Sarah Brightman -- Les filles of Cadiz

Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Les filles de Cadiz aiment assez cela.
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Les filles de Cadiz aiment assez cela.
La-la-la ...
Les filles de Cadiz aiment assez cela.
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

Et nous dansions un bolero
Un soir c`etait dimanche.
Vers nous s`en vint un hidalgo,
Cousu d`or, plume au chapeau
Et le poing sur la hanche:
Si tu veux de moi,
Brune au doux sourire?
Tu n`as qu`a le dire
Cet or est á toi.
Passez votre chemin beau, sire.
Passez votre chemin beau, sire.

Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Les filles de Cadiz n`entendent pas cela.
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Les filles de Cadiz n`entendent pas cela.
La-la-la ...
Les filles de Cadiz n`entendent pas cela.
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

Music and lyrics: Léo Delibes (1836-1891); arr. Paul Bateman
The song originates from "Chanson Espagnol"

From: Video "Sarah Brightman in concert" (1997).

Source of the lyrics: thanks to Ira Tronza, with some interpuction by me (do not know if all of that is correct, though!).

The cover of the concert video and DVD say that the song is called "Chanson Espagnol" and that this is from "Les Filles de Cadiz". The program book of the concert, however, seems to indicate that "Les Filles de Cadiz" is the title of the song, and as such it also appears on recordings of other artists, of which I found track lists. Hence, here I will use "Les Filles de Cadiz" as the title. The question remains what "Chanson Espagnol" then is ...

 

On a web page which has gone now (http://eh.mit.edu/tengo/Composers/delibes.htm) about the French composer Léo Delibes it said:

Delibes also wrote church music (he had worked as a church organist) and some picturesque songs, among which Les Filles de Cadiz (The Girls of Cadiz) suggests the style of Bizet.

And another webpage that disappeard (http://immaculatasymphony.org/Nov96.html) said: writes:

Known primarily for his ballets, Leo Delibes nevertheless was recognized for his great wealth of melodic resources and successfully invested his talents in works for the voice. In addition to several operatic works, he published a collection of several charming songs, among which is "The Daughters of Cadiz", a light-hearted and lyrical work for soprano which shows that his skill at writing for the voice more than matched his ability with instruments.

 

See for some information on "Who is Leo Delibes?" among others:

• http://ilil.essortment.com/whoisleodelib_rkmo.htm
• http://www.maurice-abravanel.com/delibes_english.html
• http://71.1911encyclopedia.org/D/DE/DELIBES.htm

 
Using my very limited knowledge of French, a dictionary and ALtaVista's BabelFish translation I have tried to make a translation of the song. Not knowing the story behind the song, it is difficult at some lines to guess what is meant with the words (especially in the second part).

The word "basquine" [8th line] could mean a girl or woman from the Basque country in northern Spain, and since the beginning of the song tells about boys and girl, I used "Basque girl" as translation, and made of the 8th and 9th line:
     And if my Basque girl   /   Is well, this morning.
Then Shylton Dias informed me that "basquine" is referring to a a kind of feminine jacket used untill the 1800's, which is also called "Basquine a l'espagnole" -- see the image on the right. Using that makes the connection with the next line a little different. Perhaps like this:
     And whether my basquine   /   Looks well, this morning.
with "this morning" referring also to the previous two lines, i.e. starting from "Tell me, neighbour".

Note that "hidalgo" is also an English word: it is the title of a lower rank nobleman in Spain.

With thanks to Erin McGough, Sanam G. and David Landfair for some corrections and useful remarks.
If you have more corrections or suggestions for improvements, please let me know.
 

The girls of Cadiz

We had just seen the bull,
Three boys, three young girls.
In the field, the weather was fine.
And we danced a bolero,
At the sound of the castanets.
Tell me, neighbour,
If I am looking well
And whether my basquine
Loos well, this morning.
Do you think my figure is graceful?
Do you think my figure is graceful?

Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
The girls of Cadiz like that very much.
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
The girls of Cadiz like that very much.
La-la-la ...
The girls of Cadiz like that very much.
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

And we danced a bolero
One evening, it was Sunday.
Towards us came an hidalgo,
Wealthy, feather on the cap
And the fist on the hip:
If you want from me
Brown with the soft smile?
You only have to say it
This gold is yours.
Go your own path, good sir.
Go your own path, good sir.

Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
The girls of Cadiz do not hear that.
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
The girls of Cadiz do not hear that.
La-la-la ...
The girls of Cadiz do not hear that.
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

 
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created: 15 December 2000
last modified: 1 May 2009