Notes

After singing the verse above, "pommier" can be changed to "poirier" (pear tree), "prunier" (plum tree), "cerisier" (cherry tree), etc... and you can sing it again.

The version below is reported as a voyageurs' song in the 4th chapter of Wau-bun by Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzie (first printed in 1858). The voyageurs were French-Canadians involved in the fur trade in Canada and the upper Midwest of the US, mainly during the 18th and 19th centuries. The fur trade was done by canoe over large distances.

The version of the song below can also be found in "Chicago: an instructive and entertaining history of a wonderful city : with a useful stranger's guide" (1888).

Michaud est monté dans un prunier,
Pour treiller des prunes,
La branche a cassé -
Michaud a tombé ?
Où est-ce qu'il est ?
II est en bas.
O, réveille, réveille, réveille !*
O, réveille, Michaud est en haut !

English translation

Michaud climbed into a plum tree
To gather plums
The branch broke
Did Michaud fall down?
Where is he?
He's down on the ground.
Oh, wake up, wake up, wake up!
Oh, wake up, Michaud is up in the tree.

* "Réveille" seems to be the result of a mishearing. This song is known to say "Relève, relève…" i.e. "get up, get up" which makes more sense –Cf. the version at the top.

Thanks and Acknowledgements

1st Version translated by Lisa, 2nd version by Monique.