What Was Target Thinking?

Have you seen the new Target television commercial?  A hot air balloon descends.  When it lands, lots of acrobats in brightly colored suits jump out and race through people’s lives spreading color everywhere they go.  Everything from dowdy wardrobes to boring table settings are brightened up with something from Target’s trendy inventory.  All the while we hear the French song “Alouette” playing in the background.  The whole spot is very lively and entertaining.  But what about the music and lyrics?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxQjBYRD0_s

“Alouette” is a French Canadian children’s song.  Alouette is the French word for skylark, a type of bird.  The French colonists in Canada loved to eat skylarks, and the song is about plucking the feathers off the little critters.  The singer tells the bird that he’ll “pluck his head, nose, eyes, wings, and tail.”  

     These days, Cornish game hens probably substitute for skylarks.  The song is used to teach French and English speaking Canadian children the parts of the body.  As they sing, they point to their heads, nose, and so on.

     Here’s the song in French with a loose English translation:

Alouette, gentile Alouette     (Little skylark, lovely little skylark)

Alouette, je te plumerai        (Little skylark, I’ll pluck your feathers off)

Je te plumerai la tete           (I’ll pluck the feathers off your head)

Je te plumerai la tete           (I’ll pluck the feathers off your head)

Et la tête                                (Off your head)

Et la tête                                (Off your head)

Alouette                                 (Little skylark)                                                                 

Alouette                                 (Little skylark)

O-o-o-o-h                                                                         

The song continues:

Et le bec           (Off your nose)
Et le cou           (Off your neck)                                                                      

Et le dos           (Off your back)                                                                         

Et les ailes        (Off your wings)                                                                     

Et les pattes      (Off your feet)                                                                  

Et la queue        (Off your tail)                                                                     

     Target (Tar-Zhay) has capitalized on the non-existent French connection before, and it makes for some clever commercials.  “Alouette” takes most of us back to childhood songfests.  I suppose the image Target is going for is replacing the old with some colorful new plumage.  Still, I’m wondering, will it hurt?

     (Thanks, Wikipedia for background information and song translation.)