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Së ch'lâ muntagna pughêsën parlâ

This poem was written by the "Valdese, NC Patois Class of 1978." This class was taught at Wester Piedmont Community College in order to revive the local Patouà. In this recording, the poem is read by Gus TRON.




Da Pumaret, fin amunt a Prâl
Süü lâ muntagna, ënt lî cumbâl
L'aire e pür e përfümà
Dë flur, dë tutta calità

Së ch'lâ muntagna pughêsën parlâ
Chë dë storia lâ puriën cuntiâ
L'ero pâ sampre "roz e fiur'
Ma dë masaccre, e dë dulur

Lâ puriën nu dire soc e aribà
Ch'lo "Diamengio d'Paco" a Rorà
Lâ párlëriën dë Janavel e d'Arnaud
Dë Balsilho, col Julian, e Sibaud

Ma, lâ muntagna poën pâ parlâ
La resto a nuz'autri a laudâ
Lu curagge dî velh Vaudois
Ch'an tant süfert për gardâ l'ur "foi"

Tönöit, nu selebrën la liberta
Chë li Vaudois an dür gagna
Nu fêtën la memorio
D'üno storio, plêno d'glorio.


From Pmaretto, up to Prali
on the mountain tops and in the valleys,
The air was perfumed
with the scent of many flowers

If those mountains could only talk,
what stories they could unfold!
It wasn't always "wine and roses,"
but massacres, anguish, and pain.

They could tell us what transpired
that "bloody Easter" in Rora;
They would speak of Janavel and Arnaud,
of Balsigla, Julian Pass, and Sibaud.

But alas! those mountains cannot talk;
so it's up to us to laud
the brave Waldenses, who for so long,
suffered so much, to keep their faith.

Tonight, we celebrate the liberty
those Waldenses so dearly won.
Tonight, we honor the memory
of a story filled with glory.

Mountain Stooping

So my dad was talking to me last night about whether I knew anything about the fact that Mountain people (at least in NC) will often squat when talking to other people. I didn't really know what he was talking about at first, but he described it to me a little more, and I recognized what he was talking about.

He says he had forgotten about this, but realized it again the other day when he saw some folks doing this... It's something to look into.

Valdese Patouà - Full Edited Version

This interview was recorded on 10 June 2007 at the Waldensian Heritage Museum in Valdese, NC by Bryan Fleming interviewing Gus Tron.








Valdese Patouà - Full Edited Version by Bryan Fleming is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.