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
A-a-a-ah
Lark, nice lark
Lark, I’ll pluck you.
I’ll pluck your head
I’ll pluck your head
And your head, and your head
Lark, lark. A-a-a-ah
Ethnomusicologist Conrad LaForte points out that, in song, the lark (l'alouette) is the bird of the morning, and that it is the first bird to sing in the morning, hence waking up lovers and causing them to part, and waking up others as well, something which is not always appreciated. In French songs, the lark also has the reputation of being a gossip, a know-it-all, and cannot be relied on to carry a message, as she will tell everyone; she also carries bad news. ~Conrad LaForte, Survivances médiévales dans la chanson folklorique, Université Laval Press, 1981 (from Wikipedia)