"Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle" is derived from a Provençal carol of the 16th century. The French translation of the text by Émile Blémont first appeared in Julien Tiersot's Noëls Français (1901). The melody, from Francois Seguin's Recueil de noëls composes en langue provençale (1856), is based on "Qu'ils sont doux, bouteille jolie" written by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, for performances of Moliere's Le Médecin Malgré lui (1666).