Talk:Alouette (song)

Origins

So which is it? French or French-Canadian? Would French-Canadians make up a song about a bird which doesn't occur in their country? Seems little unlikely...

Also, this makes no sense to me: A modified version of the song, referring to "lightning (fast) French alopecia, from the song of the same name", appears in Call of the West, an episode of The Goon Show, sung by Hercules Grytpype-Thynne and Count Jim Moriarty. 86.134.30.105 (talk) 16:56, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

The article Shore Lark (fr: alouette hausse-col) seem suggest that some types of birds that are called alouettes in French are found in North America. It might be worth it to point out that the French wikipedia's article also says it's a Canadian song. –69.207.171.114 (talk) 07:23, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

--> It goes back to Marie Antoanete. The French folks sang this song about her (without explicitly naming her).. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.0.34.136 (talk) 12:28, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

I’ve got to agree that the French-Canadian reference seems entirely spurious; the article actually says in the same sentence that it originates in France, and went round the globe to many countries after the First World War. If there is any validity to the French-Canadian statement, then it should be backed-up, and not outweighed by what is said in the rest of the article, surely? Jock123 (talk) 13:08, 10 June 2012 (UTC)

Perhaps the pronunciation of "Alouette", with the final 'e' sounded, is significant. John McWhorter in The Power of Babel mentions that this is an older pronunciation sometimes used in song. It seems implausible to me that such a pronunciation would occur in a song originating in Canada in the 1870s. cf The Montreal Alouettes, always pronounced (so far as I know) with the final 'e' silent. PaulBarden (talk) 09:42, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

I think there are many tunes that sound like this. The hymn "Sweet Affliction" (or "Greenville") and children's song "Go tell Aunt Rhody" for example. They are adaptations of the pantomime part in Jean Jacques Rousseaus's Le Devin du village, but I haven't seen "Alouette" mentioned in that context. Anyone agree? Le Devin du Village 2001:14BA:A01B:5C00:9FD:567D:9B7B:1D0 (talk) 17:08, 30 December 2020 (UTC)

Infobox

I have added an infobox, but I am not removing the "Needs infobox" tag as I am unhappy with how that came up. Does anybody have a template for traditional songs / songs of relatively unknown origin? Crisco 1492 (talk) 13:31, 10 January 2011 (UTC)

Ghost Whisperer

The "Alouette (song)" was featured in the TV series "Ghost Whisperer," in "Season 04 Episode 17.". In this episode a female, earth-bound, spirit named "Greer Clarkson" was admitted to a psychiatric sanatorium. After her death, the sanatorium was shut down and the building was later used for an elementary school. While she was alive, she sang the song "Alouette" to calm and soothe her baby. When her baby died, she was admitted into psychiatric care. During stressful procedures and disturbing situations, she sang "Alouette" to try and calm herself. After she died, in the newly established school, she taught the song to a kindergarten class, to children who were still young enough to see her. In reality, her baby was actually alive all along. While she was in the sanatorium, a misguided ghost convinced her otherwise. This other ghost was a former doctor at the psychiatric hospital. In the end, she remembered the truth and was finally able to go into the "light" and be at peace.

Ghost Whisperer Season 04 Episode 17 External website http://www.cbs.com/primetime/ghost_whisperer/recaps/index.php?season=4 Trinnity 7 (talk) 03:01, 4 September 2011 (UTC)

So? If it wasn't noted by anyone other than the company that broadcasts the show, it's not notable. NewkirkPlaza (talk) 15:11, 2 March 2017 (UTC)

The Latin Connection

There is a somewhat baffling allusion to nightingales dispensing advice in Latin. This seems to come from the _Larousse Gastronomique_ source, and it sounds interesting, but there isn’t enough context here:

However the nightingale, being the first bird of spring, in Europe, sings happily all the time, during the lovely seasons of spring and summer. The nightingale (i.e., rossignol) also carries messages faithfully and dispenses advice, in Latin, no less, a language which lovers understand.

--X883 (talk) 22:01, 22 February 2017 (UTC)

Lyrics issues

The article reads: "Below are the original French lyrics along with a literal English translation. As the translation does not match well with the meter of the song, a slightly less literal, yet more singable version is included." There's no citation for these lyrics. Is it really Wikipedia's job to provide "more singable" lyrics? NewkirkPlaza (talk) 20:01, 6 March 2017 (UTC)

You're right: I've removed the literal translation per WP:NOTTEXTBOOK. ~dom Kaos~ (talk) 15:52, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

Correction

The page for the song "Alouette" under the "Lyrics" link says it provides the French lyrics along with the English translation, but there is no translation from the French ones. Apparently, there had been and someone complained about the exact content of the translation, so it was removed. Somebody needs to either put a translation back in or delete the part of the text that says there's a translation. 107.77.228.137 (talk) 17:02, 18 May 2022 (UTC)