Entre le bœuf et l'âne gris

What you get, immediately after purchase
📄 The sheet music as a PDF, printable and readable on a tablet
🎧 The MP3 audio recording, to learn the piece by ear
✉️ A download link by email, with no account to create

This score is 2 pages long.

"Entre le bœuf et l'âne gris" ("Between the Ox and the Grey Donkey") is an anonymous traditional French Christmas carol, usually dated to the 16th century, which makes it one of the oldest French carols still sung today. It is a lullaby: the verses show the infant Jesus asleep in the manger, watched over by the ox and the donkey, then in Mary's arms, among roses and lilies, among the shepherds, and each one returns to the same refrain, "Dors, dors, dors le petit fils" ("Sleep, sleep, little son"). Handed down from generation to generation through carol books, choirs and Christmas Eve gatherings, it is one of the first carols children learn in France. Its gentle melody, which sways like a rocking cradle, suits the continuous breath of the accordion well. A tune to play softly, as the house falls asleep on Christmas night.