Au cours de mes voyages [first line] (AU1998-1073-009)
Dublin Core
Title
Au cours de mes voyages [first line] (AU1998-1073-009)
Subject
Description
Excerpt from interview of Alberta Gagné (TC1998-1073-009) by Martha Pellerin. Part of a project (VFC1998-0007) on Franco-American song in New England funded by the Vermont Folklife Center and undertaken by Pellerin. Interview is one in a series of six conducted between 1995-01-09 and 1995-12-06 as an effort to document the French language song repertoire of Gagné.
“Au cours de mes voyages” (”Over the course of my travels“) is Montreal songwriter and translater Roméo Beaudry’s 1921 setting of Aloha ʻOe" (“Farewell to Thee”), a Hawaiian popular song written circa 1878 by Liliʻuokalani (1838-1917), who was then Princess of the Hawaiian Kingdom. It is her most famous song and is a common cultural symbol for Hawaii. Parts of "Aloha 'Oe" resemble the song, "The Lone Rock by the Sea" and the chorus of George Frederick Root’s 1854 song, "There's Music in the Air.” "The Lone Rock by the Sea" mentioned was "The Rock Beside the Sea" published by Charles Crozat Converse in 1857, and itself derives from a Croatian/Serbian folk song, "Sedi Mara na kemen studencu” (Mary is Sitting on a Stone Well).
In 1913, a Hawaiian ensemble called The Hawaiian Quintette recorded “Aloha Oe” in Hawaiian on the Victor label B-13113. English-language and English-Hawaiian renditions of the song soon followed, and by the 1920s, it was arguably the best-known Hawaiian song and had sparked an infatuation in the United States for songs on Hawiian themes.
Roméo Beaudry (1882-1932) was, along with his friend Herbert Berliner, the most important producer of Canadian artists in the first half of the 20th century. During the 1920s, Beaudry’s Montreal-based Starr studio produced 693 francophone records, featuring almost every great name in Quebec lyric, folk and variety song with equal success. He was also a gifted song lyricist who translated and/or reimagined more than 150 French-language adaptations of hit American songs from the 1920s. He also composed original songs, of which more than 75 were recorded.
Beaudry’s French-language lyrics for “Aloha Oe” have virtually no connection to the original Hawaiian text nor its English translation. As is often the case, he borrowed the melody, but his text represents a complete re-imagining. In 1921, Montréal baritone Hector Pellerin recorded the Beaudry transliteration under the title “Aloha oe” on the Starr label. Montréal baritone Jean Cartier recorded a second version of Beaudry setting in 1928 on the Starr/Compo label (issue # 15499, matrix # 3446).
Alberta Gagné’s version presents the full set of lyrics from the Beaudry setting.
“Au cours de mes voyages” (”Over the course of my travels“) is Montreal songwriter and translater Roméo Beaudry’s 1921 setting of Aloha ʻOe" (“Farewell to Thee”), a Hawaiian popular song written circa 1878 by Liliʻuokalani (1838-1917), who was then Princess of the Hawaiian Kingdom. It is her most famous song and is a common cultural symbol for Hawaii. Parts of "Aloha 'Oe" resemble the song, "The Lone Rock by the Sea" and the chorus of George Frederick Root’s 1854 song, "There's Music in the Air.” "The Lone Rock by the Sea" mentioned was "The Rock Beside the Sea" published by Charles Crozat Converse in 1857, and itself derives from a Croatian/Serbian folk song, "Sedi Mara na kemen studencu” (Mary is Sitting on a Stone Well).
In 1913, a Hawaiian ensemble called The Hawaiian Quintette recorded “Aloha Oe” in Hawaiian on the Victor label B-13113. English-language and English-Hawaiian renditions of the song soon followed, and by the 1920s, it was arguably the best-known Hawaiian song and had sparked an infatuation in the United States for songs on Hawiian themes.
Roméo Beaudry (1882-1932) was, along with his friend Herbert Berliner, the most important producer of Canadian artists in the first half of the 20th century. During the 1920s, Beaudry’s Montreal-based Starr studio produced 693 francophone records, featuring almost every great name in Quebec lyric, folk and variety song with equal success. He was also a gifted song lyricist who translated and/or reimagined more than 150 French-language adaptations of hit American songs from the 1920s. He also composed original songs, of which more than 75 were recorded.
Beaudry’s French-language lyrics for “Aloha Oe” have virtually no connection to the original Hawaiian text nor its English translation. As is often the case, he borrowed the melody, but his text represents a complete re-imagining. In 1921, Montréal baritone Hector Pellerin recorded the Beaudry transliteration under the title “Aloha oe” on the Starr label. Montréal baritone Jean Cartier recorded a second version of Beaudry setting in 1928 on the Starr/Compo label (issue # 15499, matrix # 3446).
Alberta Gagné’s version presents the full set of lyrics from the Beaudry setting.
Abstract
During my travels, one lovely summer night, I saw on the beach the beautiful Aloha-Oé, captivated, I approached her, and in the darkening night I sang. The next day, the brunette, alas, did not return, and in the moon light I waited with a weary heart; oh sudden surprise, I heard from afar the voice of my sweetheart singing this refrain.
Source
VFC1998-0007 Martha Pellerin Collection. TC1998-1073 interview with Alberta Gagné. Vermont Folklife Center Archive, Vermont Folklife Center, Middlebury, Vermont, United States of America.
Date
Rights
Copyright (c) Vermont Folklife Center
Relation
Full Interview: vfc1998-0005_tc1998-1073
Language
fra
Identifier
vfc1998-0007_tc1998-1073-001a-009
Song Item Type Metadata
Supplied Title
Au cours de mes voyages (first line)
Standard Title
Aloha oé
Tranlsated Title
Refrain:
Aloha-oé, my beloved flower,
Let me be carried away by your smile,
I have come to tell you of my love,
Aloha-oé, I will love you forever.
eight-line verses, two verses and a single refrain sung after each verse
Aloha-oé, my beloved flower,
Let me be carried away by your smile,
I have come to tell you of my love,
Aloha-oé, I will love you forever.
eight-line verses, two verses and a single refrain sung after each verse
First Line
Au cours de mes voyages
Transcription
(BEGIN SINGING)
Au cours de mes voyages,
Par un beau soir d'été.
J’aperçu sur la plage.
La belle Aloha-oé,
Vers elle, l'âme m’éprise,
J'ai dirigé mes pas,
Et dans la nuit qui grise,
Je lui chantais tout bas :
[Refrain]:
Aloha-oé, ma fleur aimée,
Laisse-moi me griser de ton sourire,
Je viens te dire mon amour,
Aloha-oé, je t'aimerai toujours.
Le lendemain, la brune, hélas, ne revint pas,
Et moi, au clair de lune,
J'attendais le cœur las,
J'entendis dans le lointain soudain,
O surprise soudaine,
J’entendis de lointain,
La voix de ma brune,
Répéter mon refrain :
Refrain
(END SINGING)
Interviewer
Location
Original Format
sound cassette (analog)
Files
Citation
“Au cours de mes voyages [first line] (AU1998-1073-009),” Vermont Folklife Center Digital Collections, accessed November 23, 2024, https://vtfolklifearchive.org/collections/items/show/324.
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