"Patapan" (or "Pat-a-pan") is a French

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

Burgundian Burgundian can refer to any of the following: *Someone or something from Burgundy. *Burgundians, an East Germanic tribe, who first appear in history in South East Europe. Later Burgundians colonised the area of Gaul that is now known as Burgundy (F ...

dialect, later adapted into English. It was written by Bernard de La Monnoye (1641–1728) and first published in ''Noël bourguignons'' in 1720. Its original title is "Guillô, Pran Ton Tamborin" ("Willie, Bring Your Little Drum" or "Willie, Take Your Little Drum"). The carol revolves around the birth of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, and is told from the perspective of shepherds playing simple instruments—flutes and drums—the

onomatopoeic Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', ''m ...

sound of which gives the song its name; "patapan" is meant to mimic the sound of the drum, and an accompanying lyric, "tu-re-lu-re-lu," the flute. This is similar conceptually to the carol "

The Little Drummer Boy "The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as "Carol of the Drum") is a popular Christmas song written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family, the song was further popularized by a 19 ...

", with its chorus of "pa-rum-pa-pum-pum."

Burgundian lyrics

French lyrics

English lyrics

Willie, bring your little drum, Robin take your flute and come!
When we hear the music bright we will sing Noel this night,
When we hear the fife and drum, Christmas should be frolicsome. Thus the men of olden days for the King of Kings to praise,
When they heard the fife and drum, tu-re-lu-re-lu, pat-a-pat-a-pan,
When they hear the fife and drum, sure, our children won't be dumb. God and man are now become more at one than fife and drum.
When you hear the fife and drum, tu-re-lu-re-lu, pat-a-pat-a-pan,
When you hear the fife and drum, dance and make the village hum.

English rhyming version (Patta-Patta-Pan, Turra-Lurra-Lay, Wisconsin, U.S.)

Billy, bring your new red drum,
Robby

obin Obin, real name Josephine Komara, is a textile designer from Indonesia. She is sometimes called a "national treasure" due to her passion for and promotion of traditional Indonesian batik techniques. Her work has achieved worldwide recognition, ...

get your fife and come
Fife and drum together play,
Patta-patta-pan, turra-lurra-lay,
Fife and drum together play,
On this joyous Holiday When the men of olden days
To the King of Kings gave praise,
On the fife and drum did play,
Patta-patta-pan, turra-lurra-lay,
On the fife and drum did play,
So their hearts were glad and gay There is music in the air
You can hear it everywhere,
Fife and drum together play,
Patta-patta-pan, turra-lurra-lay,
Fife and drum together play,
On this joyous Holiday God and man today become
More in tune than fife and drum,
Fife and drum together play,
Patta-patta-pan, turra-lurra-lay,
Fife and drum together play,
On this joyous Holiday

References

{{Authority control Christmas carols French-language Christmas carols

Burgundian lyrics

French lyrics

English lyrics

English rhyming version (Patta-Patta-Pan, Turra-Lurra-Lay, Wisconsin, U.S.)

See also

References