Ok, I wasn’t the best French student, but where in the world do the lyrics say “morning bells are ringing”? What does this song say, if translated literally? A bell is la cloche! Here is the line in French “Sonnez les matines” What the hay?
:mad: (I suffered through 4 years of that language! And, this is exactly why!)
Matins are a church service in the early morning, so the “morning bells” would be ringing for that.
That’s all I recall from my high school French for that song.
Also, there’s an entry for the song on Wiki.
Father Jack, father Jack,
are you sleeping, are you sleeping,
morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing are you sleeping?
litterally a jibe at preists that overslept morning mass
but it was also a subtle poke at the catholic church… they were sleeping while protestantism grew…
FML
Frere Jacques - Brother John (probably monk)
Dormez vous ? - Are you sleeping ?
Sonnes les matines - Morning bells are ringing (lit Matins are sounding)
Ding - Dang - Dong - sound of bells
So, this monk doesn’t show up for morning prayer, probably because he’s still asleep, and someone is wondering where he is.
All in all, much nicer than Alouette …
[nitpick]Frere Jacques would be better translated by Brother James[/nitpick]
Yeah, Jacques is closer to James, or Jacob.
And actually, the English version “morning bells are ringing” isn’t what the French version says; the French is “Sonnez les matines,” which is “Ring the bells.” It’s a command in the imperative tense.
Brother James, Brother James,
Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?
Ring the (morning prayer) bells, ring the (morning prayer) bells,
Ding-dang-dong, ding-dang-dong.
It’s not “Stairway to Heaven,” but it’s got a beat and you can dance to it.
I always heard it translated to “Brother John.”
Yes, but. . . I think that’s a stylistic thing. John is easier to sing/better vowel/fits rhythmically/all that kind of stuff, rather than an attempt to directly translate the actual name precisely.
And it’s really the same thing with “Morning bells are ringing”.
Any time you translate verse,* and especially song lyrics one has to strike a balance between rhythm, meaning, and prettiness.
*I started with poetry, but that’s rather a grand title for this little bit of a song.
It adds to the confusion that in English, “Jack” is traditionally a nickname for “John,” not for “James.”
The people who translate songs for a living making beaucoup bucks. It is a very very hard thing to do.
I have a boardgame called Mystery of the Abbey which is a Clue like game where you try to discover who pushed Brother Adelmo down to his death at the bottom of a ravine. Yeah, I think it’s clear that it The Name of the Rose by Uberto Ecco was the inspiration.
Anyway, during the course of the game you draw an event card at the beginning of the day for Matins which affects how the game is played until the next day. One of the cards you draw requires everyone in the game to sing Brother John. Sorry, that’s my only Brother John story. My favorite card in the game requires everyone to speak in Gregorian Chant until the next day.
Marc
Hermano Juan, Hermano Juan
¿Duermen? ¿Duermen?
Suene los matines! Suene los matines!
Oh yeah? Well,
Mester Jakob, Mester Jakob,
Sover du? Sover du?
Hører du ej klokken?
Hører du ej klokken?
Din dan don, din dan don.
never mind
My grandmother got bit by a møøse.
Thanks, all…I never knew it had a religious note to it! By the way, we cannot talk about a song without giving Durran Durran an honorable mention! 
The moose in this thread has been sacked. 
Apparently the French have a thing about oversleeping. I looked up the lyrics because I didn’t believe RickJay about the imperative (he’s right, though) and right next to it I found:
Meunier, tu dors (Miller, you’re sleeping)
Ton moulin (Your mill)
Va trop vite (Is going too fast)
Va trop fort (Is going to forcefully)
It’s a different tune, and the lyrics repeat in a more complicated order, but you can make it fit.
There’s also another one about bells:
Maudit sois-tu, carillonnuer (Curse you, bell-ringer)
Toi qui naquis pour mon malheur! (You who were born for my misery!)
Dès le point du jour à la cloche il s’accroche, (From dawn he hangs on the bell)
Et le soir encor’ carillonne plus fort (And in the evening he rings still more forcefully)
Quand sonnera-t-on la mort du sonneur? (When will they sound the bell-ringer’s death?)
We used to sing this version as kids:
Fray Felipe, Fray Felipe
Duermes tu? Duermes tu?
Toca las companas, toca las companas
Ding, dong, ding
Ding, dong, ding
At least this is how I remember it. With the line “Toca las companas” meaning “Ring the bells” not “bells ringing”.
“Hey vicar, stop supping that bloody sacramental wine and get down the church you idle git”