the lark (l'alouette) is the bird of the morning, and that it is the first bird to sing in the morning, hence waking up lovers and causing them to part, and waking up others as well, something that is not always appreciated. In French songs, the lark also has the reputation of being a gossip, a know-it-all, and cannot be relied on to carry a message, as it will tell everyone; it also carries bad news. However, the nightingale, being the first bird of spring, in Europe, sings happily all the time, during the lovely seasons of spring and summer. The nightingale (i.e., rossignol) also carries messages faithfully and dispenses advice, in Latin, no less, a language that lovers understand. LaForte explains that this alludes to the Middle Ages, when only a select few still understood Latin. And so, as the lark makes lovers part or wakes up the sleepyhead, this would explain why the singer of "Alouette" wants to pluck it in so many ways if he can catch it, for, as LaForte notes, this bird is flighty as well. The lark was eaten in Europe, and when eaten was known as a "mauviette", which is also a term for a sickly person. Television series The tune has been used in Season 3 of the television series Evil, possibly because the dark side of the lyrics could be seen as demonic influence/possession for the psychiatrist, a recurring character played by Kurt Fuller. Structure "Alouette" usually involves audience participation, with the audience echoing every line of each verse after the verse's second line. It is a cumulative song, with each verse built on top of the previous verses, much like the English carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Lyrics Below are the original French lyrics along with a literal English translation. Adaptations An English song known as "If You Love Me" uses the same tune as "Alouette". The English composer Benjamin Britten adapted the tune for part of his 1939 orchestral composition Canadian Carnival. The tune of the chorus has been adapted to make the tune of the children's song "Down by the Station". The song was used for a paper-cutout-animated film by Norman McLaren and René Jodoin. The song was used by French-Canadian nuns in the United States to help teach French to their students. They substituted the French word for human body parts for the bird parts. An