TRADITIONAL SONGS OF AGRICULTURE SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP PROJECT TRACE (Discovering Traditional Crafts Across Europe) TRADITIONAL SONGS OF AGRICULTURE

La Bourbonnaise (a traditional tune) 1ST VERSE As I was passing by the St Gilles Ravine I met an old grand-father I asked him what he was doing there I am catching fish, he answered   2nd VERSE I met a wild cat. I asked him what he was doing there I am a wild cat, he answered Chorus: Yes, yes, my dear child Everyone has to struggle to make a living (bis)

Ça sent la banane (J. Farreyrol / reviewed version) It smells like banana) Chorus : It smells like banana, vanilla and cumin, like sugar cane, mango and tamarind. (bis) 1ST VERSE I am writing to you from my Creole island, To you, my friend from far away, from mainland France You say winter and coldness, there, Make you dream of my country, do come along then! 2nd VERSE Do you know, in January, flowers here are magnificient? For in our country, it’s summer time under the tropics. While your garden is covered with snow, Here the sun has already ripened the grapes. 3rdVERSE And, on the long lanes, the cane’s cutters, The cutlass in the hand, look like gypsies. The big flamboyant trees, at sunset time, Get undressed scattering their blood like petals. 4thVERSE I’ll have you taste our good jams, The palm tree’s hearts, the well ripened “sapotes” And, under the bougainvillea’s bower, With Isabelle, we will toast the coffee. 5thVERSE I will sing Creole romances for you That you’ll take back with you in your mother country. By the sea side, on the silver sand, You too will learn to dance « Maloya».