Happy Fat Tuesday!
Please forgive my early posting. International travel for the next 5 days will keep me away from my computer.
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“Tri Martolod”—Traditional Breton Folk Song
This song comes to us from the region of France known as Brittany, in the far northwest corner of the country. Brittany’s unique cultural and linguistic heritage makes it one of the more fascinating regions of France (in my humble opinion).
Brittany is known as one of the “Six Celtic Nations,” the others being Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man. The area’s Celtic roots are reflected strongly in the local music. Marching groups of bagpipers known as bagadoù employ Scottish highland pipes, bombardes (traditional double-reed woodwinds), and a drumline to whip up an incredible racket (for a fine example, click here). There’s also a plethora of airs, religious chants, and sea shanties. “Tri Martolod” is the quintessential Breton sea shanty.
Although versions of this popular song were around in the early half of the 20th century (Polig Montjarret), the song became a much wider success after its interpretation by noted Breton music revivalist Alan Stivell in the early 70s.
As with many sea shanties, this one has numerous variable sets of lyrics. Here’s the set that I used:
“Tri martolod yaouank... la la la...
Tri martolod yaouank i vonet da veajiñ (bis)
“E vonet da veajiñ, gê!
E vonet da veajiñ (bis)
“Gant 'n avel bet kaset... la la la...
Gant 'n avel bet kaset beteg an Douar Nevez (bis)
“Beteg an Douar Nevez, gê!
Beteg an Douar Nevez (bis)
“E-kichen mein ar veilh... la la la...
E-kichen mein ar veilh o deus mouilhet o eorioù (bis)
“O deus mouilhet o eorioù, gê !
O deus mouilhet o eorioù (bis)
“Hag e-barzh ar veilh-se... la la la...
Hag e-barzh ar veilh-se e oa ur servijourez (bis)
“Pelec'h hor graet konesañs, gê !
Pelec'h hor graet konesañs (bis)
“En Naoned er marc'had... la la la...
En Naoned er marc'had on-oa choajet ur walenn (bis)”
And here’s the English translation (same source):
“Three young sailors, tra la la…
Three young sailors went traveling
“Went traveling!
Went traveling!
“And the wind pushed them… la la la
The wind pushed them to Newfoundland
“All the way to Newfoundland!
All the way to Newfoundland
“Next to the windmill stone… la la la
Next to the windmill stone, they threw down the anchor
“They threw down the anchor!
They threw down the anchor!
“And in that windmill… la la la
And in that windmill was a servant girl
“Where have we met before?
Where have we met before?
“We met in Nantes at the market… la la la
In Nantes at the market, we chose a ring.”
For those who haven’t been paying attention, I’ve been devoting a lot of time and energy lately to exposing some of this lesser-known Celtic music to the 5-string banjo. I hope that these efforts will preserve the beauty and diversity of the tradition for another generation or so. I believe musical traditions are like languages; each tells us something different about the multi-faceted nature of humanity.
May this inspire you to greater and more productive banjo-ing. Enjoy!
-Nathan
P.S. The attached video is played on a 4-string banjo, but the tablature file is for a 5-string.
P.P.S. For a few more versions of the song:
-Nolwenn Leroy (pretty, modern Breton singer)
-Shannon (Polish folk band)
-Les Chipettes (female version of Alan and the Chipmunks ***REALLY ANNOYING***)
-Manau (French hip-hop group that used the tune for an original rap)