Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Vocals & arrangement by Farya Faraji. This is an Occitan folk song and one that's rather special to me as I grew up hearing it as a child in Southern France, where this song is often heard as a children's song, also found in the Catalan-speaking regions, with French and Breton languages also existing. Some folklorist believe the song is a reference to the breaking wheel torture, as the spinning motion of the wheel was often referred to as "dancing" in the past, and the various body parts dancing in the lyrics seem to be noting the progression of the various phases of the torture. The Joan Petit in question would be the historical man of the same name in the 17th century who revolted against the government and was put to death in this fashion.
I sang this with the dialectal pronunciation I was familiar with in Languedoc-Roussillon, and arranged it using instruments typical of Southern French folk music, in this case the accordion and the mandolin.
Lyrics in Occitan:
Joan Petit que dança
Joan Petit que dança
Per lo rei de França
Per lo rei de França
Amb lo pè pè pè
Amb la camba camba camba
Amb la cuèissa cuèissa cuèissa
Amb la cuol cuol cuol
Amb lo ventre ventre ventre
amb lo cap cap cap
Amb lo dit dit dit
Per aquel dançava Joan Petit!
English translation:
Little John was dancing,
For the King of France,
With the foot,
With the leg,
With the thigh,
With the arse,
With the belly,
With the head,
With the finger,
Little John was dancing for that one!
Vocals & arrangement by Farya Faraji. This is an Occitan folk song and one that's rather special to me as I grew up hearing it as a child in Southern France, where this song is often heard as a children's song, also found in the Catalan-speaking regions, with French and Breton languages also existing. Some folklorist believe the song is a reference to the breaking wheel torture, as the spinning motion of the wheel was often referred to as "dancing" in the past, and the various body parts dancing in the lyrics seem to be noting the progression of the various phases of the torture. The Joan Petit in question would be the historical man of the same name in the 17th century who revolted against the government and was put to death in this fashion.
I sang this with the dialectal pronunciation I was familiar with in Languedoc-Roussillon, and arranged it using instruments typical of Southern French folk music, in this case the accordion and the mandolin.
Lyrics in Occitan:
Joan Petit que dança
Joan Petit que dança
Per lo rei de França
Per lo rei de França
Amb lo pè pè pè
Amb la camba camba camba
Amb la cuèissa cuèissa cuèissa
Amb la cuol cuol cuol
Amb lo ventre ventre ventre
amb lo cap cap cap
Amb lo dit dit dit
Per aquel dançava Joan Petit!
English translation:
Little John was dancing,
For the King of France,
With the foot,
With the leg,
With the thigh,
With the arse,
With the belly,
With the head,
With the finger,
Little John was dancing for that one!
