It should not surprise us that
Brassens devoted a song to the swearwords of France. Swearing
has been described as “poor men’s poetry” and Brassens, of course, is the
champion of the underprivileged in the face of the oppression of the institutionalized
forces of State and Church, whose social and religious taboos have been targeted by swearwords through the centuries.
I have not imposed upon myself the impossible task of finding a precise English equivalent for each French oath. I feel that there are valid arguments which justify regarding an oath as a unique, national, cultural entity
I have, however, made an attempt
to sort out these French swearwords in the translation notes that follow the
script of the poem.
The letters in brackets in the French text refer you to my vocabulary notes below.
-
La ronde des jurons
|
-
The dance of the swearwords
|
1 Voici la ronde(a) des jurons
2 Qui chantaient clair , qui dansaient rond ,
3
Quand les Gaulois
4
De bon aloi(b)
5
Du franc-parler(c) suivaient la
loi ,
6 Jurant par-là , jurant par-ci(d) ,
7 Jurant à langue raccourci'(e) ,
8
Comme des grains de chapelet
9
Les joyeux jurons défilaient(f) :
(Refrain) 10 Tous les morbleus , tous les ventrebleus ,
11
Les sacrebleus et les cornegidouilles
12
Ainsi , parbleu , que les jarnibleus
13
Et les palsambleus ,
14
Tous les cristis, les ventres saint-gris
15
Les par ma barbe et les noms d'une pipe ,
16 Ainsi , pardi , que les sapristis
17
Et les sacristis ,
18
Sans oublier les jarnicotons ,
19
Les scrogneugneus et les bigre' et les bougre'
20 Les
saperlott's , les cré nom de nom ,
21
Les peste , et pouah , diantre , fichtre et foutre,
22 Tous les Bon Dieu ,
23
Tous les vertudieux ,
24
Tonnerr' de Brest et saperlipopette
25
Ainsi , pardieu , que les jarnidieux
26
Et les pasquedieux.
27
Quelle pitié ! Les charretiers(g)
28
Ont un langage châtié(h) !
29
Les harengères(i)
30
Et les mégères(j)
31
Ne parlent plus à la légère !
32 Le vieux catéchisme poissard(k)
33
N'a guèr' plus cours chez les hussards
34 Ils ont vécu(L) , de profundis(m)
35
Les joyeux jurons de jadis
|
1 Here is the swearword rondo
2 Sung loud and clear, danced all round,
3
When Gauls of old
4
Of true metal
5
Followed the law of plain-speaking,
6
Swearing here, there and everywhere
7 Counting off their shortened oaths,
8 Like the beads of the rosary
9 Swearwords once poured forth merrily:
(Refrain) 10 All the morbleus, all the ventrebleus,
11
The Sacrebleus and the cornegidouilles,
12
Just as, parbleu, with the jarnibleus
13
And the palsambleus,
14
All the cristis, the ventres saint-gris,
15
The par ma barbe and the noms d’une pipe,
16
Just as, pardi, with sapristis
17
And the sacristis,
18
Not forgetting les jarnicotons,
19
The scrogneugneus and the bigre' and the bougre',
20 The saperlott's, the cré nom de nom,
21
The plague, and pouh, diantre, fichtre and foutre,
22
All the Bon Dieu,
23
All the vertudieux,
24
Tonnerr' de Brest and saperlipopette,
25
Just as, pardieu, with the jarnidieux
26
And the pasquedieux.
27
What a shame! The truck drivers
28
Have now cleaned up their language!
29
All the fishwives
30
And harshest shrews
31
Don’t speak now without restraint!
32
The old obscene catechism
33
Is scarce used now by the hussars.
34
They’ve had their day, so rest in peace,
35
The merry oaths of times gone by.
|
Swearwords
|
Lines
|
Full meaning
|
Type of oath
|
morbleu,
|
10
|
Mort de Dieu
|
Swearing on the body of Christ - but
|
ventrebleu,
|
10
|
Ventre de dieu
|
Swearing on the belly of Christ cut open on the
cross- but
|
cornegidouille,
|
11
|
An oath invented for the surrealist play
« Ubu Roi » of 1896
|
|
sacrebleu
|
11
|
Sacré Dieu
|
Swearing on the sacred God - but blurring the vital word.
|
parbleu
|
12
|
Par Dieu
|
Swearing on God - but minced word.
|
jarnibleu
|
12
|
Je renie Dieu
|
Denying God-total blasphemy ! -but
|
palsambleu
|
13
|
Par le sang de Dieu
|
Swearing on the blood Christ shed on the cross -
but
|
cristi,
|
14
|
Christ
|
Swearing on Christ’s name
|
ventre saint-gris
|
14
|
Ventre de dieu
|
Swearing on the belly of Christ – but a substitute
noun
|
ma barbe
|
15
|
Mon Dieu
|
Swearing on God but substitute noun
|
nom d'une pipe
|
15
|
Nom de dieu
|
Swearing on God’s name, but substitute noun
|
pardi
|
16
|
Par Dieu
|
Swearing on God - but
|
sapristi
|
16
|
Sacré Christ
|
Swearing on the sacred Christ - but blurring the vital word.
|
sacristi,
|
17
|
Sacré Christ
|
Swearing on the sacred Christ - .
|
jarnicoton
|
18
|
Je renie Dieu
|
Denying God-total blasphemy ! But
substitute noun
|
scrogneugneu
|
19
|
Nom de Dieu
|
Swearing on God’s name but
|
bigre
|
19
|
bugger
|
Obscenity - but minced word.
|
bougre
|
19
|
bugger
|
Obscenity
|
saperlotte
|
20
|
Sacred God
|
Swearing on God but substitute noun
|
Cré nom de nom
|
20
|
Sacred Name of God
|
Blurring the words and substituting the vital noun
|
peste
|
21
|
The Plague
|
Swearing on the horrific plagues of medieval
Europe
|
pouah
|
21
|
Expression of disgust as in English
|
|
diantre
|
21
|
Devil
|
Swearing on the Devil - but blurring the vital word.
|
fichtre
|
21
|
F*ck (but less strong in French)
|
Obscenity
|
foutre
|
21
|
F*ck (but less strong in French
|
Obscenity
|
Bon Dieu
|
22
|
The Good Lord
|
Swearing on God’s goodness
|
vertudieu
|
23
|
Innocent God
|
Swearing on God’s innocence
|
saperlipopette
|
24
|
Sacred God
|
Swearing on God but substitute noun
|
Tonnerre de Brest
|
24
|
Tonnerre de Dieu
|
Swearing on God’s thunder- but substitute noun
|
pardieu
|
25
|
Swearing on God
|
|
jarnidieu
|
25
|
Je nie Dieu
|
Denying God- total blasphemy - but blurring the vital words.
|
Pasquedieu
|
25
|
Par le sang de Dieu
|
Swearing on the blood Christ shed on the cross -
but
|
GENERAL
VOCABULARY NOTES
a)La ronde = a dance performed in a circle, a square dance, a folk
dance . I thought of using the word “rondo” but that is “rondeau” in
French.
b) De bon aloi =
honest, respectable, sound
c) Le franc-parler = outspokenness, speaking your mind.
d) Par-là …. par-ci = here and there, all over the place
e) Frapper à bras raccourcis= to lay into to some-one with your
fists. The French argue among themselves the significance of
shortened arms. Perhaps the most plausible explanation is
that it means: with shortened sleeves, rolled up for the fight.
f) Défiler - pass by – flash by
g) Les charretiers = carters
h) Châtié = polished, refined
i) Les harengères = the fishwives- a pejorative
description as in English
j) Mégère = a cantankerous, evil tempered woman, a
shrew.
k ) Poissard = vulgar, coarse
L) Ils ont vécu = If you say something « a vécu », you
mean that it has had its day – is a thing of the past
m) De profundis is a phrase for a requiem.
SORTING
OUT THE RIGHTS AND WRONGS OF SWEARING
As I look at the Google chart of
readership of this blog, I see that Georges Brassens has followers in most
countries of the world. It is an odd thought that as they read this
song they will all relate to swearwords in their own languages with their own
distinctive forms. It is one of the mysteries of the human
psychology that swearing is an international phenomenon, as people feel the
need to punctuate their communication with apparently redundant words of anger
and revolt.
The balance of the swearwords
quoted by Brassens shows that the majority of the traditional oaths in France
derive from the religion of the population. They refer to the Christian God, to
Jesus Christ, to the Saints and to the beliefs and rituals of the Catholic
Church. By calling on our Gods, we are conforming to normal
religious practice, Christians do this in prayer. However, to do
this while swearing shows total disrespect. All well brought-up
children in Christian countries know that swearing is wrong and are frequently
admonished to wash their mouths out after transgressing. This mild,
domestic reprimand is overshadowed, however, by a much more ancient and awesome
authority. The bible tells us that when Moses received the commandments from
God, the third in importance was the injunction that the name of God should not
be taken in vain.
It would seem that by calling on
religious forces wantonly in oaths, we are tinkering with the mighty
electricity of the universe by which God controls his creation. The
Book of Deuteronomy describes in horrific detail how the God of the Old
Testament channels his corrective discipline in the form of curses- Chapter 28
verse 15 onwards:
But it shall come to pass, if thou
wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his
commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these
curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
Cursed [shall be] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the
increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep……
Deu 28:28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and
astonishment of heart"
The Church of the rulers of the
Holy Roman Empire saw themselves as delegated to tap into these powers of the
almighty and harnessed them in ecclesiastical curses against the enemies of
their faith. A famous example is the Ernulphus curse, used by the Roman Church
in excommunications. tTis curse is quoted at some length in Lawrence
Sterne’s “Tristram Shandy”.
The common people were prohibited,
however, from calling on these powers and numerous women, who thought they had
the gift to do so, were burnt alive as witches. Under the same
ruling, the casual references to the deity in popular swearwords were also
condemned by the rulers of the Church. They were convinced that the
people’s habit of cursing, taking in vain not only God’s name but also
the beliefs and rituals of the Church impinged on the Church’s role and
diminished its prestige. Swearing was therefore strongly and
sometimes cruelly suppressed under the blasphemy laws.
Under the system of the joint
share of absolute power by Church and state in Europe it fell to the sovereign
to mete out punishment for this offence against the
Church and the sovereigns undertook this
responsibility from the 13th century until the 18th century.
Wikipedia tells that the last
person hanged for blasphemy in Great Britain was Thomas Aikenhead aged 20, in
Scotland in 1697. He was prosecuted for words which denied the veracity of the
Old Testament and the legitimacy of Christ's miracles.
Below is a painting by Gerard
Hoet, dated 1728: “The Blasphemer Stoned”
In spite of the countermeasures,
swearing could not be wiped out. An escape which people used
in order to continue to break the religious taboos was to disguise the
religious content by mincing words or phrases or substituting different nouns
for the divine. In French these oaths are called « blasphèmes
dérivés » or « blasphèmes euphémistiques”. Brassens’ song
gives us a long list.
Ironically, it was sometimes the
sovereigns themselves, who in their compulsion to use a good curse, turned to
this neutralized language. It is said that the French king Henri IV
(1553-1610), who had the habit of using the strong derived oath “jarnidieu” –“
I deny God” was advised by his confessor, Father Coton, to
substitute his own name. As a result the sterilised oath “jarnicoton” came into
use –line 18 in Brassens’ song.
In this song Brassens is
regretting the loss in our times of the wealth of colourful oaths used for
centuries past. The famous English writer, Robert Graves (1895-
1985) in his little book “Lars Porsena or the future of swearing (1929)”
expresses the same sentiment. Graves suggests that swearing as
an art in England reached its high water mark in the late eighteenth century at
a period when the reformed church in England was somewhat somnolent and
relaxed. He talks of the swearing duels that took place and,
probably tongue in cheek, he analyses the essence of the poetry of swearing
(page 47): “…. the alliterative emphasis and rhythm of swearing, …
the maximum nervous reaction that can be got from a normal subject by
combinations and permutations of the oath.” He speaks
admiringly (page 27) of those who swore “luxuriantly, from
anti-institutional conviction.” When I discussed this extract with my
well-read Russian daughter-in-law, she told me that there is still a strong
tradition of swearing in Russia, where it is sourced by a rich vocabulary,
which its most skilled practitioners can turn into an impressive rhetorical
art.
The gradual onset of democracy in
Europe saw the weakening of traditional prohibitions imposed by princes and
priests. Without the consciousness of breaking the awesome taboos of
an all-powerful Church, the old oaths became nothing more than standard expressions
of irritation.
Those who felt the need to
shock and express social revolt from then on found greater power in
swearwords that broke the sexual taboos. Robert Graves and
apparently Georges Brassens saw this as the moment when swearing went into
decline having lost the grandeur of its revolt. Offending a few strait-laced
persons did not compare with sniping at the ruthless dictatorial heads of
Church and state.
Brassens mentions only four
obscene words (and mild ones at that) “bougre” and “bigre” on line on line
19, “fichtre” and “foutre” on line 21.
I became aware of the word
“foutre” immediately after I arrived in Arras to take up a post of English
assistant. I incorporated the verb with all its variants into my
active vocabulary. It was only several months later after a meeting
with the female teachers of the girls’ lycée, that I was informed that the word
I was using profusely was similar to the English word “f*ck”, which I would not
think of using in its oath form in English.
Brassens is of the opinion that
the contemporary habit of swearing using a limited number of obscene words has
destroyed the previous inventive and vivid art. He cites the
paucity of the invective of the modern hussar compared with that of hussars in
previous centuries. Robert Graves has once again exactly the same
opinion. Graves had been an army officer during the First World War
(His memoirs: “Goodbye to all that” are widely recognized as a
masterpiece). He despaired of the unimaginative monotony in the
swearing reported when soldiers appeared before him charged with
insubordination. We read on page 41 of Graves’s book:
"Orderly-room charges of
obscene and blasphemous language show a distressing sameness:
“Sir, the accused called me a
f*cking c*nt” or
“Sir, the accused called me a
f*cking prick.”
Both Brassens and Graves believe
that swearing has had its day. Those of us who lived with it during
our military service, blasting loud and long in our ears, would not
regret its passing.
D.Y. 21/06/2013
