"Sur le pont d'Avignon" ("On the Bridge of Avignon") is a French song about a dance performed on the Pont d'Avignon (officially Pont Saint-Bénézet) that dates back to the 15th century. The dance actually took place under the bridge and not on the bridge (sous le Pont d'Avignon, not sur).

Dance description

Lyrics

<poem lang="fr" style="float:left;">Chorus Sur le pont d'Avignon l'on y danse, l'on y danse. Sur le pont d'Avignon l'on y danse tous en rond.

1. Les beaux messieurs font comme ça, et puis encore comme ça. Chorus
2. Les belles dames font comme ça, ... Chorus
3. Les filles font comme ça, ... Chorus
4. Les musiciens font comme ça, ... Chorus <poem style="margin-left:2em; float:left;">

On the bridge of Avignon they are dancing there, they are dancing there. On the bridge of Avignon all dance in circles there. The fine gentlemen go like this (bow) and then again like this. Chorus The beautiful ladies go like this (curtsy) ... The young girls go like this (salute) ... The musicians go like this (they all bow to women) ... Any number of verses may be invented, depicting other professions or various characters.

Melody

Source

In other media

In 1951, the National Film Board of Canada produced the 5-minute animated film Sur le pont d'Avignon, in which extravagantly dressed marionettes pantomime the song. In 1992, a cartoon titled The Real Story of... Sur le pont d'Avignon was produced by CINAR and France Animation, featuring the song and a ghost story revolving around a clockmaker and an enchanted organ.