D’argent à une aigle de gueules, au vol abaissé, membrée, becquée et couronnée d’or, empiétant une montagne de trois coupeaux de sable issant d’une mer d’azur mouvant de la pointe et ondée d’argent.

Warning
Site map
Introduction
The circumstances
The dances
The instruments
listen the Midi file for this traditional music tune score of this traditional tune
MIDI music!
The composers
The movies
Bibliography
Discography
Music glossary
History
Glossary
The forenames
Download
Acknowledgments
About fife from Nice - The musical traditions from County of Nice (MTCN)Traditional music from County of Nice (France)
A la cabana de Betelen dins A lou fifre nissart - Li tradicioun musicali de la countéa de Nissa (MTCN)
A la cabana de Betelen dans Au fifre niçois - Les traditions musicales du comté de Nice (MTCN)
 You are here: Home > MIDI music! > Christmas carols from County of Nice > lyrics A la cabana de Betelen (At Bethlehem cabin). Thursday June 26th 2025
 

A la cabana de Betelen
(At Bethlehem cabin)
Traditional Christmas carol from County of Nice.

Chorus
A la cabana de Betelen
Si parla de cauva estrangi.
A la cabana de Betelen
Li aneren toi ensen.		 At Bethlehem cabin
It’s said strange things.
At Bethlehem cabin
We will go all together.

1st verse
Cau invita lu vesin
Per si faire compagnïa,
Marco, Toni, Babelin,
Zon, Catin e Rosalïa.
Vito, fremi ! Pan e vin
Per fà l’oferta à Maria !
Si parla d’acheu Bambin
Coma d’una maravïa !		 We have to invite neighbours
To get for company
Marc, Antony, Elizabeth,
Thérèse, Katherine and Rosalie.
Quick wives! Bread and wine
To make offering to Mary!
It’s talked about this small child
As a marvel!

2nd verse
Ho, Tibau ! Che fas achi
Embe li man à la testa ?
Vai-ti vito desberì,
Mete-ti en roba de festa.
Faï leu, mete-ti à courre,
Vai assendre lo calen,
Plan ! de ti roumpre lou mourre,
Se vouòles che sighen content !		 Oh! Thibaude! What do you do here
With your hands on your head?
Go quickly and untangle [your hair],
Put on your feast dress.
Do quickly, start to run,
Go and kindle the oil lamp,
Slowly! [You could] fall flat on your face,
If you want we get happy!

Last chorus
Hoi ! Coma seren content
Au retor de Betelen !		 Oh! How happy we will be
When we got back from Bethlehem!

3rd verse
Coura auren mangia, ben beughut,
Jugueren à baugna, si baugna
E pi s’aneren escaufà
Aià don la cata gnaugna.
Pieren miegia piolla,
Un paù de cen che fà de ben,
Pantaieren li raiola
Au retor de Betelen !		 When we will have eaten, well drunk,
We will play “How much pebbles are there (1)?”
And then we will go and warm up
Over there where the female cat is mewing.
We will get half plastered (2),
A bit of what does us good,
We will dream to raviolis
When we got back from Bethlehem!

1. Jugà à “baugna, si baugna”: child play consisting in guessing number of small objects, often pebbles, hidden in one’s hands.
2. Pieren miegia piolla: this expression means “we will be the worse for drink”.

Bibliography
• revue Nice historique, Nice, n° 12, 1912, p. 493.

 

Back music page - Top

© 2001-2025 Jean-Gabriel Maurandi.


traditional musics county Nice, fife


If you found this page interesting, consider linking to it. Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site (Ctrl+C to copy). It will look like this:
A la cabana de Betelen (At Bethlehem cabin)

    Web site by jean gabriel maurandi, creation sites internet of music  
 A la cabana de Betelen (At Bethlehem cabin)  This website respects the copyright. Proposed titles are now out of copyright. Their realization is by means of scheduling in MIDI files and not by means of orignal music; they are not performed nor produced by the artists. Copyright of the works still protected, reproduced on this website with permission of their composer, is reserved. Except authorization, any use of the totality of the multimedia material handed over on the “MTCN” website other than individual and private reproduction and consultation is forbidden.
No animals were harmed during design of this web site. However, I did eat meat several times for lunch.