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My Favourite Acadian-Cajun/Canadian Songs 

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À la claire fontaine

À la claire fontaine
M'en allant promener,
J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle
Que je m'y suis baigné.
Il y'a longtemps que je t'aime
Jamais je ne t'oublierai.

J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle
Que je m'y suis baigné;
Sous les feuilles d'un chéne
Je me suis fait sécher.
Il y'a longtemps que je t'aime
Jamais je ne t'oublierai.

Sur la plus haute branche
Le rossignol chantait.
Chante, rossignol, chante,
Toi qui as le coeur gai.
Il y'a longtemps que je t'aime
Jamais je ne t'oublierai.

Tu as le coeur à rire,
Moi je l'ai-t-à pleurer;
J'ai perdu ma maîtresse
Sans l'avoir mérité.
Il y'a longtemps que je t'aime
Jamais je ne t'oublierai.

Pour un bouquet de roses
Que je lui refusai.
Je voudrais que la rose
Fût encore au rosier.
Il y'a longtemps que je t'aime
Jamais je ne t'oublierai.

Je voudrais que la rose
Fût encore au rosier,
Et moi et ma maîtresse
Dans les mêm's amitiés.
Il y'a longtemps que je t'aime
Jamais je ne t'oublierai.

Special Note: I received the following informative message from Jean Dube...

At 01:48 PM 3/16/2003 -0500, Jean Dube wrote:
Of course this is a song that was very important for the Acadians, but maybe you don't know that this song was also a rally song for the Patriots of the Nouvelle-France while they were organising the rebellion . When a patriot was not sure if he was in front of a friend or an enemy, he would sing this song, and if the other person was a friend, he would answer. Of course if he was an enemy, he wouldn't know about that and pass his way .Even when they were in prison and they couldn't see the other prisoners, they sang that song so they could know if there was someone else close. Jean Dubé

I am very grateful to my Canadian friend, Barry Taylor of Victoria, British Columbia for having provided me permission to use this Acadian song on my Acadian Genealogy Homepage. Visit Barry's site at http://members.shaw.ca/tunebook/

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