Le Rossignol Anglais (The British Nightingale)

[Jean Pierre]

It is a Venezuelan song of Juan Vicente Torealba
Hugues Auffray in the 60's made a nice version with French lyrics by Pierre Delanoe under the title "Le rossignol anglais".
I wanted to make it to use an instrument that I use little but which is rather nice the Autoharpe
It is an instrument of North American origin, it is played in the Appalachians for bluegrass and folk music, country



The characteristic of this instrument which differentiates it from the other zithers is a case placed above the strings in the direction of the width of the instrument. This case contains a set of bars (the number of which varies according to the instrument) equipped with dampers that neutralize the vibration of the strings chosen in advance and thus allow to obtain chords with the other free strings. They are activated by pressing buttons and return to their initial position thanks to a system of springs.

So you can simply obtain major, minor and 7th chords...but don't be fooled by the apparent simplicity of the instrument, there are virtuosos who play it with tabs (as for the banjo, or the dobro) and make melodies accompanied by picking
as exemple  Karen Mueller  IRISH Autoharp solo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbKApkQe2Jk

The lyrics and translation

Ma mignonne mignonnette
Promène-moi dans ta maison
Cache-moi dans ta cachette
J'te dirai des chansons
Je me ferai tout gentil
Je te promets d'être sage
Et quand tu liras la nuit
Je te tournerai les pages
Chante, chante rossignol, trois couplets en espagnol
Et tout le reste en anglais,
Chante, chante rossignol, trois couplets en espagnol
Et tout le reste en anglais
Ma mignonne mignonnette
Emmène-moi dans ton lit
Couche moi dans ta couchette
Il va faire bon dans ton nid
J'ai tellement voyagé
Tellement connu de dames
Je suis très très fatigué
Tu apaiseras mon âme
Chante, chante rossignol, trois couplets en espagnol
Et tout le reste en anglais, ho-ho-la
Chante, chante rossignol, trois couplets en espagnol
Et tout le reste en anglais

______________________

My cute little girl
Take me to your house
Hide me in your hideaway
I'll tell you songs
I'll be all nice
I promise to be good
And when you read at night
I'll turn the pages for you
Sing, sing nightingale, three verses in Spanish
And everything else in English,
Sing, sing nightingale, three verses in Spanish
And all the rest in English
My sweet, sweet girl
Take me to your bed
Lay me down in your bunk
It's gonna be nice in your nest
I've traveled so much (rrr
So many ladies I've met
I'm very very tired
You will soothe my soul
Sing, sing nightingale, three verses in Spanish
And all the rest in English, ho-ho-la
Sing, sing nightingale, three verses in Spanish
And all the rest in English

[Blooby]

Dripping with vibe. Lyrically, certainly not what I expected. Thanks for the translation. Love that little reverbed percussion.

Blooby

[thetworegs]

Beautiful..... transporting I feel I woke in Venezuela this morning .....or did I? Best check out through the window

[Ray Brookes]

Beautifully played and sung, JP. That autoharp is fantastic and I loved watching Karen Mueller's virtuoso performance. In the photograph you look very focused and dedicated to the instrument.

[des0free]

Enjoyed it!  I like the autoharp!  Have you seen Kami Maltz on youtube, who also uses that very well, one of the collaborators of Josh Turner Guitar?

[Jean Pierre]

Desofree

Have you seen Kami Maltz on youtub/quote]
Yes I saw this video with Josh Turner...excellent
I'm going to try to improve my playing with finguer picks because you can play melodies that way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm9akF6SgYU