À la Claire Fontaine
Traditional French and French-Canadian song, very popular in Quebec
Information:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80_la_claire_fontaine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80_la_claire_fontaine
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%80_la_claire_fontaine
The song also has a hidden political meaning of resistance against British invasion of Quebec, and it was sung by the Québécois as a sign of resistance: the Rose representing the British, the clear fountain representing the Saint Laurent River, and the sentence "I've loved you for a long time, I will never forget you" is intended for France and the French land of Quebec. (Wikipedia)
French and German lyrics
Les Quatre Barbus (a cappella)
À la claire fontaine
À la claire fontaine
M’en allant promener
J’ai trouvé l’eau si belle
Que je m’y suis baigné
Il y a longtemps que je t’aime,
Jamais je ne t’oublierai
Sous les feuilles d’un chêne,
Je me suis fait sécher.
Sur la plus haute branche,
Un rossignol chantait.
Il y a longtemps que je t’aime,
Jamais je ne t’oublierai
Chante, rossignol, chante,
Toi qui as le cœur gai.
Tu as le cœur à rire…
Moi je l’ai à pleurer.
Il y a longtemps que je t’aime,
Jamais je ne t’oublierai.
J'ai perdu mon amie
Sans l'avoir mérité.
Pour un bouquet de roses
Que je lui refusai…
Il y a longtemps que je t’aime,
Jamais je ne t’oublierai.
Je voudrais que la rose
Fût encore au rosier,
Et que ma douce amie
Fût encore à m'aimer.
Il y a longtemps que je t’aime,
Jamais je ne t’oublierai.
English version
As I was walking by the clear fountain,
I found the water so lovely I had to bathe.
(refrain) I've loved you for so long, I will never forget you
Under the oak's leaves, I lay and dried.
On the highest bough, a nightingale sang.
(refrain)
Sing, nightingale, sing, you of the joyous heart.
Your heart is made for laughing... mine can only cry.
(refrain)
I lost my love without deserving it,
Because of a rosebud I kept from him...
(refrain)
I wish the rose were still on the bush,
And my sweetheart loved me still.