"Alouette" is a well-known jolly French-Canadian children's song all about plucking feathers from a gentle lark. This is a fine accumulative song whereby the singer is obliged repeat the various parts of that unfortunate avian's anatomy from which its feathers are plucked. "Alouette" is definitely not in the top-ten charts of Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and while I'm at it, neither is The Wren Song. I am always struck by the casual cruelty in children's songs in practically all cultures. Here, the cruelty is completely at odds with the bright, cheerful melody. The version that I play can be found in Lieder, Songs und Gospels 1.

Lyrics