`Au clair de la lune` is a French folk song of the 18th century. Its composer and lyricist are unknown. Its simple melody (About this sound Play (help·info)) is commonly taught to beginners...Read more

`Au clair de la lune` is a French folk song of the 18th century. Its composer and lyricist are unknown. Its simple melody (About this sound Play (help·info)) is commonly taught to beginners learning an instrument.

The song is now considered a lullaby for children but carries a double entendre throughout (the dead candle, the need to light up the flame, the God of Love, etc.) that becomes clear with its conclusion.


`Au clair de la lune,
Mon ami Pierrot,
Prête-moi ta plume
Pour écrire un mot.
Ma chandelle est morte,
Je n`ai plus de feu.
Ouvre-moi ta porte
Pour l`amour de Dieu.`

Au clair de la lune,
Pierrot répondit :
`Je n`ai pas de plume,
Je suis dans mon lit.
Va chez la voisine,
Je crois qu`elle y est,
Car dans sa cuisine
On bat le briquet.`

Au clair de la lune,
L`aimable Lubin;
Frappe chez la brune,
Elle répond soudain :
–Qui frappe de la sorte?
Il dit à son tour :
–Ouvrez votre porte,
Pour le Dieu d`Amour.

Au clair de la lune,
On n`y voit qu`un peu.
On chercha la plume,
On chercha du feu.
En cherchant d`la sorte,
Je n`sais c`qu`on trouva;
Mais je sais qu`la porte
Sur eux se ferma.
`By the light of the moon,
My friend Pierrot,
Lend me your quill
To write a word.
My candle is dead,
I have no more fire.
Open your door for me
For the love of God.`

By the light of the moon,
Pierrot replied:
`I don`t have any pens,
I am in my bed
Go to the neighbor`s,
I think she`s there
Because in her kitchen
Someone is lighting the fire.`

By the light of the moon
Likeable Lubin
Knocks on the brunette`s door.
She suddenly responds:
– Who`s knocking like that?
He then replies:
– Open your door
for the God of Love!

By the light of the moon
One could barely see
The pen was looked for,
The light was looked for.
With all that looking
I don`t know what was found,
But I do know that the door
Shut itself on them.

19th-century French composer Camille Saint-Saëns quoted the first few notes of the tune in the section `The Fossils`, part of his suite The Carnival of the Animals.
Claude Debussy uses the song as a basis of his `Pierrot` from Quatre Chansons Jeunesse.
Erik Satie quoted this song in the section `Le flirt` (No. 19) of his 1914 piano collection Sports et divertissements.
In 1926, Samuel Barber rewrote `H-35: Au Claire de la Lune: A Modern Setting of an old folk tune` while studying at the Curtis Institute of Music.
In 1928, Marc Blitzstein orchestrated `Variations sur `Au Claire du la Lune`.`
In 1964, French pop singer France Gall recorded a version of this song, with altered lyrics to make it a love song.
In 2008, a phonautograph paper recording made by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville of `Au clair de la lune` on 9 April 1860, was digitally converted to sound by U.S. researchers. This one-line excerpt of the song was widely reported to have been the earliest recognizable record of the human voice and the earliest recognizable record of music. According to those researchers, the phonautograph recording contains the beginning of the song, `Au clair de la lune, mon ami Pierrot, prête moi`.
In 2008, Composer Fred Momotenko composed `Au clair de la lune` as an artistic journey back in time to rediscover the original recording made on 9 April 1860. It is a composition for 4-part vocal ensemble and surround audio, performed during Gaudeamus Foundation music festival at Muziekgebouw aan `t IJ. It is the second Prize winner of the Linux `150-Years-of-Music-Technology Composition Competition Prize` and the special Prize winner of Festival EmuFest in Rome.

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