Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis

Trois Chansons, M 69, is a composition by Maurice Ravel for a cappella choir, set to his own texts. Ravel began the composition in December 1914 in response to the outbreak of World War I, in which he hoped to be enlisted to fight for France. While he waited for months, he wrote text and music of the three songs in the tradition of 16th-century French chansons. He completed the work in 1915, and it was published by Éditions Durand in 1916. The songs were premiered in 1917, performed by a choral ensemble conducted by Louis Aubert. They remained his only composition for a cappella choir.
Three beautiful birds of Paradise is set in F minor. The song is the only one of the three clearly referring to the war, the colours of the birds being the colours of the flag of France, and the refrain "Mon ami, z'il est á la guerre". The first verses are presented by the "heavenly" voice of the soprano, continued by the tenor. The song was described as "of the three pieces, the most refined, undoubtedly" and as an "exquisite ballad full of tenderness".

Ravel gave it a form of a free rondo, in a form described as ABABA.A, while the traditional form might be ABACA, deviating from it by no contrasting C section but a repeat of A as a coda. The theme of longing is expressed by a languid melody with sparse accompaniment, in modal harmonies.