Songs of Old Canada/D'où viens-tu, bergère?

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Montreal: Dawson Brothers, pages 70–73. See also the Notes on page 83 of this work.

D'OU VIENS-TU, BERGERE?
D'où viens-tu, bergère,
D'où viens-tu?
Je viens de l'étable,
De m'y promener;
J'ai vu un miracle
Ce soir arrivé.

Qu'as-tu vu, bergère,
Qu'as-tu vu?
J'ai vu dans la crèche
Un petit enfant
Sur la paille fraîche
Mis bien tendrement.

Rien de plus, bergère,
Rien de plus?
Saint' Marie, sa mère,
Qui lui fait boir' du lait,
Saint Joseph, son père,
Qui tremble du froid.

Rien de plus, bergère,
Rien de plus?
Ya le boeuf et l'âne,
Qui sont par devant,
Avec leur haleine
Réchauffent l'enfant.

Rien de plus, bergère,
Rien de plus?
Ya trois petits anges
Descendus du ciel
Chantant les louanges
Du Père éternel.

D'OU VIENS-TU, BERGERE?
"Whence art thou, my maiden,
Whence art thou?"
"I come from the stable
Where this very night,
I, a shepherd maiden,
Saw a wondrous sight."

"What saw'st thou, my maiden,
What saw'st thou?"
"There within the manger
A little babe I saw,
Lying softly sleeping
On the golden straw."

"Nothing more, my maiden,
Nothing more?"
"I saw the Holy Mother
The little baby hold,
And the father, Joseph,
A tremble with the cold."

"Nothing more, my maiden,
Nothing more?"
"I saw the ass and oxen
Kneeling meek and mild,
With their gentle breathing
Warm the Holy Child."

"Nothing more, my maiden,
Nothing more?"
"There were three bright angels
Come down from the sky
Singing forth sweet praises
To the Father high."

notes

D'où viens-tu, bergère?

A more simple and perfect example of the old noël than this, would be difficult to find. The melody has the same simplicty as the words and is well worth preservation as a Christmas hymn.

Michelet's remark, quoted by M. Gagnon, well illustrates the origin of the noël:

"In those days, a marvellous dramatic talent, frequently stamped with a childish simplicity but full of boldness and kindliness, existed in the Church… At times she made herself little; she, the great, the learned, the eternal, babbled with her children and translated the ineffable for them into a language they could understand."