Ah ! Ah !
Official song of the carnival of Nice 1929
Nissart lyrics by Jules Eynaudi, known as Juli Eynaudi, music by Hyacinthe Tarelli. Traditional from County of Nice.

The French original lyrics by Charles de Richter are not reproduced here. The text given corresponds to the literal translation from the version in Nissart.

The theme for this year 1929 is “Le dragon des Hespérides” (The Dragon of the Hesperides ⁽¹⁾).

First page of the music sheet for Ah ! Ah !, illustration by Gustav Adolf Mossa, éd. Delrieu frères, 1929.		1st verse
		Es per lou trèn blu qu’arriva Carneval que tèn lou couor jouious, countent ; Rei metent su nouostri riva Lou bouonur d’aimà e l’eternel printèms ! Autour d’èu cadun s’abriva, Pourtant à toui gai pantai dei premiè tems :      L’ardour, l’amour,      Couor vincitour, La tendra cansoun dei amourous      Urous !		It’s by the blue train (2) that arrives Carnival who makes hearts merry and happy; King putting on our shores The happiness to love and the everlasting spring! Around him everybody rushes, Bringing all of them the merry dream of the beginning:      The fervour, the love,      Heart conqueror, The tender song of the lovers      Happy!
		Chorus
		Ah ! Ah ! Lou vaquì ! Es en pèr aquì... Non ! Non ! Es aià ! Lou veès spountà ! Ah ! Ah ! Ah ! Ah ! E jà cadun crès Veire lou « balès » Ma es aquì ! Couquin d’un chaudèu ! Es èu ! Ah ! Ah ! Lou vaquì, Es en pèr aquì... Non ! Non ! Lou vaquì, Es en pèr aquì... Ah ! Ah ! Ah ! Ah ! Courres, ficanas ! M’èu sabateas... Ensinda l’aurès, L’embrasserès... Ah ! Ah !		Ah! Ah! Here he is! He is here... No! No! He is over there! You see him pointing! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! And already everybody believes To see the strapping fellow But he is here! The devil of a “scalded”! It’s him! Ah! Ah! Here he is! He is here... No! No! Here he is! He is over there! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Let run, nosey parkers! With him, let run (3)... So you will catch him, You will kiss him... Ah! Ah!
		2nd verse
		En gran gotou jà petia Lou vin de Bellet, tant car ai bouoi Nissart. Vieil garçoun e belli fiha Vénon s’amourà, voulent cadun sa part... Aquel elixir scintia Mihou que Jouvença e mai à l’escart      Lou degustas,      V’esperlecas, De lou tastà noun serès mai las !      L’aimas !		In big glasses already bubbles The wine from Bellet (4), so dear to good Nissart. Old men and pretty girls Come to drink (5), wanting each one his share... This elixir glistens Better than Youth (6) and never isolated      You taste it,      You lick your lips, To taste it you will never be weary!      You like it!
		3rd verse
		Ma Carneval vous douna, Belli fiheta, lou plus ric dei tresor : L’Amour fouol que s’abandouna E dous baià valènt lou sièu pesant d’or ! Proufita n’en lèu, coucouna ! L’elut dau couor vau bèn mai qu’un gran milord !      Que l’amourous      Cante, radious, Tout en vous faguènt de baià fouol      Au couol.		But Carnival gives you, Pretty girls, the richest of the treasures: The mad Love that let itself go And sweet kisses being worth their weight in gold! Make the most of this, sweeties! The beloved is better than a great lord!      Let the lover      Sing, radiant, While madly kissing you      On the neck.

1. In the Greek mythology, the Hesperides were the three nymphs Ægle, Erythie and Hesperarethousa. With help of the dragon Ladon, they were the keeperesses of the gods enchanted gardens, the trees of which produced famous golden apples providing immortality.

2. The Train bleu (“blue train”) was a luxury French night express passenger train, named Calais-Mediterranée Express, and operated by the Compagnie internationale des wagons-lits (CIWL) from the 1886/1887 winter up to 2007. After the standstill due to World War I, the Train bleu service resumed on November, 16th 1920 between Paris and Menton, near the Italian border. The Train bleu received new sleeping cars on December, 9th 1922, painted blue with gold trim. This eventually led to the nickname Train bleu (“blue train”) in 1923 (which became its formal name on 1947).
    The Great Depression and the devaluation of the Pound Sterling greatly reduced the number of wealthy British and American travellers going to the Riviera, reducing the number of trains. In 1936, the new Popular Front Government in France introduced the paid two-week vacation for French workers. Second-class and third-class sleeping cars were added to the Train bleu to carry middle and working class French people on holiday to the South of France. In 1938, the Popular Front government nationalized the private railway companies in France, including CIWL and PLM. After 1938, the Train bleu was run by the new French national railway company SNCF as an ordinary night express train.
    Beginning in the 1980s, the night express trains were gradually replaced by the high-speed TGV trains, which cut the length of the journey from Paris to Nice from 20 hours to five, and this effectively ended the era of luxury night trains to the French Riviera. After a long history, the Train bleu ceased to exist under that name in September 2003, and the train coaches remained in use until December, 9th 2007, by which time the consist had lost its dining car and most of its sleeping cars.

3. Sabateà: to run while dragging worn-out old shoes (from the Nissart « sabatié », cobbler, shoemaker).

4. See also San-Rouman-de-Belet.

5. S’amoura : to drink straight from the bottle.

6. May be an allusion to the “Jouvence de l’abbé Soury” (“Waters of youth” of the priest Soury), an herbal medicine product intended for relieving circulatory disorders, elaborated in the middle of the 18th century by the priest Gilbert Soury (Celloville – Seine-Maritime, France –, October, 7th 1732 - Celloville, January, 12th 1810), initially named “Tisane des deux abbés” (Herbal tea of the two priests), paying homage to his master Delarue, country priest in the same parish and inventor of renowned medicines.

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