J'ai vu le loup

J'ai vu le loup ("I saw the wolf") is a French folk song, and also a nursery rhyme. Due to it having been transmitted orally, it is difficult to pinpoint its exact origin, though the earliest versions date back to the High Middle Ages. Many versions exist in the French-speaking world, both in langue d'oc and langue d'oïl.

The lyrics vary among versions, but always include a peasant having seen a wolf at the head of a list of other animals, and having seen the wolf (and other animals) behave in a human-like manner, such as partaking in drink, dance and song.

J'ai vu le loup, le renard, le lièvre (Burgundy)
The lyrics evoke the participation of a peasant musician in a celebration, perhaps a Sabbath, held deep in the woods by members of the upper classes, designated by animal figures (or masks). It ends with the Latin invocation Miserere ("have mercy upon me."). Melodically, it is a parody of the liturgical Dies iræ; its origins date back to the 15th century in the country of Beaune and there are numerous variations in the French regions. It is also sung as a nursery rhyme as these songs could express, for example, the fear of wolves or, at least, exorcise this fear in children. Composer Maurice Emmanuel included a classical piano setting in his collection Trente Chansons bourguignonnes du Pays de Beaune, at the beginning of the 20th century.

Ai vist lo lop, lo rainard, la lèbre (Occitania)
This version is estimated to date from the 13th century, and has been transmitted orally since then until the 21st century, as a nursery rhyme. This is the most detailed and crude version. Here, it describes not the participation but the testimony of a peasant outraged by the notables' revelry. Sexual metaphors suggest an orgy: dancing around the tree (phallus) and around the leafy bush (vulva). The second verse expresses the anger of this hard-working peasant, scandalized by the debauchery of the elites, with crude words. The little money earned is too quickly "shoved up the ass".

La Jument de Michao (Brittany)
The song has been known in Upper Brittany for many centuries, but it wasn't until the folk revival of the 1970s, when the song was recorded as La Jument de Michao, or J'entends le loup, le renard et la belette, by the folk group Kouerien in 1973. The rendition by Tri Yann on their 1976 album La Découverte ou l'Ignorance, made it reach a wider audience, which has spawned various adaptations.

Le loup, le renard et la belette (Acadiana)
The most well known Cajun version is musically very close to the Breton version, but lyrically to the Occitan version. Here again, someone testifies to a secret party reserved for a social elite. The sexual imagery is more explicit, together with the presence and undoubtedly the exploitation of a child which shocks the narrator, who imagines his own in his place.

Le loup, le renard, le lièvre (Québec)
There are only two verses left in the Canadian version. They are sung while tapping their feet to make people dance. It is usually coupled with another song to serve as a chorus, specifically with the songs Derrière chez-nous y a-t-un étang and En revenant de Saint-André . In both cases, the melody remains the same, and the song is called Le loup, le renard, le lièvre.

Some recordings

 * "J'ai vu le loup, le renard chanter" (parody of liturgical Dies Irae) Le Poème Harmonique, Vincent Dumestre
 * "J'ai vu le loup" (instrumental), Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien
 * "J'ai vu le loup", on Nouveau Monde by Patricia Petibon
 * "J'ai vu le loup", on Ballads by Custer La Rue
 * "J'ai vu le loup", BeauSoleil, Michael Doucet
 * "J'ai Vu Le Loup, Le Renard Et La Belette" by Balfa Brothers
 * "J'ai vû le loup", on La Roque and Roll: Popular Music of Renaissance France by The Baltimore Consort