Vocals and arrangement by Farya Faraji. La “Jument de Michao“ is a descendant of “Ai Vist lo Lop,“ a much earlier, 13th century medieval song from Occitania which features a similar thematic of the protagonist encountering a wolf, a fox and a hare partaking in human activities--dancing in the case of the first song and singing in the case of the second. This version is native to Brittany, France’s Celtic nation, and is an adaptation of the Western French “J’ai vu le loup, le renard, le lièvre,“ itself also descended from “Ai Vist lo Lop.“ One of the specific Breton aspects of this version is the deduct (ten to one couplet), typical of Upper Brittany.
Whilst the lyrics and language of the song are in French, the arrangement I’ve put together is traditionally Breton and Celtic, with the bagpipe and an overall Celtic sound being central to it.
Lyrics:
C’est dans dix ans je m’en irai,
J’entends le loup et le renard chanter,
J’entends le loup, le renard, et la belette,
J’entends le loup et le renard chanter,
C’est dans neuf ans je m’en irai,
La jument de Michao et son petit poulain,
A passé dans le pré et mangé tout le foin,
L’hiver viendra, les gars, l’hiver viendra
La jument de Michao, elle s’en repentira
Translation:
It’s in ten years, I’ll be leaving,
I hear the wolf and the fox singing,
I hear the wolf, the fox and the weasel,
I hear the wolf and the fox singing,
It’s in nine years, I’ll be leaving,
Michao’s mare and her little foal,
Passed through the meadow and ate all the hay,
Winter will come guys, winter will come,
Michaeo’s mare, she’ll repent for it,