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Lu Tavan  
(The Horseflies) (The Gadflies)
Nissart lyrics and music by Louis Genari. Traditional from County of Nice.
| 1st verse |
Quoura l’estiéu acendre d’escà
E qu’en campagna fa bouon està,
Cercas una valièra fresca
Per godre un pau de libertà.
Ma la natura a lou siéu deble
E se pensas de v’endurmì,
Ben denant que lou souom v’ennèble,
Vous vèn trouncà vouostre plesì.
Passa un tavan,
Zounzouneant,
Voulastrejant,
Darrié, denant,
E v’arutant,
Vèspa e mouissara l’adjudant, (twice)
Au diau rounfloun, pichoui e gran. (twice) | | When Summer sets fire to tinder
And when it’s a nice life in the country,
You look for a small and cool valley
To enjoy a bit of liberty.
But nature has its moron
And if you think about fall asleep,
Long before sleep clouds you,
It comes and truncates your pleasure.
Pass a horsefly,
Buzzing,
Fluttering,
Behind, before,
And hitting you,
Wasp and mosquito helping it, (twice)
The devil take the “rounfloun (2)”, small and great. (twice) |
2nd verse |
Souta la laupia bèn oumbraoua
De doun pendouolon lu rahin,
La soucietà gaia e noumbroua
Saup faire ounour ai plat, ai vin.
Ma, tambèn souta aquela tènda,
Arribon sensa estre envidat
Toui aquelu seca-merenda
Qu’adé v’avion destourbat.
Mai un tavan,
Li frema van,
S’escoumbuiant,
Cridon lu enfant,
Baubon lu can,
Lou bèu remoun qu’ensida fan, (twice)
Au diau rounfloun, pichoui e gran. (twice) | | In the arbour well shady
From where are dangling grapes,
The society cheerful and numerous
Knows doing justice to dishes, to wine.
But, as well under this tent,
Come unless been invited
All these “scroungers (3)”
That bother you a moment ago.
One more horsefly,
Women go,
Frightening themselves,
Shout the children,
Bark the dogs,
The fine row so they do, (twice)
The devil take the “rounfloun”, small and great. (twice) |
3rd verse |
Va bèn qu’après tant de matana
Lou gros tavan, menchoun, s’en va
Ficà dintre un canoun de cana
Doun, emb’un tap, l’anas clavà.
Ma li a de tavan de la vila
Tau que, per s’en depegouì,
La recetta noun es facila.
E, s’es d’amic, cau li surbì.
Sùs d’un cantoun,
Per lou boutoun,
O lou vestoun,
Mé de rasoun,
Vous tènon proun,
Au courrent d’aria vous fermant, (twice)
Au diau rounfloun, pichoui e gran. (twice) | | Things are going well after such whims
The big horsefly, simpleton, is going away
Putting itself in a pipe of cane
Where, with a plug, you are going to lock it up.
But there are city horseflies
Such as, to unpitch them,
Recipe is not easy.
And, if they are friends, you have to stand them.
Somewhere,
By button,
Or jacket,
With reason,
They hold you sufficiently,
In the draught stopping you, (twice)
The devil take the “rounfloun”, small and great. (twice) |
2. Rounfloun (from rounflà, to snore, and rouncà, to snore, to purr) means the idea of a purring sonorous and annoying.
3. Seca-merenda (from secà, to dry, to wipe, and merenda, snack), “meal-dryer”.
| Bibliography | | • | Delrieu (Georges), Anthologie de la chanson niçoise (Anthology of the Song from Nice), Nice, publisher Delrieu & Co, 1960, p. 28-29. | | • | 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. 258-259. |
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