Frere Jacques (Are You Sleeping; Brother John)

DESCRIPTION: French: "Frere Jacques (x2), Dormez-vous (x2), Sonnez les matines (x2), Din din don (x2)." English: "Are you sleeping (x2), Brother John? (x2), Morning bells are ringing (x2), Ding ding dong (x2)."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1811 (melody in "Le Clw du Caveau...")
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND IN: US France
REFERENCES (12 citations):
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 412, "Frere Jacques (Brother John)" (1 English and 1 French text)
Pankake/Pankake-PrairieHomeCompanionFolkSongBook, p. 268, "Brother John" (1 text, tune referenced)
Jack-PopGoesTheWeasel, p. 38, "Frere Jacques" (1 text)
Fuld-BookOfWorldFamousMusic, pp. 237-238
Harbin-Parodology #330, p. 81, "Are You Sleeping" (1 text, 1 tune)
Rodeheaver-SociabilitySongs, p. 121, "Are You Sleeping?" (1 text, 1 tune)
BoyScoutSongbook1997, p. 31, "Are You Sleeping?" (1 text, 1 tune)
National-4HClubSongBook, p. 31, "Are You Sleeping" (1 text, 1 tune)
SongsOfManyNations, "Are You Sleeping" (1 text, 1 tune) (CC edition, p. 33)
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p. 435, 436, 437, 441, 442, 447, "Are You Sleeping"/"Frère Jacques" (notes only; observe that Averill counts the French and English versions as separate songs)
DT, FRERJACQ*
ADDITIONAL: Edith Fowke and Richard Johnston, _Folk Songs of Quebec (Chansons de Quebec)_, Waterloo Music Company, 1957, p. 11, "Frere Jacques (Brother John)" (1 French text plus English translation, 1 tune)
SAME TUNE:
Rheumatism (File: ACSF255R)
Perfect Posture (File: Paro339)
Turkey Dinner (Pankake/Pankake-PrairieHomeCompanionFolkSongBook, p. 21)
Next Thanksgiving (Pankake/Pankake-PrairieHomeCompanionFolkSongBook, p. 21)
Cheer Up (Cheer up, ???, cheer up, ???, Smile awhile, smile awhile") (Harbin-Parodology #327, p. 81)
Black-Eyed Susan ("Black-eyed Susan! Black-eyed Susan! How are you? How are you?") (Harbin-Parodology #338, p. 84)
Uncle Jacob ("Uncle Jacob, Uncle Jacob, Smoked his pipe, smoked his pipe") (Harbin-Parodology, #340, p. 84)
Shall We Tell You? (cf. Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p. 436)
Scrape Your Dishes (cf. Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p. 436)
We Are Hungry (cf. Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p. 436)
You Were Primping (cf. Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p. 436)
NOTES [82 words]: Fuld reports that a manuscript copy of this tune was made c. 1780 (under another title); the melody was published in 1811. Words and music were first published together in 1860.
Jack-PopGoesTheWeasel lists several monks or friars who might be the subject of this song, including notably Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar (for whose death see the notes to "King Henry Fifth's Conquest of France" [Child 164]) -- but even he concedes that none of these is likely. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: FSWB412F

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