A couple of readers got quite excited by hearing the samples from Niagara’s album Religion, and this song in particular has proved quite popular. So here are the lyrics along with the English translation.
There is a brief discussion of this song in this French Pod Class PDF.
I’m currently listening to a couple of Noir Désir albums trying to decide on a translation for tomorrow. I’ve always felt that I should like Noir Désir more than I do but I’ve never been grabbed by any of their albums despite loving several individual songs.
I’m going to have to do a follow up to yesterday’s post as there are three or four artists who should be in there, so look out for Albums for the journey home!
Anyway, à demain!
Verbs
| Se marrer | To have a laugh |
J'ai vu la mort se marrer et ramasser ceux qui restaient | |
I've see death laughing and cleaning up those who remained | |
| Flotter | Here: To fly |
Les drapeaux rouges ont cessé de flotter, je les ai brûlés | |
The red flags have stopped flying, I've burned them | |
| Craindre | To fear |
Le pire est à craindre pour demain | |
The worst is to be afraid of tomorrow | |
| Accrocher | To hang, (s' ~) to cling |
Accrochée à ma fenêtre bleutée j'ai cherché la vérité | |
Clinging to my tinted window I sought the truth | |
Vocabulary
| Le pire | The worst |
Le pire est à craindre pour demain | |
The worst is to be afraid of tomorrow | |
Phrases / Idioms
| à jamais | Forever |
Que cent mille fleurs s'ouvrent à jamais | |
Let a hundred thousand flowers open for evermore | |
| Ça ne me fait rien | It doesn't bother me |
Le pire est à craindre pour demain, ça ne me fait rien | |
The worst is to be afraid of tomorrow, it doesn't bother me | |
J'ai Vu - Niagara | I saw (translation of J'ai Vu by Niagara) |
| J'ai vu Berlin, Bucarest et Pékin comme si j'y étais | I've seen Berlin, Bucharest and Beijing as if I were there | |
| Matin et soir le nez dans la télé, c'est encore plus vrai | Morning and evening the nose in the TV, it's even more real | |
| J'étais de tous les combats, collée devant l'écran | I was in all the fights, glued to the screen | |
| A la fois à Soweto, en Chine et au Liban | In Soweto, China and Lebanon at the same time | |
| Lancer des pierres au bord de Gaza, je ne regrette pas | Throwing stones at the Gaza border, I don't regret it | |
| Des religieux, au nom de leur foi, m'ont lance une fatwa | Religious men, in the name of their faith, put a fatwa on me | |
| J'ai vu la guerre, la victoire était au bout de leur fusils | I have seen war, victory was at the end of their rifles | |
| J'ai vu le sang sur ma peau, j'ai vu la fureur et les cris | I saw blood on my skin, I saw the fury and the screams | |
| Et j'ai prié, j'ai prié tous ceux qui se sont sacrifiés | And I prayed, I prayed for all those who sacrificed themselves | |
| J'ai vu la mort se marrer et ramasser ceux qui restaient | I've see death laughing and cleaning up those who remained | |
| Et j'ai vu... | And I've seen... | |
| Que cent mille fleurs s'ouvrent à jamais, et j'ai deja donné | Let a hundred thousand flowers open forever, I've given already | |
| Les drapeaux rouges ont cessé de flotter, je les ai brûlés | The red flags have stopped flying, I've burned them | |
| Un homme ce matin s'est jeté sous un train. | This morning a man threw himself under a train | |
| Abandonné comme un chien, la misère et la faim | Abandoned like a dog, miserable and hungry | |
| Le pire est à craindre pour demain | The worst is to be afraid of tomorrow | |
| Ça ne me fait rien | It doesn't bother me | |
| Accrochée à ma fenêtre bleutée | Clinging to my tinted window | |
| J'ai cherché la vérité | I sought the truth |
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