Aupres de ma blonde

Auprès de ma blonde
Qu'il fait bon, fait bon, fait bon -
Auprès de ma blonde
Qu'il fait bon dormi.

Dans les jardins de mon père
Les lilas sont fleuris;
Tous les oiseaux du monde
Vient y faire leurs nids.

La caille, la touterelle,
Et le joli perdrix;
Et ma jolie colombe,
Qui chante jour et nuit.

Qui chante pour les filles
Qui n'ont pas de mari.
Pour moi ne chante guère,
Car j'en ai un joli.

Dites-nous donc la belle,
Ou donc est votr' mari.
Il est dans la Hollande -
Les Hollandais l'ont pris.

'Que donneriez-vous belle
Pour avoir votre ami?'
Je donnerai Versailles
Paris, et Saint-Denis;

Les tours de Notre Dame
Et le clocher de mon pays;
Et ma jolie colombe
Qui chante jour et nuit.

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English translation1
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Ah, near to my blonde lass,
It's so good to sleep, to sleep -
Ah, near to my blonde lass
It's so good to sleep.2

O, in my father's garden
The lilies are in bloom;
The birds of all creation3
Come there to build their nests.

The turtle-doves and quails,
And bonny partridges;4
And my own pretty stock-dove
Which sings both night and day.

Which sings for all the lassies
Who haven't got a lad.5
It scarcely sings for me now,
For I've a handsome lad.6

So tell us then, O beauty,
Where your fine husband is.
He's gone into the Netherlands -
The Dutch have taken him.

'And what fair thing would you give
To have your husband back?'7
O, I would give Versailles
Paris, and Saint-Denis;

The towers of the cathedral
And the belfry of my land;
And my own pretty stock-dove
Which sings both night and day.

Notes on the translation:

1. "Blonde" is French slang; an affectionate term for a pretty wife, girlfriend or sweetheart.
   
2. The chorus is the refrain of the prisoner, while the verses are for his wife and her companions.
   
3. Literally, 'All the birds of the world'.
   
4. The French has singular birds here; in English, the plurals scan better
   
5. Literally, 'Which sings for all the girls (or daughters) / who have no husband'
   
6. This verse doesn't have a noun in the French. 'J'en ai un' literally means 'I have one (of them)'.
   
7. 'Ami' means '(boy)friend', not 'husband'. It's not clear whether 'belle'='beautiful' refers to the prisoner's wife, or to the things she mentions next.
   

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