"''Le Carillon de Vendôme''", also known as "''Les Cloches de Vendôme''" or "''Orléans''", is a French children's song dating from the 15th century. It takes its name from the bells (''cloches'') of the town of
Vendôme
Vendôme (, ) is a subprefecture of the department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019).
It is one of the main towns along the river Loir. The river divides itself at the ...
.
''"Le Carillon de Vendôme"'' was written in the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...
to describe the last possessions of the Dauphin Charles in 1420. After the signing of the
Treaty of Troyes
The Treaty of Troyes was an agreement that King Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the French throne upon the death of King Charles VI of France. It was formally signed in the French city of Troyes on 21 May 1420 in the aftermath of ...
during the Hundred Years' War, the Dauphin was left in possession of the cities of
Orléans
Orléans (;"Orleans" (US) and Beaugency, Cléry,
Vendôme
Vendôme (, ) is a subprefecture of the department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019).
It is one of the main towns along the river Loir. The river divides itself at the ...
, and Bourges. The song describes this state of affairs.
Lyrics
The original lyrics were slightly different; "''aujourd'hui"'' (today) in the first line was replaced by "''mes amis''", and the original third line was removed, which included the lyric "''De tout son beau royaume ?''" (Of all his beautiful kingdom?). The entire second stanza was also added later.
Other versions
In 1971, American singer
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...
released the song under the title "Orleans" on his debut album, ''
If I Could Only Remember My Name
''If I Could Only Remember My Name'' is the debut solo album by American singer-songwriter David Crosby, released in February 1971 on Atlantic Records. Guests on the album include Jerry Garcia, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and other p ...
''. Crosby reworked the song to only include the repetition of the cities left to the Dauphin. This led to other artists basing their cover versions on his arrangement, including French group Il était une fois's 1974 version of the song, titled "''Colombes''", which instead listed suburbs of Paris.
In 1938, Henri Nibelle wrote an organ piece on this theme, which he titled ''Carillon orléanais''.
The names of famous fictional detectives are sung to the tune of the song in French movie ''Towards Zero'', titled ''L'Heure Zero'' in France.
Laurent Voulzy
Lucien Voulzy (, born 18 December 1948), better known as Laurent Voulzy (), is a French singer-songwriter, composer and musician.
Life and career
Voulzy was born in Paris, France. He originally led the English-pop-influenced Le Temple de Vénus ...
performed "''Le Carillon de Vendôme''" on his 2012 "Lys & Love Tour"''.''