Frere Jacques: The True Story

It's time for my Eclectic Blog to veer off into the

obscure once again.  This time I want to examine

and expose the perils of mis-translation by dissecting

Frere Jacques, the well-known children's song.

This traditional French folksong has been translated

into English for more than 100 years.  The rhyme and

rhythm are pleasing to the ears.

But there is a problem.  The English translation is WRONG!

Pictured below is Brother John (Frere Jacques), sleeping

soundly, while the morning bells are ringing outside.

In English, we are all accustomed to the line

"morning bells are ringing . . . ."

But the French words don't mean that at all!

"Sonnez les matines" actually means

RING THE MORNING BELLS.

Or more precisely, 

"Ring the bells to signal morning prayer time."

You can see why the translators didn't try to

fit all that into the song.

The French verb "sonner" is a regular verb.

If the songwriter intended to say "Morning bells

are ringing" he would have said

"Les matines sonnent." (3rd person plural).

But the verb sonnez that is used is the second person

form, as in "YOU sound the bells" (a command).

The French, like Americans, often use the verb

without the subject (which is understood) when 

giving a command.  The command is "ring or sound

the bells."

If the writer had said "Vous sonnez les matines"

it would have meant "You ARE RINGING the bells."

But that is not the intent of the song.

So a prosaic way to state the meaning of the song

would be:

"Brother John!  Are you still asleep?!

Get up and ring those morning bells

or no one will know it's time for prayer!"

(This admonition would have to be spoken

by an omniscient unseen character, but not by

 a second monk, priest, or friar as is pictured).

In conclusion, I'm not offering these thoughts

to be critical of the translator (RIP) or the artist, 

who mistakenly shows a second monk, priest, or

friar ringing the bells.

Rather, I want to point out the pitfalls of translation.

In a children's song there's no harm done.

But in weightier matters, such as international 

treaties, speech translations, or Biblical translations,

great care needs to be taken for accuracy.

Now, for old time's sake,

sing "Frere Jacques" from memory

in both French AND English and reward yourself

suitable later today.  And if you really want a challenge,

try to persuade two or more friends to join you in

singing the venerable old song as a round!

Let me know if you take the challenge.