P'tit Quinquin (song)

"P'tit Quinquin" is a song by Alexandre Desrousseaux which was written in the Picard language (also known as chti or chtimi) in 1853. Picard is closely related to French, and is spoken in two regions in the north of France – Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Picardy and in parts of the Belgian region of Wallonia.

This simple lullaby (P'tit quinquin means "little child") demonstrates the revival of Picard in the area, to the extent that it became the marching song of the northern soldiers leaving for the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Today it could be called the unofficial anthem of the French city of Lille, and more generally of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.


The famous refrain (in Picard): might be translated into French as:
Dors, min p'tit quinquin,

Min p'tit pouchin, min gros rojin
Te m'fras du chagrin
Si te n'dors point ch'qu'à d'main.

 Dors, mon petit enfant,

Mon petit poussin, mon gros raisin,
Tu me feras du chagrin
Si tu ne dors pas jusqu'à demain.

And into English literally as:  
"Sleep, my little child,

My little chick, my plump grape,
You will cause me grief
If you don't sleep until tomorrow."

  

See also
  • Le P'tit quinquin - Full lyrics in Picard (left), and a translation into French (right); also has a sound file of the chorus being sung in Picard (.wav and .ra formats)
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