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La Bella Bouquetiera  
(The Pretty Flower Girl)
Nissart lyrics and music by François Guisol. Traditional from County of Nice.
| 1st verse |
La bouquetiera Isora
Lou matin à l’aurora
Coum’ una jouva Flora
Cuhie lu siéu bouquet.
De cent flou lu coumposa
Ma la plus bella rosa
En Plassa la prouposa
Au siéu bèu farluquet. (twice) | | The flower girl Isora
In the morning at dawn
As a young Flora (1)
Picks her bunches.
With one hundred flowers she arranges them
But the the most beautiful rose
On the [market] place she proposes
To her handsome whippersnapper. (twice) |
2nd verse |
Souta la capelina
Me la siéu bella mina
Ressembl’ à la regina
Dei joious mès de Mai.
Emb’ aquella courouna
D’or que Ceres meissouna
Dirias qu’au mounde ourdouna
D’estre amourous e gai. (twice) | | Under the capelina
With her nice expression
She looks like the queen
Of the merry month of May.
With this crown
Of gold Ceres (2) harvests
You would say that she orders the world
To be in love and happy. (twice) |
3rd verse |
Aquella bouquetiera
Es toujour la premièra
D’avé fà bouona fièra
De touti li siéu flou.
Ma sus la siéu figura
Dei flou d’après natura
Li resta la frescura
E brillanti coulou. (twice) | | This flower girl
Is always the first
To have done good [sale at the] fair
Of all her flowers.
But on her face
Of the natural flowers
She keeps the freshness
And the bright colours. (twice) |
4th verse |
Jamai m’un ton de bila
Li garda de la villa
La pousson de la fila
D’aquella d’alentour.
Afin que noun l’afronte
D’ella n’en tenon compte,
Couma s’èra d’un comte
La paisana d’amour. (twice) | | Never with an angry voice
The guards of the town
Drive her away from the line
Of those of the surroundings.
In order that she doesn’t confront them
They don’t take her into account,
As she was of a Count
The small farmer of love. (twice) |
1. Italic goddess of the Flowers and Gardens, in honour of whom were celebrated the floralies (“flower show”).
2. The goddess of Harvests in the Roman mythology (corresponding to Demeter in the Greek mythology).
The flower girl is quoted in several traditionnal songs from the County of Nice, see for instance this Flou de Nissa (Flower of Nice).
| Bibliography | | • | Bessi (Jules), Biographie ancienne et moderne des poètes niçois, Nice, 1894. | | • | Delrieu (Georges), Anthologie de la chanson niçoise (Anthology of the Song from Nice), Nice, publisher Delrieu & Co, 1960, p. 54-55. | | • | 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. 40-41. | | • | revue Armanac niçart, Nice, 1903, p. 113. | | • | revue Nice historique, Nice, n° 3, 1938, p. 74. |
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