Où vas-tu, Mon Petit Garçon ?
Où vas-tu, mon petit garçon ? *
1.
Où vas-tu, mon petit garçon ? (bis)
Je m’en viens, tu t’en vas, nous passons.
Je m’en vais droit à l’écol’,
Apprendr’ la parol’ de Dieu.
Disait ça un enfant de sept ans.
2.
Qu’est-ce qu’est plus haut que les arbr’s ?
Je m’en viens…
Le ciel est plus haut que l’arbr’,
Le soleil au firmament.
Disait ça…
3.
Qu’est-ce qu’est plus creux que la mer ?
L’enfer est cent fois plus creux,
L’enfer aux feux éternels.
4.
Qu’est-c’ qui pousse sur nos terr’s ?
Les avoines et les blés d’or,
Les châtaignes et les poiriers.
5.
Que f’ras-tu quand tu s’ras grand ?
Je cultiverai les champs,
Nourrirai femme et enfant.
Listen to this recording of the song by Hélène Baillargeon and Alan Mills
* The traditional French Canadian folk song “Où vas-tu, Mon Petit Garçon” does not have a single identifiable author, as it is a traditional piece that has been preserved and passed down orally through generations of Acadian and French Canadian communities. The song is considered part of the folk tradition, and its earliest known collections were compiled by folklorists such as Marius Barbeau, who published it in his 1946 anthology “Alouette!”. The origins of the song likely date back to the 18th or early 19th century, rooted in the rural and religious life of French Canadians, but the precise date of its creation remains unknown and is typical for traditional folk songs.
In this old Acadian riddle-song, a seven year old boy on his way to school, is met by a “stranger”, (presumably Satan, in disguise) who seeks to confound the lad with a series of riddles. But the boy successsfully answers all the riddles put to him by the passing stranger, and thus succeeds in escaping the trap.