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A San-Brancai  
(At Saint-Pancrace)
Nissart lyrics and music by Georges Delrieu. Traditional from County of Nice.
| 1st verse |
Lou soulèu cal’ à raissa,
Argenta lu raiet ;
Lu jouve sus li faissa,
M’au galofr’ à l’uiet,
Fan de land’ à li fiha.
Taiola, chicourloun
N’espesson li auriha
De gai repepihoun. | | The sun falls in torrents,
Gives a silvery sheen to small furrows;
The young men on the terraces,
With the carnation in their buttonhole,
Put on simpering airs to the girls.
Material belts, aprons (1)
Fill up (2) our ears
With cheerful old songs. |
Chorus |
Lu amourous s’en van à la brassetta,
Es lou printèmp, veici lou mès de mai.
Lu amourous cuenton de barselèta
Per lu camin mountant à San-Brancai. | | The lovers are going arm in arm,
It’s spring, here is month of May.
The lovers whisper sweet nothings
By the lanes going up to Saint-Pancrace |
2nd verse |
S’arreston li paraula,
Au soum soun arribat.
Dau subit van à taula :
« Pourtas de pan bagnat ! »
Toumati, archicota,
Ouliva, pissalà,
Me lou vin de la crota,
Couma’n lamp van calà. | | Stop the words,
To the summit they get.
At once they sit down at the table:
“Bring us pan bagnat!”
Tomatoes, artichokes,
Olives, anchovy sauce,
With the wine of the vault,
As a flash of lightning they are going to be washed down. |
3rd verse |
La merenda finida
Coumençon li cansoun.
Una coubl’es partida
Cuhi un ramassoun.
Carrejat per l’aureta,
Cenqu’audes en darrié ?
Lou chièu-chièu dai baieta
Souta lu òulivié. | | The snack over
Begin the songs.
A couple left
To pick up a bunch (4).
Carted by the breeze
What do you hear behind?
The kisses chirping
Beneath the olive trees. |
4th verse |
Pi vèn la souloumbrina,
La luna va guignà.
Cadun me sa vesina
Noun fà que calignà.
Au jouve s’apountèla
Quietamèn lou cairèu :
S’atrovesse la bella
Davan d’un repoumpèu ? | | Then comes the darkness,
The moon is going to grin.
Everyone whis his neighbour
Does nothing but court.
To the young man leans on
Quietly the fanchon:
Should be the belle
In front of an obstacle? |
Last chorus |
Lu amourous s’en van à la brassetta,
Es lou printèmp, veici lou mès de mai.
Lu amourous cuenton de barselèta
Per lu camin calant de San-Brancai. | | The lovers are going arm in arm,
It’s spring, here is month of May.
The lovers whisper sweet nothings
By the lanes going down from Saint-Pancrace |
1. Taiola (material belt) and chicourloun (apron) are here metonymies pointing out young men and young girls respectively.
2. Espessà: to spend, to go to great expense. Understand here “Fill up generously our ears”.
3. Ramassoun : diminutive of ramassa, brush. Probably here a bunch of broom (ginèsta) or heather (bruc) of which were made brooms.
| Bibliography | | • | Delrieu (Georges), Anthologie de la chanson niçoise (Anthology of the Song from Nice), Nice, publisher Delrieu & Co, 1960, p. 148-149. | | • | Tosan (Albert), Princivalle (Gaël) and d’Hulster (Frédéric), Anthologie de la chanson du comté de Nice (Anthology of the Song from County of Nice), Nice, Serre publisher, series “Encyclopædia niciensis – Patrimoine régional”, volume III, 2001, p. 24-25. |
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