# Alouette

"Alouette" is a French-Canadian cumulative song, first published in Montreal in 1879, in which the singer cheerfully threatens to pluck a lark feather by feather; it has become an unofficial anthem of French Canada.

## At a glance

| | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | France |
| Sung in | French |
| Words by | Traditional |
| First known | first published 1879 (Montreal) |
| Best for ages | 2–7 |
| Mood | playful, traditional |
| Page | https://littlesongbook.com/songs/alouette/ |

## Lyrics

### Verse 1 (fr)

Alouette, gentille alouette,
Alouette, je te plumerai.
Je te plumerai la tête,
Je te plumerai la tête.
Et la tête, et la tête,
Alouette, alouette, ah!

### English translation (en)

Lark, gentle lark,
Lark, I will pluck you.
I will pluck your head,
I will pluck your head.
And the head, and the head,
Lark, lark, ah!

## How to sing it

1. Sing it as a call-and-response — a leader names a body part and the group echoes it back.
2. Add a new part each round (head, beak, neck, wings…) and pile up all the previous ones, like "The Twelve Days of Christmas".
3. Speed up as the list grows longer; the fun is in keeping the whole chain going.

## Common questions

**What does "Alouette" actually say?**

It is cheerfully gruesome: "Lark, gentle lark, I will pluck you." The singer then works through the bird's body part by part — I'll pluck your head, your beak, your neck, and so on — piling each new part on top of the last. It is a list-and-repeat game, not really about the poor lark at all.

**Where is "Alouette" from?**

From French Canada. Although many assume it is French, it was first published in Montreal in 1879, and is linked to the North American French fur trade — the first French (from France) printing came 14 years later.

**Why a lark?**

In French folk tradition the lark is the morning bird that wakes sleepers — sometimes unwelcomely — which may be why the song playfully threatens to pluck it. Today it is sung as a light-hearted game and stands as an unofficial anthem of French Canada.

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — Alouette (song)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alouette_(song))
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1138836