Seigneur Randal- (LA) pre1964 Beck
[From Abstracts of Folklore Studies, Volume 3; American Folklore Society, 1965 - McNeese State College, Louisiana J, XV (1964), 18-22. Reprint from Abstracts of English Studies, VIII: 6, June 1965. 521. Theodore Toulon Beck, '"Lord Randal' in Louisiana," pp. 18-22.
I only have the first stanza and do not have access to the article by Beck. The source apparently is the 1803 version by Scott, Child D, which was taught in French to the students at the Daughters of the Cross at Mansura, Louisiana in 1855. Here is a quoted from Beck:
"Shortly after 1855 the students in a young ladies' academy operated by the Daughters of the Cross at Mansura, Louisiana, were taught the Scottish popular ballad "Lord Randal" in French. It was practically a duplicate of Variant D recorded by F.J. Child."
This version was discussed in some detail in 'Le Testament du Garçon Empoisonné ': A French 'Lord Randal' in Acadie
by Robert Paquin; Folklore, Vol. 91, No. 2 (1980), pp. 157-172. Paquin's notes follow.
R. Matteson 2014]
Mr. Toulon Beck's claim that this version was 'handed down by word of mouth' takes a different meaning when one reads his own footnote which states more precisely that this version 'was taught at the convent school of the Daughters of the Holy Cross in Mansura, Louisiana, in the nineteenth century.[22] (Italics mine.) Teaching in the framework of a school generally requires written material, and, even if this Louisiana version was transmitted orally after it had been learned in school, it is logical to look for a written text which could have served as teaching material originally. The collector of this ballad rightly refers to Child D text, first published by Sir Walter Scott in 1803,[23] for, in fact, the Louisiana version is more than a 'remarkably faithful
rendition,' it is an exact literal translation of Scott's text. The Louisiana text follows the development of the story, as told in Child D, event for event, stanza for stanza, line for line, and even word for word. Like version D, it has five stanzas of four lines each, and only tells the first part of the story, ending also with the discovery of the poisoning.
Seigneur Randal
Que donneras-tu e , Honore mon garcon?
What will you give to , Henery my son?
Que donneras-tu g , dis-moi-le cher enfant?
What will you give to , my own dearest one?
Mon (ou Ma) , e ma mere faites mon lit
I will give him (or her) my , mother make my bed soon
Car j'ai un grand mal de coeur, je m'en vais en mourir
I feel sick at the heart and I fain would lie down.