| Lyrics | Poetic Translation | |
|---|---|---|
| En m'oyant chanter quelquefois, | Frequently when you hear me sing, | |
| Tu te plains qu'estre je ne daigne | You shake your head and start complaining, | |
| Musicien, et que ma voix | "Bad musician!" If anything, | |
| Mérite bien que l'on m'enseigne: | You say I might succeed with training | |
| Voire, que la peine je preigne | And that I'd find it worth the straining | |
| D'apprendre ut, ré, mi, fa, sol, la. | To learn my "Ut re mi fa sol la." | |
| Que diable veux-tu que j'apreigne? | But what the hell would singing gain me? | |
| Je ne boy que trop sans cela. | I already drink more than I ought. | |
| Clément Marot | Carol Anne Perry Lagemann |
See Mick Swinthinbank's work at Choral Public Domain Library.