P'tit quinquin

"P'tit quinquin" is a song by Alexandre Desrousseaux which was written in 1853 in Picard language. Picard language is closely related to French, and is spoken in two regions in the north of France – Nord-Pas-de-Calais and in parts of the Belgian region Wallonia.

This simple lullaby (P'tit quinquin means "little child") marks the revival of Picard language in the area, to the extent that it became the marching song of the northern soldiers leaving for the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Today it could be called the unofficial anthem of the French city Lille, and more generally of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

The famous refrain (in Picard language):	might be translated into French as:
Dors, min p'tit quinquin, Min p'tit pouchin, min gros rojin Te m'fras du chagrin Si te n'dors point ch'qu'à d'main.	Dors, mon petit enfant, Mon petit poussin, mon gros raisin, Tu me feras du chagrin Si tu ne dors pas jusqu'à demain.
And into English literally as:
"Sleep, my little child, My little chick, my plump grape, You will cause me grief If you don't sleep until tomorrow."

See also

• Folk music

External links

• Le P'tit quinquin - Full lyrics in Picard (left), and a translation into French (right); also has a sound file of the chorus being sung in Picard (.wav and .ra formats)