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Nuhé de Barba Titon  
(Christmas of uncle Baptist)
or Darrier dai Rei (Last of the Kings)
Nissart lyrics by Pierre Isnard. Traditional from County of Nice..
Tune Trois jeunes tambours (Three young drummers).
| 1st verse |
Barba Titon
Subre de la siu banca
Un sera au füec, dappè dau fügairon,
Repipiunava en la siu barba blanca:
“Coma fa frei,
Achest’an, per lü Rei!” | | Uncle Baptist
On his bench
An evening by the fireside, near the hearth,
Was keeping turning over, in his white beard:
“How cold it is,
This year, for the Kings!” |
2nd verse |
Ch’ora üna vox,
Passan tra li belüga
Che fuolamen s’ausson dau brasiu rus,
Respuonde: “Amic, lu frei mai non pessüga
Embe rigor
Lü cuor caute d’amor. | | When a voice,
Passing over [noise of] sparks
That incredibly are rising from red fire,
Answer: “Friend, cold never freezes
With harshness
Hearts warm by love. |
3rd verse |
“Pròpri sta nüec’,
Damon sü la cullina,
Cü anera, quand picca mieggia-nüec’,
Emb’ün lansou bagnate sü l’eschina,
La canna en man,
Veirà lü tres sovran!” | | “Precisely this night
Up there on the hill,
The one will go, when will ring midnight,
With a wet sheet on his back,
His stick in his hand,
Will see the three sovereigns (1)!” |
4th verse |
Si sente gia
Com’ün’ aria de festa.
S’aude ün rümor che n’en ven presagiar,
Maugra la neu, lu vent e la tempesta,
Ch’ün gròs event
Si passa en Orient. | | It is felt already
Like a festive air.
We hear a rumour coming to predict,
In spite of snow, wind and storm,
That a great event
Is happening in Orient. |
5th verse |
En lu seren
A l’orizon s’ascende
Darrier dai mont üna ’stella d’argen,
Per lümeggiar lu trahin che s’arrende
D’ün pas alert
A traves dau desert. | | By the clear
On the horizon goes up
Behind the mountains a silver star,
To light the pace advancing
With a spry step
Through the desert. |
6th verse |
Lu russignou
Ch’achela lüx dürvelha,
Com’au printem sübla tut en ün cou
La siu canson ch’enchantera l’aurelha
Dai pellegrin
Au curs dau siu camin. | | The nightingale
That this light wakes,
Since in spring whistles all at once
Its song that will enchant ear
Of pilgrims
In the course of their way. |
7th verse |
Arriba avau
Un vielh murre de tòla
Giaune e passit, com’ün emburigau,
Espaventable a faire levar sòla.
Viàgia a pen
M’ün pignaton d’insen. | | Coming down below
An old killjoy
Sallow and colourless, like a morel,
Dreadful to make the sole raise (2).
He is traveling on foot
With a small cooking pot (3) of incense. |
8th verse |
Lu mage blanc
Che cad’ün pron ammira,
Corona en testa e spada nüda au flanc,
Es agiucat, emb’ün saccon de mira,
L’aria arrogant,
Subre d’ün alefant. | | The white magus
Everyone admires a lot,
Crown on his head and with drawn sword,
Is perched, with a sachet of myrrh,
In an arrogant manner,
On an elephant. |
9th verse |
Emb’ün anneu
Au nas che li penduola,
Lu mòru rei es pròpi lu pü beu;
Cargate d’òr, lu siu gameu brancuola
A cada pas
De tant es maigre e las! | | With a ring
At his nose hanging,
The Moorish king is certainly the most handsome;
Loaded with gold, his camel staggers (4)
At every step
So it is scraggy and tired! |
10th verse |
Dau genre üman
Rappresentan li rassa,
Estü tres rei, en Galiléa van
Per rendre à Diu che sü la Terra passa
L’adorassion,
Au nom de li nassion. | | Of mankind
Representing the races,
These three kings are going to Galilee
To give God an account of, on Earth, comes
Worship,
On behalf of all the nations. |
11th verse |
Venon d’en là,
Dau pahis de l’aurora,
D’unt han tui vist üna stella brilhar.
Fac’ inaudit, achestu meteora
Per lü menar
Si mette a caminar. | | They are coming from there,
The country of dawn,
Where they all have seen shining a star.
Unprecedented event, this meteor,
To lead them,
Starts to make its way. |
12th verse |
L’astre d’argen
A Betelem si fissa
Sü d’ün ciabòt, d’unt es nà pauramen
En ün marrit presepi che s’abissa
Lu Sauhator
Promès dau Creator. | | The silver star
At Bethlehem settles
Above an hovel (5), where was poorly born
In a bad crib getting damaged
The Saviour
Promised by the Creator. |
13th verse |
Entra Giausè
E la Vierge Maria,
Embe lu bou e l’ae de dappè,
Subre lu gias, meschin, sensa camija,
Attroveran
Pròpi de Diu l’Enfan. | | Come in Joseph
And the Virgin Mary,
With the ox and the donkey beside,
On litter, unfortunate, without a shirt,
You will find
Really of God the Son. |
14th verse |
En arriban,
Emb’üna fet ardenta
Per l’adorar, ün per ün s’inchinan,
Au beu Bambin, cada prinse presenta
Lu siu tresor:
L’insen, la mirra e l’òr. | | Arriving,
With a burning faith
To worship him, one by one bowing,
To the nice small Child, each prince presents
His tresure:
Incense, myrrh and gold (6). |
15th verse |
La maestà,
L’òr, muostra au divin Ninu,
L’insen ch’es Diu degne dai nuostre autà,
Ma de la muort la mirra canta l’innu
E Li dirà
Che murtal Eu sarà. | | The majesty,
Gold, shows to the divine small Child,
Incense that is God worthy of ours altars,
But of death myrrh sings the anthem
And will tell Him
What kind of mortal He will be (7). |
16th verse |
L’òr de l’amor,
L’insen de la preghiera
Embe la vida uffren au Sauhator.
De la splendenta stella matiniera,
La sclarsità
Au ciel nen mènera. | | Gold for love,
Incense for prayer
With the life given to the Saviour.
Of the glorious early star,
The brightness
To heaven will lead us. |
17th verse |
“Vau, di Titon
En achesti paraula,
Darrier dai rei curri a rabaton!”
E si dresset per aussar la gandaula
Dau gròs purtau
D’unt pendon lüme e clau. | | “Go on! says Baptist
In his words,
The last of the kings runs precipitately!”
And he stands up to raise the latch
Of the large gate
Where are hanging light and the key. |
18th verse |
Fuora, lu vent
Tra li brunda süblava
A vos donar lu trantalh d’espavent,
E dau siu trau la necciula bramava,
Au sun de l’uort,
La canson de la muort. | | Outside, wind
Through boughs was whistling,
Giving you shiver of terror,
And from its hole the little owl was screeching (8),
At sound of the garden,
The song of the death. |
19th verse |
Lendematin,
Coma lu giur s’aussava,
Lu türignon m’au siu cant argentin
A l’ünivers, gajamen annunsava
Che da Gesü
Lü rei eron vengü. | | The day after in the morning,
As day was rising,
The chime, with its silvery song,
To the universe, was merrily announcing
That to Jesus
The kings were come. |
20th verse |
En ün canton
Lu relòri runflava
E miegg’ estenc’ era lu farasson
Dau vielh calen che sens’óli fümava
Sü lu taulier
De buosche d’anughier. | | In a corner
The clock was humming
And half extinct, the pieces of wick
Of the old calen without oil were fuming
On the table
Walnut made. |
21th verse |
Au fügairon
La çendre era gelada.
Sü la siu banca era Barba Titon
Rede dau frei, la testa devessada,
L’üelh amursit,
Per sempre era ’ndürmit. | | In hearth
Ashes were cold.
On his bench was uncle Baptist
Stiff by the cold, his head upside down,
His eyes lacklustre,
For ever he was asleep. |
22th verse |
En lu fratem
Lu campanin sunava
Un mestre clar, che ben lügübramen,
En retrònàn au türignon, lagnava,
Dau vielh Titon,
La muort au fügairon. | | Meanwhile
Bells was ringing
A master knell, that very lugubriously,
Scolding the chime, pitying,
Of the old Baptist,
Death near hearth. |
23th verse |
D’acheu meschin
L’ànima blanca e püra,
Darrier dai rei agantan lu camin,
Au paradis si retrovava ahüra
Adoran Diu
E Gesü lu siu Fiu. | | Of this poor wretch
The white and pure soul,
Last of the kings catching the way,
In paradise is now
Worshiping God
And Jesus his Son. |
24th verse |
Despi, cad’an,
Ch’ora la tramontana
Buffa la nüec’ a fa ’glajar lü can,
S’escutas ben, a traves la ciavana,
Audes Titon
Che parla au fügairon. | | Since, each year,
When tramontana
Blows during night making dogs to scream,
Listen well, through thunderstorm,
Let hear Baptist
Speaking to hearth. |
25th verse |
Se pi de cou
Vos ven la fantasìa
D’anar cubert emb’ün imu lansou
La canna en man, sü lu baus d’unt s’eschilha,
Veires lu vielh
Passar embe lü Rei! | | If, sometimes,
Comes you whim
To go, covered with an ugly sheet,
Your stick in your hand, on rocks where we are worn out,
You will see the old
Passing with the Kings! |
1. The Three Kings, the Wise Men: Belshazzar, Gaspard, and Melchior.
2. I.e. “dreadful to inspire fear, to cause escape”.
3. Pignata: clay cooking pot. The diminutive pignaton or pignatoun means a small pot.
4. Brancoulà or brancuolà: to stagger, to totter, to wobble.
5. Ciabòt or cabot: hovel, vault, small cellar, burrow.
6. See also lu Rèi.
7. This verse is better understood when changing its syntax:
Gold shows the majesty to the divine small Child, incense (that represents God) is worthy of ours altars, myrrh sings the anthem of death etc.
8. The little owl was adding its cry to sounds of the garden.
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© 2001-2025 Jean-Gabriel Maurandi.
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