(A voyageur song which originated in France.)
Curtis & Loretta Version:
RW Version:
French:
M’en revenant de la jolie Rochelle,
M’en revenant de la jolie Rochelle,
J’ai rencontré trois jolies demoiselles.
Chorus:
C’est l’aviron qui nous mène, qui nous mène,
C’est l’aviron qui nous mène en haut.
J’ai rencontré trois jolies demoiselles
J’ai rencontré trois jolies demoiselles
J’ai point choisi, mais j’ai pris la plus belle.
J’ai point choisi, mais j’ai pris la plus belle
J’ai point choisi, mais j’ai pris la plus belle
J’l’y fis monter derrièr’ moi, sur ma selle.
J’l’y fis monter derrièr’ moi, sur ma selle
J’l’y fis monter derrièr’ moi, sur ma selle
J’y fis cent lieues sans parler avec elle.
J’y fis cent lieues sans parler avec elle
J’y fis cent lieues sans parler avec elle
Au bout d’cent lieues, ell’ me d’mandit à boire.
Au bout d’cent lieues, ell’ me d’mandit à boire
Au bout d’cent lieues, ell’ me d’mandit à boire
Je l’ai menée auprès d’une fontaine.
Je l’ai menée auprès d’une fontaine
Je l’ai menée auprès d’une fontaine
Quand ell’ fut là, ell’ ne voulut point boire.
Quand ell’ fut là, ell’ ne voulut point boire
Quand ell’ fut là, ell’ ne voulut point boire
Je l’ai menée au logis de son père.
Je l’ai menée au logis de son père
Je l’ai menée au logis de son père
Quand ell’ fut là, ell buvait à pleins verres.
Quand ell’ fut là, ell’ buvait à pleins verres
Quand ell’ fut là, ell’ buvait à pleins verres
A la santé de son père et sa mère.
A la santé de son père et sa mère
A la santé de son père et sa mère
A la santé de ses soeurs et ses frères.
A la santé de ses soeurs et ses frères
A la santé de ses soeurs et ses frères
A la santé d’celui que son coeur aime.
English:
Riding along the road to Rochelle City,
Riding along the road to Rochelle City,
I met three girls, and all of them were pretty
Chorus:
Pull on the oars as we glide along together,
Pull on the oars as we glide along.
By chance I chose the one who was the beauty,
By chance I chose the one who was the beauty,
Lifted her up so she could ride beside me.
With never a word we rode along together,
With never a word we rode along together,
After a while, she said, “I’d like a drink, sir.”
Quickly I found a spring from out the mountain,
Quickly I found a spring from out the mountain,
But she’d not drink the water from the fountain.
On then we went to find her home and father,
On then we went to find her home and father,
When we got there, she drank… but not of water.
Many a toast she drank to her dear mother,
Many a toast she drank to her dear mother,
Toasted again her sister and her brother.
When she had drunk to sister and to brother,
When she had drunk to sister and to brother,
Turning to me, she toasted her own lover.
The Minnesota Heritage Songbook 
That’s really not a correct translation, but I guess it is the English version people sing. Here, I’ll do it: “On my way back from the lovely Rochelle, I happened upon 3 pretty maidens. (chorus) It’s the rowing that leads us to the heights. (verses again) I met 3 pretty maidens. I didn’t choose any, but I took the prettiest. I had her mount up behind me on my saddle. I went 100 leagues without talking to her. At the end of 100 leagues, she asked me for a drink. I took her near a fountain. When she got there, she wouldn’t drink anything. I took her to the home of her father. There, she drank full glasses! To the health of her father and mother . To the health of her sisters and brothers. To the health of the one who her heart loves.” Serves him right for taking a pretty maiden without asking if she wanted to go with him!!! I’m not convinced that Rochelle is a city :) Written like that I’m thinking that he has a girl in another port :) Peace, Rachel.
Songs that are correctly translated from one language to another fall into two classes: The ones which are translated literally and can’t be sung, and the ones that are singable but are not entirely accurate translations. As singable translations go, this one is actually pretty good. :-) I’m not sure it was ever passed on in tradition in English; I suspect this has more Edith Fowke than oral transmission in its past….
La Rochelle is an Atlantic port city in France. Many emigrants to New France left from there
Larochelle is a port in France from which many French men left to come to New France, as it was called at the time, to work in the fur trade as voyageurs. Many left sweethearts behind and many married native women, giving rise to the Métis population in Western Canada. This explains why so many native Americans and Métis bear French names. This was their song as they paddled the big freighter canoes laden with furs. At the time, France had no intention of establishing a colony, it was all about the fur trade. It was the missionaries who convinced the king to send young orphaned women from France (the so called Filles du Roi) to marry the men, as the priests resented the men coupling with native women, which they literally termed debauchery. Thus the colonization of Canada began. The song is commemorated in museums in Saskatchewan, Minnesota and other areas in North America where the fur trade took place. It represents the loneliness the men felt for their homeland which they left through Larochelle, and their longing for their sweethearts. By the way Rachel, an aviron is a paddle, thus the song means it is the paddle which takes us to the high country…. etc. Every French Canadian kid learns the song either from their parents or at school, and its origin and meaning.
Gerard Legault, French Canadian and voyageur descendant.
In context, “qui nous mène en haut” does not translate as “leads us to the heights” but as “leading us upstream.” “Les pays d’en-haut” was the general term for the inland areas where fur trade and later mining and logging occurred. See also Upper Canada and Lower Canada (“Haut-Canada et Bas-Canada.”).
The letter H is not pronounced in the beginning of a word such as Haut . Mostly it is as Aut say O. Quebecois say O for haut . Acadians say Aricot for Haricot the corruption of this has led to the Cajun word for a style of Louisiana music Zydaco meaning les aricots meaning The Beans.
Is this song from a movie.
I swear i heard this before
It may have been used in a movie at some time; I wouldn’t know. But the voyageurs no longer existed by the time movies were being made! The song was first printed in 1865, so it predates the movies.