Paths of Etalle

Who, in Gaume, does not know the hymn "Tchantants, tchantans, ..."?
But, in fact, there are several versions of it. Here is a first, in six verses and two refrains.

1. Peusqu les aut's tchantant dès leu langatche Pourquoi Gaumais, nu fârinch-mi coume zous ? Digez coum'mi, çu s'rout vraiment doumatche Du voir in cau not'viè patois pas d'zou Rufrain : Tchantans, tchantans eune tchansan pou nous autes, Tchantans bin fôrt, i faut nous fâre oï; Not' viè patois, quand i gnarou co des fautes, Tchantans toudjous, i n'faume lu ravoï ! 2. Les viès, les d'jaunes, à tout' réjouissance, Les fies, les feumes, les houmes èt les gamins, Tchantans tourtous, à toule èt à la danse, Quat', cinq couplets, èl' preumi d'nôs casmins. Tchantans, tchantans, etc... 3. L'casmin bin fâ, c'est l'coummencement d'eune keute, Quat', cinq', chix pais, a v'la bin pou huit djous ; Si not'tchansan nu nous ruvinme à veute, Les gais Gaumais tchantrant sûr tous les djous; Tchantans, tchantans, etc... 4. A bichant s'goss, à pélant la potaïe, S'elle cousse ou bin s'elle ruflä ses tchaussans, La ménagère paurrait rire eune gavaïe, T'a répétant lu refrain d' not' tchanson: Tchantans, tchantans, etc... 5. Ceux qui sant vouyes pou mieux gagni leur vie, Soit à Paris, aux fôrtches ou au Congo, Soit aux soldats pou servi la Patrie, Tchantrant souvet, pesan leu p'tit mago; Tchantans, tchantans, etc... 6. Et quand d'j'mourrans, èl pu tard quu possip, Quand d'jarans fâ tout lu bin qu'djarans pu, An dèret d'nous : il ant cassé leu pipe, Il ant tchantéie, mon Dieu ! I n'tchantrant pu. Darnî rufrain : Il ant tchantéie des tchansans pou nous autes, Tchantant bin fôrt, il ant seu s'fâre oï, Not'viè patois, quand i gnarou co des fautes, Tchantans coume zous, I n'faume lu ravoï.

1. Since the others sing in their language Why, Gaumais, shouldn't we be like them? Say like me, it would be a shame To one day see our old dialect lowered Chorus: Let's sing, sing a song for the rest of us, Let's sing loudly, we must make ourselves heard Our old dialect, there would still be mistakes, Let's always sing, we must not send it away. 2. The old, the young, for all the rejoicings, Girls, women, men and kids, Let's all sing, at the table and at the dance, Four, five verses, starting the dough. Sing, sing, etc ... 3. A well-made dough is the start of a batch, Four, five, six loaves of bread, that's for eight days, If our song doesn't come back empty, The happy Gaumais will sing for sure every day; Sing, sing, etc ... 4. Rocking his kid, peeling the vegetables, When she sews or mends stockings, The housewife could laugh a gulp By repeating the refrain of our song: Sing, sing, etc ... 5. Those who left to earn a better living Either in Paris, at the forges or in Congo, Either as soldiers to serve the Fatherland, Will sing often while weighing their little nest egg, Sing, sing, etc ... 6. And when we die, as late as possible, When we've done all the good we can, They will say about us: they broke their pipe, They sang, my God! They won't sing anymore! Last chorus: They sang songs for us; Singing loudly, they were able to make themselves heard. Our old dialect, there would still be mistakes, Let's sing like them, we must not send him away.

And yet, if you listen to this version, sung by the choir of the Atelier de l'Académie des patois gaumais:

You will see that the text is a little different:

1. Peusqu les aut's tchantant dès leu langatche Pourquoi Gaumais, nu fârinch-mi coume zous ? V'dèrè coum'mi, çu s'rout vraiment doumatche Si an voyou not'viè patois pas d'zou Refrain : Tchantans, tchantans eune tchansan pou nous autes, Tchantans bin fôrt, i faut nous fâre oï; Dèrè qui veut quu dj'sans des drol' d'apôtes Tchantans tourtous lu langatch du paï (bis) 2. Pou nous la Gaume, c’est l’pu bé des païs Dju n’envian’mes ni Bruxelles, ni Paris An z’y èst bin, il y fâ bon viqui Dju l’rugrettans quand i nous faut parti Tchantans, tchantans, etc... 3. Les djaloux d’jant qu’not’ patois èst grossiè In pî au cu, à la panse, au potré V’là ç’qu’arant ceux qui n’aimant’m’ les Gaumais Cèst des torés, des varas, des pouchés Tchantans, tchantans, etc... 4. Dès la majan gnè la cujine èt l’pèle Y gnè l’culot ousquu l’marcau ronfèle Peu y gnè l’four aveu sa laurtch tchimnaïe An z’y fâ l’pai, la buaïe, la cujnaïe Tchantans, tchantans, etc... 5. Vulez’v asteur quèqu’ mots d’not’ bé patois Tchacâ, cuchôrt, cu d'bouré, boussé, poiche Douïe, gaye, tchâ, pôrtch’, potré, couchû, tricoiche Bon sang, dèrez’v, à vla inq’ du hassois ! Tchantans, tchantans, etc... 6. Et quand d'j'mourrans, èl pu tard quu possipe, Quand d'jarans fâ tout lu bin qu'djarans pu, An dèret d'nous : ils ant cassé leu pipe, Il ant tchantéie, mon Dieu ! I n'tchantrant pu. Darnî rufrain : Il ant tchantéie des tchansans pou nous autes, Tchantant bin fôrt, il ant seu s'fâre oï, Pou quu l’bon Die roubliiche tout’s leu fautes Et quu dj’tchantinche assène an paradis ! (bis) Tchantans ! Tchantans ! Tchantans !

1. Since the others sing in their language Why, Gaumais, shouldn't we be like them? Say like me, it would be a shame To one day see our old dialect lowered Chorus: Let's sing, sing a song for the rest of us, Let's sing loudly, we must make ourselves heard Will say who wants us to be funny apostles, Let's all sing the language of the country. 2. For us, the Gaume is the most beautiful country, We do not envy Brussels or Paris, We are well there, it is good to live there, We regret it when we have to leave. Sing, sing, etc ... 3. Jealous people say our dialect is rude, One foot on the ass, on the belly, on the face, This is what those who do not like the Gaumais will have, They are bulls, demons, pigs. Sing, sing, etc ... 4. In the house, there is the kitchen and the "pèle", There is the space in front of the hearth where the tomcat is snoring, Then there is the oven, with its large fireplace, We bake the bread, do the laundry, and the "caboulée". Sing, sing, etc ... 5. Do you now want a few words of our beautiful dialect: Sculpin, nettle, cumulet, hump, peas, Toe, goat, meat, manure pit, muzzle, apron, pincers, Hell, you might say, here's a mess! Sing, sing, etc ... 6. And when we die, as late as possible, When we've done all the good we can, They will say about us: they broke their pipe, They sang, my God! They won't sing anymore! Last chorus: They sang songs for us; Singing loudly, they were able to make themselves heard. So that the good Lord will forget all their faults And that we sing together in paradise! Let's sing! Let's sing! Let's sing!

And other versions still exist, like that of "Sossons d'Orvaulx", which has 40 verses!

In fact, there is still some vagueness about the creation of this folk song.

The "legend" wants that it is the abbot Paul Habran who is the author.
He was born in Bouillon, where his father was a teacher, in 1884. But he had remained Gaumais at heart. His father was indeed from Sainte-Marie-sur-Semois and his mother, from Villers-sur-Semois. She lived at 30, rue Saint-Martin, where the Fery family lived, then Paul François, mayor and deputy. And, for Father Habran, Villers remained his village of affection where he particularly liked to return.
Also for all those who knew him, for all those who have heard of him, Father Paul Habran is a child of Villers-sur-Semois.

Vicar in Tintigny, parish priest in Baranzy, Ucimont, Torgny then Halma, he died in Namur on March 6, 1963.

In 1923, the great national congress of the Young Christian Workers (JOC) took place in Charleroi.
All regions of the country were represented there including, of course, Gaume. A delegation of young Gaumais therefore took the train to Charleroi, accompanied by Father Paul Habran.
However, each region had its regional song, and the Gaume did not! And, according to Roger Marchal, in "Coins de Gaume, my beautiful country", it is in the train leading them to Charleroi that Abbot Habran would have finished composing "Tchantans tchantans" and would have made his Gaumais friends who surrounded him, Georges Zimmer from Ansart, Oscar Moulu, Edouard Henry from Tintigny and many others from Fratin, Buzenol and all the Gaumais villages, repeat the first verses and refrains, cogitated and probably prepared in advance with Father Legros from Etalle and that they all sang together, at the top of their voices, in the streets of Charleroi and La Louvière.

The Chanson des Gaumais "Tchantans, tchantans ..." was born!

So, is this story of the creation of the song of Gaume in the train to Charleroi a legend?

The story is probably partly true ...
Several sources affirm that the first author of "Tchantans, tchantans" would be Omer Fontaine, born in Etalle on January 29, 1854.
He was editor of the newspaper "l'Echo du Luxembourg".
He founded the Etalle music society in 1879, but also the Etalle dairy and was the instigator of the agricultural unions in the region.
And it would already be on June 11, 1904, 19 years before the famous meeting of the JOC in Charleroi, that he would have written the 6 verses and the refrains of what was to become the hymn of the Gaumais.
It is likely that his version was roughly what we suggest above in the first place. And, like many others thereafter, Father Habran would only have added or transformed verses to this original text.
As for the music, it could be the work of a certain Philippe Keyenbergh, who was a musician at the 10th line in Arlon and who was born in Louvain in 1875.
On this subject, see for example the newspapers of the brotherhood "Les Sossons d'Orvaulx".

Never mind ...

Whether it is Abbot Habran, native from Etalle, or Omer Fontaine, inhabitant of Etalle, or even Abbot Legros, parish priest of Etalle, all these potential authors come from what was to become the municipality of Etalle.

So let's be chauvinistic: "Tchantans, tchantans" was first of all a "Stabulois" hymn!