Frère Jacques – Improvised by Sleepy Pianist Charles Manning

Frère Jacques, in French (also known as “Brother John” in English) is a French nursery rhyme. The song is about a friar who has overslept. Someone wakes him up with this song, because he is supposed to sound the bell for the early morning prayers. The earliest version of the melody can be found in a French manuscript, circa 1780 (manuscript 300 in the manuscript collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris). The “Frère Jacques” melody is labelled “Frère Blaise” in the manuscript. The tune was first published in 1811, and the words and music were published together in Paris in 1869. Various 20th-century composers have used the tune in compositions, such as in the third movement of Symphony No. 1 by Gustav Mahler, in which Mahler presents the melody in a minor key instead of a major key. In his television series “Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic,” Leonard Bernstein uses the song to illustrate counterpoint in his program “What Makes Music Symphonic?” Found under the main melody of the last verse, the Beatles’ John Lennon and George Harrison sing the 1966 song “Paperback Writer.” And The Beach Boys’ song “Surf’s Up” references the English version, in lyrics and melody with the line “Are you sleeping, Brother John?” These are just a few of the popular cultural examples. The rhyme is traditionally sung as a round. As Sleepy Charles improvises a round in this version of the song, sing along by following the lyrics printed below. There are two translations, one in French and one in English. ~ Lyrics – French ~ Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques, Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines! Ding, ding, dong! Ding, ding, dong! ~ Lyrics – English ~ Are you sleeping, are you sleeping, Brother John? Brother John? Morning bells are ringing! Morning bells are ringing! Ding, dang, dong! Ding, dang, dong!