Les comptines

À la claire fontaine: the French words and their meaning

À la claire fontaine means at the clear spring. It's an old French love song, and its refrain is a line any parent could say at bedtime: Il y a longtemps que je t'aime, jamais je ne t'oublierai. I've loved you for so long; I'll never forget you.

À la claire fontaine

Verse 1

  • À la claire fontaine At the clear spring,
  • M'en allant promener, as I went out walking,
  • J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle I found the water so lovely
  • Que je m'y suis baigné. that I bathed in it.

Refrain

  • Il y a longtemps que je t'aime, I've loved you for so long,
  • Jamais je ne t'oublierai. I'll never forget you.

Verse 2

  • Sous les feuilles d'un chêne Under the leaves of an oak
  • Je me suis fait sécher. I dried myself.
  • Sur la plus haute branche On the highest branch
  • Le rossignol chantait. the nightingale was singing.

Borrow the refrain

Start with the first line. Add the second when it feels easy.

  • Il y a longtemps que je t'aime. I've loved you for so long. Say it eel ya lon-TAHN kuh zhuh TEM
  • Jamais je ne t'oublierai. I'll never forget you. Say it zha-MAY zhuh nuh too-blee-RAY
  • Je t'aime. I love you. Say it zhuh TEM

The story

It’s a love song. The later verses tell of a quarrel over a rosebud and a love lost, which is more than a toddler needs. The first two verses and the refrain are a calm walk by the water.

Why parents keep it

The refrain says what parents feel at the end of a long day, without being soppy about it: Il y a longtemps que je t’aime. I’ve loved you for so long. Sung slowly, it does the job of a lullaby.

One thing to do tonight

After bonne nuit, add the first line of the refrain. Same line every night, until your child mouths it with you.

Where it lives in your day Le Dodo · Bedtime in French The ten sentences that turn lights-out into French, every single night

Free bedtime script

End on the refrain

Bonne nuit, then il y a longtemps que je t'aime. The Le Dodo script covers the ten phrases before it.

Ten bedtime phrases, each with a say-it guide, on one page for the bedroom door.

Three emails over your first week to get bedtime started, and you can leave whenever you like.

Questions parents ask

What does à la claire fontaine mean?

At the clear spring, or the clear fountain.

What is À la claire fontaine about?

A love that was lost. The later verses tell the sad part, so with children many families sing the first two verses and the refrain.

How old is À la claire fontaine?

It's traditional and centuries old, and nobody knows who wrote it. It's loved in France and in Quebec.

Keep going

All the songs and rhymes →

Updated 16 October 2026