"Il était un petit navire" (English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

: There was a little ship) is a traditional French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 song that is now considered a children's song, despite its macabre tone.

The song tells the story of a young shipwreck

Shipwreck

A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....

ed sailor who is about to be eaten

Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...

 by the other sailors. They discuss how to cook the man and what sauce to use. He then prays to the Virgin Mary

Mary (mother of Jesus)

Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...

 and is saved by a miracle

Miracle

A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...

.

This song might refer to the famous wreck of the Medusa, immortalised in the painting The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault

Théodore Géricault

Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault was a profoundly influential French artist, painter and lithographer, known for The Raft of the Medusa and other paintings...

.

In popular culture

• Soldiers sing this song in the film La grande illusion
  Grand Illusion (film)
  Grand Illusion is a 1937 French war film directed by Jean Renoir, who co-wrote the screenplay with Charles Spaak. The story concerns class relationships among a small group of French officers who are prisoners of war during World War I and are plotting an escape.The title of the film comes from a...
  
  .
• The song is featured in the Mad Men
  Mad Men
  Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
  
  episode "Tomorrowland
  Tomorrowland (Mad Men)
  "Tomorrowland" is the thirteenth and final episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Mad Men, and the 52nd overall episode of the series. It aired on the AMC channel in the United States on October 17, 2010.-Plot:...
  
  ".

Lyrics

Il était un petit navire {x2}
Qui n’avait ja-ja-jamais navigué {x2}
Ohé ! Ohé !

{Refrain:}

Ohé ! Ohé ! Matelot,
Matelot navigue sur les flots
Ohé ! Ohé ! Matelot,
Matelot navigue sur les flots

Il entreprit un long voyage {x2}
Sur la mer Mé-Mé-Méditerranée {x2}
Ohé ! Ohé !

Au bout de cinq à six semaines, (x2)
Les vivres vin-vin-vinrent à manquer (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

On tira z’à la courte paille, (x2)
Pour savoir qui-qui-qui serait mangé, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

Le sort tomba sur le plus jeune, (x2)
C’est donc lui qui-qui-qui fut désigné, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

On cherche alors à quelle sauce, (x2)
Le pauvre enfant-fant-fant sera mangé, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

L’un voulait qu’on le mît à frire, (x2)
L’autre voulait-lait-lait le fricasser, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

Pendant qu’ainsi l’on délibère, (x2)
Il monte en haut-haut-haut du grand hunier, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

Il fait au ciel une prière (x2)
Interrogeant-geant-geant l’immensité, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

Mais regardant la mer entière, (x2)
Il vit des flots-flots-flots de tous côtés, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

Oh ! Sainte Vierge ma patronne, (x2)
Cria le pau-pau-pauvre infortuné, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

Si j’ai péché, vite pardonne, (x2)
Empêche-les-les-les de me manger, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

Au même instant un grand miracle, (x2)
Pour l’enfant fut-fut-fut réalisé, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

Des p’tits poissons dans le navire, (x2)
Sautèrent par-par-par et par milliers, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

On les prit, on les mit à frire, (x2)
Le jeune mou-mou-mousse fut sauvé, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !

Si cette histoire vous amuse, (x2)
Nous allons la-la-la recommencer, (x2)
Ohé ! Ohé !