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Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

The words of the first parody of the song, which remains best known to French children even today. Perhaps the best-known French melody in the English-speaking world, if not the whole world, is a French pastoral song, the melody of which dates to 1740.  The tune became popular, and was first published with suggested lyrics in 1761, linked to a love poem called “La confidence” (“The Confidence”, in English).  The first verse went like this: Ah!  Vous dirai-je Maman Ce qui cause mon tourment? Depuis que j’ai vu Clitandre, Me regarder d’un air tendre ; Mon cœur dit à chaque instant, «Peut-on vivre sans amant?» In English, it reads like this: Ah!  Shall I tell you, Mama, What just drives me crazy? Since I saw Clitandre Look at me in that tender way, My heart said at that instant, “Can you live without loving?” In case that doesn’t ring any bells, don’t sweat it.  “La confidence” is not especially well remembered today, and I’m probably on