Au clair de la lune ✧
A gentle French melody with six low notes and plenty of breathing space.
Sheet music
Tap a staff note or finger tab to hear it.
Opening
Middle and return
D whistle · G major · 4/4 · 100 BPM · + upper octave
Opening
Middle and return
Lyrics
Traditional French song · Weckerlin, Chansons et rondes enfantines (1870)
The opening verse printed with the melody in the 1870 collection. The singer asks Pierrot for a pen and a light.
Au clair de la lune, Mon ami Pierrot, Prête-moi ta plume Pour écrire un mot. Ma chandelle est morte, Je n’ai plus de feu : Ouvre-moi ta porte, Pour l’amour de Dieu !
About this tune
Au clair de la lune is a French folk song included in Jean-Baptiste Weckerlin’s 1870 collection. Its title means By the Light of the Moon.
Repeated opening notes lead to a short rise, while the middle phrase moves below the opening pitch. This small contrast gives the otherwise simple melody a complete, rounded shape.
Performances
Watch musicians play this tune on tin whistle. Keys and arrangements may differ from the tabs above.
Au clair de la lune — D tin whistle
Patricia Johnson
A solo rendition of the French melody on an Irish D tin whistle.
Watch on YouTube — Au clair de la lune — D tin whistle by Patricia Johnson (opens in a new tab) ↗Au clair de la lune / Auld Lang Syne — G whistle
Craig Strachan
Au clair de la lune opens this short medley on a James Dominic G whistle, followed by Auld Lang Syne.
Watch on YouTube — Au clair de la lune / Auld Lang Syne — G whistle by Craig Strachan (opens in a new tab) ↗