Alouette !! Gentille Alouette !! - From Vineeta Sastry

Alouette, gentille Alouette
Skylark, nice skylark

Alouette, je te plumerai
Skylark, I shall pluck you

Je te plumerai la tête
I shall pluck your head

(Je te plumerai la tête)
(I shall pluck your head)

Et la tête
And your head

(Et la tête)
(And your head)

Alouette
Skylark

(Alouette)
(Skylark)

O-o-o-oh
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette, je te plumerai
Je te plumerai le bec
I shall pluck your beak
(Je te plumerai le bec)

Et le bec
(Et le bec)

Et la tête
(Et la tête)

Alouette
(Alouette)

O-o-o-oh

The song continues in this fashion, with the italicized phrase (a part of the bird) in each verse being substituted with a new one, with the previous items being recited at the end:
Et le cou
And your neck

Et le dos
And your back

Et les ailes
And your wings

Et les pattes
And your feet

Et la queue
And your tail

La Conclusion
The Ending

O-o-o-o-oh
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Skylark, nice skylark

Alouette, je te plumerai
Skylark, I shall pluck you

Naturally, the literal English translation does not match up well with the meter of the song (the first line in English has five syllables instead of ten), so a slightly less literal (but more singable) version would be:

Little skylark, lovely little skylark
Little lark, I will pluck your feathers off
I’ll pluck the feathers off your head
I’ll pluck the feathers off your head
Off your head - off your head
Little lark, little lark
O-o-o-o-oh
And adding:
Off your beak
Off your neck
Off your wings
Off your back
Off your legs
Off your tail

"Alouette" is a popular French Canadian[1] children's song about plucking the feathers off a skylark, a small bird. It originated with the French Canadian fur trade.[citation needed] Although it is in French, it is well-known among speakers of other languages; in this way it is similar to "Frère Jacques". Many American doughboys learned the song while serving in France during World War I and brought it home with them.

French colonists ate skylarks, which they considered a game bird. The song was first published in A Pocket Song Book for the Use of Students and Graduates of McGill College (Montreal, 1879). However, Canadian folklorist Marius Barbeau was of the opinion that the song's ultimate origin was France.[1]
The songs of the French fur trade were adapted to accompany the motion of paddles dipped in unison. Singing helped to pass the time and made the work seem lighter. In fact, it is likely that the Montreal Agents and Wintering Partners sought out and preferred to hire voyageurs who liked to sing and were good at it.[citation needed] They believed that singing helped the voyageurs to paddle faster and longer. "Alouette" informs the lark that the singer will pluck its head, nose, eyes and wings and tail. En roulant ma boule sings of ponds, bonnie ducks and a prince on hunting bound. Many of the songs favored by the voyageurs have been passed down to our own era.
Today, the song is used to teach French and English speaking children in Canada the names of their body parts. Singers will point or touch the part of their body that corresponds to the word being sung in the song.
[edit]Structure

"Alouette" usually involves audience participation, with the audience echoing every line of each verse after the verse's second line. It is a cumulative song, with each verse is built on top of the previous verses, much like the English carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas".