The time will come when I decide to write my top ten list of the best French language albums of 2009.
You know what it’s like when you make a list like that – you’ve probably got three or four “no-brainers” which are going to be in there no matter what, and then you may have a dozen or more other albums from which you’re going to have to choose for the remaining spaces.
One thing I didn’t think I would have to think very hard about was the number one spot. Until today one album had towered above the rest – La Ruda’s Grand Soir.
Today I heard Babylon Circus’s 2009 album La Belle Étoile. Now I have a decision to make.
It’s incredibly good, in my opinion their best album yet. I was looking forward to seeing Babylon Circus live on the 26th October before I heard the album. Now I can’t wait.
All that whittering aside, here is a translation of one of the really catchy numbers on Grand Soir, possibly the best album of 2009.
The lyrics of La Parade de Gordon Banks refer to one of the most memorable moments in English football history – a superhuman, physics-defying save by Gordon Banks against Brazil in the 1970 World Cup Finals in Mexico. A game, unfortunately, that we (England) went on to lose 1-0.
I have embedded a YouTube video of the save below.
Thanks to the WordReference forums I was able to get my mind around the following bizarre lyric…
Ressortir du ventre is being used in this context to mean something similar to prendre aux tripes which means something that is gut-wrenching, gripping, in the sporting sense – for further detail you can read here.
I suspect that there is more of a story behind this song than I am aware of and I would be delighted if anyone has anything to say on the subject – please let me have your comments!
| élancer | To dash forward |
| Jurer | To swear, vow |
Te souviens-tu quand il s'élance ? On aurait bien juré qu'il n'avait aucune chance | |
Do you remember when he burst forward, you would've sworn he had no chance | |
| Rejouer | To replay |
Et on l'a souvent rejoué le duel de Pelé contre Gordon Banks | |
And we've often replayed the duel of Pele versus Gordon Banks | |
| Quémander | To beg |
Et tu t'envoies par le fond, à en quémander ta pitance | |
And you dive to the bottom, to beg for your living | |
| Tripoter | To fiddle with |
Et que j'te tripote les cheveux tu voudrais renverser la table | |
And when I fiddle with your hair you want to tip over the table | |
| Le vestiaire | Locker room |
Non je n'ai pas les mots, ce dont je me souviens c'est Platini, Zico qui rentraient aux vestiaires quand ta mère disait fin | |
No I have no words, what I remember is Platini, Zico returning to the locker room when your mother said "the end" | |
| Aux nues | To the skies |
On levait les bras aux nues, bordel! on parlait d'excellence | |
We raised our arms to the skies, damn! talk about brilliance | |
| Tout ton soûl | One's fill |
Il n'est jamais très long le chemin qui ramène à l'enfance, maintenant tu bois tout ton soûl | |
It's never very long, the path that leads back to childhood, now you drink your fill | |
| Sous le manteau | Illicitly, under the counter |
Combien de temps que sous le manteau, tu as vendu tes rêves avec un peu des miens ? | |
How long since you sold your dreams under the counter with a few of my own? | |
La Parade de Gordon Banks - La Ruda | The Gordon Banks Show (translation of La Parade de Gordon Banks by La Ruda) |
| Te souviens-tu "quand il s'élance" ? | Do you remember when he burst forward? | |
| On aurait bien juré qu'il n'avait aucune chance | You would've sworn he had no chance | |
| On levait les bras aux nues | We raised our arms to the skies | |
| Bordel! on parlait d'excellence | Damn, talk about brilliance | |
| Et on l'a souvent rejoué | And we've often replayed it | |
| Le duel de Pelé contre Gordon Banks | The duel of Pele versus Gordon Banks | |
| Pardon je sais tout ça est loin | Pardon me, I know it's long ago | |
| Mais tu vois j'y repense | But you see I think about it | |
| Il n'est jamais très long | It's never very long | |
| Le chemin qui ramène à l'enfance | The path that leads back to childhood | |
| Maintenant tu bois tout ton soûl | Now you drink your fill | |
| Tourbillons et valses violentes | Whirlpools and violent waltzes | |
| Et tu t'envoies par le fond | And you dive to the bottom | |
| A en quémander ta pitance | To beg for your living | |
| Et lentement tu coules | And you slowly sink | |
| A parler à ton ombre | To speak to your shadow | |
| A jurer pas le ciel | To swear to the heavens | |
| Que la vie est la plus belle | That life is the most beautiful | |
| De toutes les putains | Of all the whores | |
| Pour un peu qu'on allonge | For which one pays a little | |
| Combien de temps cela fait Paulo que je ne t'ai revu ? | How long is it Paulo since I've seen you? | |
| Merde je n'en sais rien | Shit I don't know | |
| Combien de temps que sous le manteau | How long since you sold your dreams | |
| Tu as vendu tes rêves avec un peu des miens ? | Under the counter with a few of my own? | |
| Non je n'ai pas les mots | No I have no words | |
| Tout ce qui me revient | The only thing I recall | |
| C'est le cri des préaux | It is the cry of the playground | |
| On les voyait en nous anglais et brésiliens | We saw ourselves as English and Brazilian | |
| Mexico. Jairzinho | Mexico. Jairzinho | |
| Une foule et des reporters en trance | A crowd and reporters in a trance | |
| Jairzinho ! Jairzinho | Jairzinho! Jairzinho | |
| Qui centre pour Pelé ! | Crosses to Pele! | |
| Et tout à coup l'immense... | And suddenly the incredible... | |
| La parade de Gordon Banks | The Gordon Banks Show | |
| Te souviens-tu rue Jean Domat | Do you remember "Rue Jean Domat" | |
| Quand on avait pour but un mur et puis la gloire | When we had for a goal a wall and glory | |
| On n'a jamais vraiment su en fait qui était cet homme-là | We never really really knew in fact who this man was | |
| Mais Dieu sait s'il en a vu rejouées | But God knows if he's seen | |
| Des coupes du monde sur son trottoir | World Cups replayed on his sidewalk | |
| Maintenant tu bois tout ton plein | Now you drink all you can | |
| Tu les regardes | You look at them | |
| Ta langue pend dans ton vin | Your tongue hanging in your wine | |
| Tu souris dans ta barbe | You smile in your beard | |
| Tu les imagines heureux | You imagine them happy | |
| Ces deux cons au fond de la salle | Those two idiots at the back of the room | |
| Et que j'te tripote les cheveux ! | And when I fiddle with your hair! | |
| Tu voudrais renverser la table | You want to tip over the table | |
| Papa fumera près du feu et maman fera du gâteau | Dad smokes near the fire and mama will make some cake | |
| Une tripotée de morveux qui sera leur fierté bientôt | A gaggle of brats who will soon be their pride and joy | |
| Tu aimerais leur dire que ça finira | You'd like to tell them that it will end | |
| Tu aimerais leur dire mais faudrait que tu t'lèves | You'd like to tell them but you'd have to get up | |
| Tu as beau les maudire, pisser dans les draps | As much as you curse them, pissing in the sheets | |
| Mais déjà tu transpires à t'en lécher les lèvres | You've already started to lick your lips | |
| Non je n'ai pas les mots | No I have no words | |
| Ce dont je me souviens | What I remember | |
| C'est Platini, Zico qui rentraient aux vestiaires | Is Platini, Zico returning to the locker room | |
| Quand ta mère disait fin | When your mother said enough | |
| Mexico. Jairzinho | Mexico. Jairzinho | |
| Une foule qui nous ressortait du ventre | A crowd who wrenched its guts | |
| Jairzinho ! Jairzinho | Jairzinho! Jairzinho | |
| Qui centre pour Pelé... | Crosses to Pele ... | |
| Allez Paulo on rentre ! | Hey! Paulo's back! | |
| On parlait d'excellence | We spoke of excellence | |
| On rêvait d'excellence. | We dreamed of excellence | |
| Allez Paulo on rentre ! | Hey! Paulo's back! | |
| La parade de Gordon Banks | The Gordon Banks Show |
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Hi,
I am French, I was looking for the French lyrics of “La parade de Gordon Banks”, and I actually only found them here. Assuming they are the original (because I personaly heard differences in the song itself), I’d like to correct a few things :
“When we had for a goal a wall and then glory? ”
Explaination : “et puis” doesn’t mean “then” here, just “and”
-> “When we had for a goal a wall and glory? ”
“And when I fiddle with your hair! ”
Explaination : “et que je te …” is a French expression that you’ll use to criticize one’s behaviour. The “je” doesn’t mean “I”, the “te” doesn’t mean “you” or “your”, they are to be understood as your subject (here, “les deux cons”, certainly) and your subject’s target (here, certainly “the gaggle of brats” as later in the lyrics).
I don’t know how to translate it, but I’ll give an example of the French expression so you can translate it the way you think suits the best. Imagine you’re walking in the street, next to you the light goes green, and the second car immediatly starts honking the first ; you might want to say “Et que j’te klaxonne le mec de devant !”, meaning the honker is silly to do so.
“Dad smokes near the fire and mama will make some cake ”
Explaination : “Papa fumera”, future
-> “Dad’ll smoke near the fire…” You might also want to replace “smoke” by “be smoking”, same for “make”
“You’ve already started to lick your lips ”
Explaination : “tu transpires” means “you’re sweating” ; and “à” means here “so much that you have to…”,
-> “You’re sweating so as to lick your lips” (you might want to find a better translation)
“Hey! Paulo’s back!”
Explaination : you translated here “Aller, Paulo est rentré”, but “Aller, Paulo, on rentre” means “let’s go home”
-> “Hey! Paulo, let’s go home”
-
And congrats for the global translation, you achieved translating some pretty old and specific French slang (especially “pour un peu qu’on allonge”).
And thanks for the lyrics