Ah! well-a-day, etc.
Pierre Jean de Béranger was one of France’s greatest lyric poets. His versatility compassed songs of every sort from political to bacchanalian, from amatory to philosophical.
THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG LADIES
What! this Monsieur de Fénélon
The girls pretend to school!
Of Mass and needlework he prates;
Mama, he’s but a fool.
Balls, concerts, and the piece just out,
Can teach us better far, no doubt:
Tra la la la, tra la la la,