Auròst tà Joan Petit [English translation]

In the land of Villefranche,

They rose up by the thousands,

Against the great king of France,

In 1643,

But yes, poor thing, but yes, poor thing,

In 1643.

To wage war against the taxes,1

They chose three captains,

One was Laforca, the other Lapalha,

Little John was the third.

But yes, poor thing, but yes, poor thing,

Little John was the third.

From all across Occitania,

They called them the Croquants,2

They didn’t have any other choices,

But misery or blood.

But yes, poor thing, but yes, poor thing

But misery or blood.

And they were, because of too much hope,

Hunted by the powerful.

All they knew was treason,

Something that has never changed.

But yes, poor thing, but yes poor thing,

Something that has never changed.

They put them on the breaking wheel,3

And they crushed all their bones,

At that time, that was how they did things

To die like that, bit by bit.

But yes, poor thing, but yes poor thing,

To die like that, bit by bit.

And it was a sad dance,

With the leg, and the foot, and the finger,

Like that, for the king of France,

Like that, Little John danced.

But yes, poor thing, but yes, poor thing,

Like that, Little John danced.

And history made its journey,

It’s taken the paths of songs,

The way of the children’s round,4

But today we know, you and I.

But yes, poor thing, but yes, poor thing,

But today we know, you and I.

1. Specifically, a direct feudal tax levied on all people who were not members of the nobility or the clergy during the Ancien Régime. 2. see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquant_rebellions 3. see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_wheel 4. type of song sung by groups of people with each subset of people starting at a different time