Au clair de la lune Au clair de la lune "" (, lit. "By the Light of the Moon") is a French folk song of the 18th century. Its composer and lyricist are unknown. Its simple melody () is commonly taught to beginners learning an instrument. Some sources report that "plume" (pen) was originally "lume" (an old word for "light" or "lamp"). 19th-century French composer Camille Saint-Saëns quoted the first few notes of the tune in the section "The Fossils", part of his suite "The Carnival of the Animals". Claude Debussy, composer of the similarly named "Clair de lune" from his "Suite bergamasque", uses "Au
Au clair de la lune clair de la lune" as the basis of his song "Pierrot" ("Pantomime", L. 31) from "Quatre Chansons de Jeunesse". Erik Satie quoted this song in the section "Le flirt" (No. 19) of his 1914 piano collection "Sports et divertissements". In 1926, Samuel Barber rewrote "H-35: Au Claire de la Lune: A Modern Setting of an old folk tune" while studying at the Curtis Institute of Music. In 1928, Marc Blitzstein orchestrated "Variations sur 'Au Claire du la Lune'." In 1964, French pop singer France Gall recorded a version of this song, with altered lyrics to make it a love song.