Science • In the fields of
chemistry and
cheminformatics, the
circuit rank of a
molecular graph (the number of
rings in the
smallest set of smallest rings) is sometimes referred to as the Frèrejacque number.
Popular culture • A version of the tune appears in the third
movement of the
Symphony No. 1 by
Gustav Mahler. Mahler presents the melody in a
minor key instead of a major key, thus giving the piece the character of a
funeral march or
dirge; however, the mode change to minor might not have been an invention by Mahler, as is often believed, but rather the way this round was sung in the 19th century and early 20th century in
Austria. Francesca Draughon and Raymond Knapp argue that Mahler had changed the key to make "Frère Jacques" sound more "Jewish." Draughon and Knapp claim that the tune was originally sung to mock non-Catholics, such as Protestants or Jews. Mahler himself called the tune by its German name, "Bruder Martin", and made some allusions to the piece being related to a parody in the programs he wrote for the performances. Interpretations similar to this are quite prevalent in academia and in musical circles. •
Leonard Bernstein made use of the song to illustrate
counterpoint in his television program
What Makes Music Symphonic? (one of a series of 53 programs, the ''
Young People's Concerts with the
New York Philharmonic'', combining music and lectures that were televised between 1959 and 1972). •
The Beatles' 1966 song ”
Paperback Writer" features the title "Frère Jacques" sung by
John Lennon and
George Harrison under the main melody of the last verse. • The French performer known as
Le Pétomane entertained live audiences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with his own unique rendition, according to the
BBC. •
Henri Bernstein, a French playwright, wrote a comedic play entitled
Frère Jacques (translated as
Brother Jacques) with
Pierre Veber in 1904. • Frère Jacques is a type of semi-soft cow's milk
cheese with a mild hazelnut taste, produced by
Benedictine monks from the Saint-Benoit-du-lac Abbey in
Quebec,
Canada. • Four French singers, brothers André and Georges Bellec, François Soubeyran and Paul Tourenne formed a comedic singing group in 1944 known as
Les Frères Jacques, even though none of them were named "Jacques". The group name was a bit of a play on words since a common French expression, "faire le jacques", means to act like a clown. They had successful careers over the next few decades. • The demonstrators in
Tiananmen Square chanted political slogans to the tune of "Frère Jacques". • There is a strong oral tradition among children in China, Vietnam and other places in Asia of passing on songs with their own lyrics, sung to the tune of "Frère Jacques". • Frère Jacques was the name of a chain of franchised French restaurants in the UK and the name of a French restaurant in the Murray Hill section of New York City. Les Frères Jacques is the name of a French restaurant in Dublin. •
Ron Haselden, a British artist living in the French town of Brizard, in
Brittany, has produced an interactive multimedia piece featuring "Frère Jacques" in collaboration with
Peter Cusack. • The Chinese song “Dadao lie qiang” (“Cut down the great powers”), also known as “Revolution of the Citizens” (國民革命歌), is a patriotic anthem written by officers of the
Whampoa Military Academy during the 1920s. It was associated with the
First United Front between the
Kuomintang and the
Chinese Communist Party and promoted cooperation against warlords and foreign imperialist powers. The song is sung to the tune of "Frère Jacques." •
K-pop group
Nmixx interpolates the rhyme into their 2023 song "
Young, Dumb, Stupid". •
The Beach Boys' song "
Surf's Up" references the English version of "Frère Jacques', both lyrically and melodically, in the song's line, "Are you sleeping, brother John?" == References ==