps asking, and at the end he offers his heart and may choose. Eleven short verses in all.
Le chevalier du guet
Qu'est-c'qui passe ici si tard,
Compagnons de la Marjolaine?
Qu'est-c'qui passe ici si tard,
Gai, gai, dessus le quai?
C'est le chevalier du guet,
Compagnons de la Marjolaine,
C'est le chevalier du guet,
Gai! gai! dessus le quai.
Que demand' le chevalier,
Compagnons de la Marjolaine,
Que demand' le chevalier,
Gai! gai! dessus le quai?
Une fille à marier,
N'y a pas d' fille à marier,
On m'a dit qu' vous en aviez,
Ceux qui l'ont dit s' sont trompés,
Je veux que vous m'en donniez,
Sur les onze heur's repassez,
Les onze heur's sont bien passées,
Sur les minuit revenez,
Les minuit sont bien sonnés,
Mais nos filles sont couchées,
En est-il un' d'éveillée?
Qu'est-c'que vous lui donnerez?
De l'or, des bijoux assez,
Ell' n'est pas intéressée,
Mon coeur je lui donnerai,
En ce cas-là, choisissez,
In English
Who is passing by here so late,
Companions of the Marjoram?
Who is passing by here so late,
Merrily, along the quay?
It is the knight of the watch,
Companions of the Marjoram,
It is the knight of the watch,
Merrily, along the quay.
What does the knight ask for,
Companions of the Marjoram,
What does the knight ask for,
Merrily, along the quay?
A girl to marry.
There is no girl to marry.
I was told you had some.
Whoever said so was mistaken.
I want you to give me one.
Come back around eleven o'clock.
Eleven o'clock has long gone by.
Then come back around midnight.
Midnight has well struck.
But our girls are in bed.
Is there one who is awake?
What will you give her?
Gold and plenty of jewels.
She is not out for gain.
I will give her my heart.
In that case, choose.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/le-chevalier-du-guet/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- Call and answer: the knight's lines rise, the group's lines answer, and the refrain Compagnons de la Marjolaine rings between
- Best for ages
- 5 to 10 years
What Does Le chevalier du guet Mean?
This French game song is called The Knight of the Watch, which sounds roughly like luh shuh-val-YAY doo GAY. The guet was the night watch of a town, and the chevalier du guet was the name of the officer in charge of the royal watch in Paris, so the knight in the song is a night-watchman captain out on his round. The song asks no one to be arrested, and nobody in it is hurt.
It is a conversation. The group asks who is passing so late, the knight names himself, and the group asks what he wants. He wants a girl to marry (une fille à marier). The group says there is none, then that he was wrongly told, then sends him away until eleven o'clock, then midnight, and then says their girls are in bed. He asks if one is awake and what he can give her. He offers gold and jewels (de l'or, des bijoux assez), and the group answers that she does not care for that. Then he says, mon coeur je lui donnerai, I will give her my heart, and the group says, in that case, choose.
The refrain is Compagnons de la Marjolaine, companions of the marjoram (an herb). The book prints only Compagnons, etc. after the later lines to show that the refrain is sung each time, and the page leaves those marks out. Gai, gai, dessus le quai means merrily, along the quay.
The songbook's note says the child playing the knight sings alone to a group of children who answer him, and at the end he chooses one girl, who leaves the group. The two then run off with the other children running after them. A group that does not want a chase can end with the chosen child stepping out of the line.
History and Origin
The knight is not invented. The chevalier du guet was a real Paris office, the commander of the royal watch, which was based near the Grand Châtelet, where the Paris provost's court sat. According to French Wikipedia, the last person to hold the post died in 1733.
French song sites disagree about the age of the song itself; some say about 1650 and others the sixteenth century, so no firm date can be given. It sits in the same songbook as Ah! mon beau château, another game in which one group chooses a child from another.
Learning Activities
- Two lines: one child is the knight and sings alone; the rest of the group stands together and answers. Swap the knight each round.
- Clock lines: teach the 'eleven o'clock' and 'midnight' lines with a toy clock, and move the hands as the group sings them.
- Spot the numbers: ask the children to listen for the two times named in the song, onze heures and minuit.
- Walk, do not chase: at the end the chosen child steps out and walks beside the knight while the rest clap along.