Bailero - Song From The Auvergne

This is actually one of the Songs of the Auvergne collected by the French composer Joseph Canteloube; several artists have recorded songs from this collection

The Auvergne is an region in France, west of Lyon. The language spoken there, Auvergnan, is a dialect of the Occitan (aka Languedoc/Provençal) language, which is still spoken by a decent percentage of the population of southern France today. It is rarely heard of, however, because the French government refuses to give it any official recognition or status, and they brush the language aside by saying it is only a "dialect" of French, which is a lie. Occitan in fact, is a Romance language much older than French. There is also a law in France saying that only French can be used in public.

The song is in the Auvergnan language and a translation of the above lines was sent to me by Adelaide. Apparently the words "baïlèro lô" are not translatable.

Baïlèro(Auvergnan)
Pastrè dè délaï l'aïo,
As gaïré dè buon tèms?
Dio lou baïlèro lèrô,
Lèrô lèrô lèrô lèrô baïlèro lô.

Pastré lou prat faï flour,
Li cal gorda toun troupel.
Dio lou baïlèro lèrô,
Lèrô lèrô lèrô lèrô baïlèro lô.

Pastré couci foraï,
En obal io lou bel riou!
Dio lou baïlèro lèrô,
Lèrô lèrô lèrô lèrô baïlèro lô.

Baïlèro

Shepherd across the river,
You're hardly having a good time,
Sing baïlèro lèrô

Shepherd, the meadows are in bloom.
You should graze your flock on this side,
Sing baïlèro lèrô

Shepherd, the water divides us,
And I can't cross it,
Sing baïlèro lèrô

Adelaide informs me that Sarah does not sing the entire song as it appears on her Virgin classics recording of Chants d'Auvergne (7243 5 61120 2 5); the translation given on that recording reads in full:

Shepherd across the river,
You're hardly having a good time,
Sing baïlèro lèrô
No, I'm not,
And you, too, can sing baïlèro

Shepherd, the meadows are in bloom.
You should graze your flock on this side,
Sing baïlèro lèrô
The grass is greener in the meadows on this side,
Baïlèro lèrô

Shepherd, the water divides us,
And I can't cross it,
Sing baïlèro lèrô
Then I'll come down and find you,
Baïlèro lèrô