Songs

Quoy qu’on tient belles langagières
Though they be reckoned good talkers
Florentines, Veniciennes,
Florentine and Venetian women,
Assez pour estre messaigières,
Good enough to be go-betweens,
Et mesmement les anciennes;
Even the ancient women too;
Mais, soient Lombardes, Romaines,
And be they Lombards or Romans
Genevoises, à mes périls,
Or Genovese, I say to my peril,
Piemontoises, Savoysiennes,
Or Piedmontese or Savoyards,
Il n’est bon bec que de Paris.
There’s no tongue like a Parisian one.

De beau parler tiennent chayères,
Chairs in the art of fine chatter, they say,
Ce dit-on Napolitaines,
Are held by the women of Naples,
Et que sont bonnes cacquetières
While those from Germany and Prussia
Allemandes et Bruciennes;
Are very good at prattle.
Soient Grecques, Egyptiennes,
Yet be they Greek, Egyptian,
De Hongrie ou d’aultre païs,
From Hungary or other lands,
Espaignolles ou Castellannes,
Spanish or Catalonia—
Il n’est bon bec que de Paris.
There’s no tongue like a Parisian one.

Brettes, Suysses, n’y sçavent guères,
Bretons and Swiss are mere beginners,
Ne Gasconnes et Tholouzaines;
Like Gascons and Toulousians;
Du Petit Pont deux harangères
Two jabberers on the Petit Pont
Les concluront, et les Lorraines,
Would silence them, and Lorrainers, too,
Anglesches ou Callaisiennes,
And women from England and from Calais
(Ay-je beaucoup de lieux compris?)
(I’ve named a lot of places, eh?),
Picardes, de Valenciennes …
From Picardy and Valencienne …
Il n’est bon bec que de Paris.
There’s no tongue like a Parisian one.

Prince, aux dames parisiennes,
Prince, to the ladies of Paris
De bien parler donnez le prix;
Present the prize for fine chatter;
Quoy qu’on die d’Italiennes,
Whatever is said of Italians,
Il n’est bon bec que de Paris.
There’s no tongue like a Parisian one.