Oh! Susanna
Languages: English, French
Ressource Type: song
Theme: the United-States
Age-range: 7 – 10 years
“Oh! Susanna” is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster. It was first published in 1848. “Oh! Susanna” is one of the best-known American songs. Popularly associated with the California Gold Rush, the song is occasionally called “Banjo on My Knee”. The original version is currently stored in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
Culture and Vocabulary:
Places: Alabama, Louisiana, the hill, the south.
Verbs: come from…, to see, to cry, to leave, to rain, to froze, to be (was), to be dry, to say.
Weather: rain, night, day, the weather, the sun, freeze, hot.
Nouns: a banjo, a dream, a buckwheat cake.
Body: my knee, her mouth, the tear, her eye.
Grammar:
- singular personal pronouns: I, my, me, it.
- using the past tense: it rained, it was, I left, I froze, I thought, I saw.
English version:
Oh! Susanna
I came from Alabama,
With my banjo on my knee,
I’m going to Louisiana,
My true love for to see;
It rained all night the day I left,
The weather it was dry,
The sun so hot I froze to death,
Susanna, don’t you cry.
CHORUS
Oh! Susanna, Oh don’t you cry for me,
I’ve come from Alabama
With my banjo on my knee.
I had a dream the other night,
When everything was still;
I thought I saw Susanna,
A coming down the hill;
The buckwheat cake was in her mouth,
The tear was in her eye;
Says I, “I’m coming from the south,
Susanna, don’t you cry.”
CHORUS
French Translation:
Oh ! Susanna
Je suis parti d’Alabama,
Avec mon banjo sur les genoux,
Je pars pour la Louisiane,
Pour y voir l’amour de ma vie ;
Il a plu toute la nuit le jour de mon départ,
Le temps était sec,
Le soleil si chaud que je suis mort de froid,
Susanna, ne pleure pas.
REFRAIN
Oh ! Susanna, oh ne pleure pas pour moi,
Je suis parti d’Alabama,
Avec mon banjo sur les genoux.
J’ai fait un rêve l’autre nuit,
Quand tout était calme ;
J’ai cru voir Susanna,
Descendre de la colline ;
Une galette de sarrasin à la bouche,
Les yeux plein de larmes ;
Je dis : «Je viens du sud,
Susanna, ne pleure pas. »
REFRAIN
Download the words of the song:
Oh! Susanna – Nursery Rhyme Lyric
