“For saving the council money. I happened to mention one day that I’d had the same broom for the last twenty years. They were very impressed and gave me a medal. Twenty years… that’s a long time, Dave.”
“Yeah, well it’s two decades.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but it’s a long time.”
“Hang on a minute Trig… if you’ve had that broom for twenty years, have you actually swept any roads with it?”
“Of course! But I look after it well. I’ve maintained it for twenty years. This old broom has had seventeen new heads and fourteen new handles in its time!”
Only Fools And Horses, BBC TV
Following the departure of Ivan Callot in 2007, Le Sens De La Gravité is the first studio album from Les Fatals Picards on which none of the original members of the band are present. Voilà pourqoui I can justify referencing that sketch from Only Fools and Horses (BBC TV).
Le Sens De La Gravité was released earlier this year. It’s not one of my favourites but it contains some fine tracks. It’s more serious than Les Fatals Picards’ previous studio album Pamplemousse Mécanique but still retains a fair dose of their humour which bears more than a passing similarity to that of Les Trois Accords.
Two of the better tracks on the album are re-recordings of songs from Pamplemousse Mécanique. The first, Seul Et Célibataire 2 is a reasonably heavy rock track which I intend to translate at some point, but for this post I have decided to go with the second Mon Pére Etait Tellement De Gauche, a light, very pleasant acoustic version of the previous recording. You can hear the versions from both albums using the MP3 widget above or by clicking the iTunes button to launch iTunes on your computer.
As you’ll see in a few paragraphs’ time, the translation has afforded me the delightful opportunity to pick up my fair share of left-wing general knowledge and vocabulary.
What would perhaps have been the best song on Le Sens De La Gravité is called Le jour de la mort de Johnny – a song about the death of Johnny Hallyday. Regrettably, Warner, with whom both Les Fatals Picards and Johnny Hallyday himself are signed, asked for the song not to be included on the album, apparently after Johnny Hallyday objected. I’m not sure how long it will remain on YouTube but this is the video of the song that was used to publicise the album.
You may have seen Les Fatals Picards representing France in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest. I didn’t know this until today but then again I couldn’t name any of the acts that have represented the UK over the last twenty years either.
It took me a while to decipher the reference to “Chez Casto” – I believed for a moment it may have been “Chez Castro”, but no, it refers to these guys from whom you can indeed buy breeze blocks.
Kolkoses, or kolkhozes, were collective farms in the old USSR. L’Internationale is a revolutionary poem written in 1871 and given here in eight languages. Silicosis is a nasty lung condition and Andrei Tupolev was honoured three times as a Hero of Socialist Labour by The Russian Academy of Sciences.
The election of François Mitterrand in 1981 brought in the first Socialist president of the Fifth Republic and the Socialist Party remained in power until being ousted in 2002.
I still don’t know anything about Andrei Tupolev’s teeth, Brezhnev’s glasses, or why women would wear false eyelashes at a socialist church wedding.
UPDATE: Thank you Ariane for leaving the comment explaining that faux cils “false eyelashes” sounds like faucille “sickle”, and of course la faucille et le marteau “the hammer and sickle” is a communist symbol.
| Désherber | To weed |
On achetait du coca Kolkose, approuvé par le comité, ça devait soigner la silicose, on s’en servait pour désherber | |
We bought Kolkose cola approved by The Committee, it must have treated silicosis, it was used for weed control | |
| Droitier | Right handed, Politically right-wing |
On ne choisit pas son enfance, on m’a pas laissé être droitier | |
We don't choose our childhood, I was not allowed to be right handed | |
| Nuance | Shade of colour |
On a été en URSS l’hiver, les pays de l’est c’est mieux l’hiver, on voit bien mieux les bâtiments, les nuances de gris ça flashent sur le blanc | |
We'd been in the USSR for winter, eastern countries, it's a better winter, you can see the buildings more clearly, the shades of gray clash with the white | |
| Frisson | Thrill |
| Une chapka | Fur hat |
Devant la statue de Lenine, pour nous c’était le grand frisson, moins 24 c’était pas terrible et les chapkas étaient en option | |
In front of Lenin's statue, it was a big thrill for us, minus 24 was not so bad and fur hats were optional | |
| Un cil | Eyelash |
Mon père était tellement de gauche qu’à son mariage dans l’eglise on chantait l’internationale, les femmes portaient des faux cils | |
My father was so left-wing that at his church wedding they sang The Internationale, the women wore false eyelashes | |
| Les copains | Mates, Buddies |
| Le dentier | Set of teeth |
Les copains se foutaient de moi tout le temps, car à l’école au premier rang j’avais mes lunettes de Brejnev et le dentier d’un Tupolev | |
My mates made fun of me all the time, because at school in the front row I had my Brezhnev glasses and the teeth of a Tupolev | |
| Les couleurs qui flashent | Striking/clashing colours |
On a été en URSS l’hiver, les pays de l’est c’est mieux l’hiver, on voit bien mieux les bâtiments, les nuances de gris ça flashent sur le blanc | |
We'd been in the USSR for winter, eastern countries, it's a better winter, you can see the buildings more clearly, the shades of gray clash with the white | |
| En face | Opposite |
Mon père était tellement de gauche qu'on habitait rue Jean Jaurès en face du square Maurice Thorez avant d’aller vivre à Montrouge | |
My father was so left-wing that we lived in the Rue Jean Jaurès opposite Maurice Thorez Square before going to live in Montrouge | |
| En option | Optional |
Devant la statue de Lenine, pour nous c’était le grand frisson, moins 24 c’était pas terrible et les chapkas étaient en option | |
In front of Lenin's statue, it was a big thrill for us, minus 24 was not so bad and fur hats were optional | |
| Des parpaings | Breeze blocks, cinder blocks |
Mon père était tellement de gauche que quand est tombé le mur de Berlin il est parti chez casto pour acheter des parpaings | |
My father was so left-wing that when The Berlin Wall fell he went to Chez Casto to buy some breeze blocks | |
| Se foutre de (la gueule de) | To make fun of |
Les copains se foutaient de moi tout le temps, car à l’école au premier rang j’avais mes lunettes de Brejnev et le dentier d’un Tupolev | |
My mates made fun of me all the time, because at school in the front row I had my Brezhnev glasses and the teeth of a Tupolev | |
Mon Pére Etait Tellement De Gauche - Les Fatals Picards | My Dad Was So Left Wing (translation of Mon Pére Etait Tellement De Gauche by Les Fatals Picards) |
| On ne choisit pas son enfance, on m’a pas laissé être droitier | We don't choose our childhood, I was not allowed to be right-handed | |
| Mon père m’emmenait jamais au square mais au réunion de comité | My father never took me to the square but to the committee meeting | |
| Mon père était tellement de gauche qu'on habitait rue Jean Jaurès | My father was so left-wing that we lived in the Rue Jean Jaurès | |
| En face du square Maurice Thorez avant d’aller vivre à Montrouge | Opposite Maurice Thorez Square before going to live in Montrouge | |
| On a été en URSS l’hiver, les pays de l’est c’est mieux l’hiver | We'd been in the USSR for winter, eastern countries, it's a better winter | |
| On voit bien mieux les bâtiments, les nuances de gris ça flashent sur le blanc | You can see the buildings more clearly, the shades of gray clash with the white | |
| Devant la statue de Lenine, pour nous c’était le grand frisson | In front of Lenin's statue, it was a big thrill for us | |
| Moins 24 c’était pas terrible et les chapkas étaient en option | Minus 24 wasn't great and fur hats were optional | |
| Mon père était tellement de gauche que quand est tombé le mur de Berlin | My father was so left-wing that when The Berlin Wall fell | |
| Il est parti chez casto pour acheter des parpaings | He went off to Casto to buy some breeze blocks | |
| On mangeait des Lenin’s burger, fallait vraiment faire attention | We ate Lenin burgers, you really had to be careful | |
| Il y avait du choux une pomme de terre, la viande elle était en option | There was cabbage, a potato, the meat was optional | |
| On achetait du coca Kolkose, approuvé par le comité | We bought Kolkose cola approved by the Committee | |
| Ça devait soigner la silicose, on s’en servait pour désherber | It must have treated silicosis, it was used for weed control | |
| On regardait pas la contrebande, on regardait pas la corruption | We didn't see the contraband, we didn't see the corruption | |
| La Sibérie c’était disneyland, le discernement en option. | Siberia was disneyland, judgement optional. | |
| Mon père était tellement de gauche qu’à son mariage dans l’eglise | My father was so left-wing that at his church wedding | |
| On chantait l’internationale, les femmes portaient des faux cils | They sang The Internationale, the women wore false eyelashes | |
| Mon père était tellement de gauche, on a eu tout pleins d’accident | My father was so left-wing, we had so many accidents | |
| Il refusait la priorité à droite systématiquement | He systematically refused to give way to the right | |
| Les copains se foutaient de moi tout le temps, car à l’école au premier rang | My mates made fun of me all the time, because at school in the front row | |
| J’avais mes lunettes de Brejnev et le dentier d’un Tupolev | I had my Brezhnev glasses and the teeth of a Tupolev | |
| Mon père était tellement de gauche, qu’en 81 il croyait que ça changerait | My father was so left-wing, that in '81 he thought it would all change | |
| Je crois même qu’il en rêvait en 2002 en allant voter | I even reckon he was still dreaming of it in 2002 on his way to vote | |
| Et même si tout ce que je raconte n’est pas tout à fait vrai | And even if everything I say is not entirely true | |
| Le socialisme comme paradis nous on y croyait | The socialist paradise that we believed in | |
| Mon père était tellement de gauche, que lorsqu’il est parti | My father was so left-wing that since he's been gone | |
| La gauche est partie avec lui. | The left has gone with him |
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
About eyelashes, in french it is “faux cils” and it sounds like “faucille”, faucille et marteau étant les symboles communistes.
About chez Casto you were right, Castorama is a shop to buy tools (you can see it in the video on you tube).
Good luck for your translations
Ah! Thank you Ariane – I knew there must be some word play going that I was missing.
Hi !
I think, in the first verse, when Les Fatals Picards said “on m’a pas laissé être droitier”, they meant “I was not allowed to be right-hander” ; it’s a reference to children who were not allowed to write with their left hand (because left is “evil” for Christianity, if you see what I mean)
And, “Moins 24 c’était pas terrible”, I’d rather say “Minus 24 wasn’t really great”, or something like that. It’s a french expression to say “it’s not good”.
However, it’s a really good translation, thank you very much for it !
Good luck for your next translations.
“Je crois même qu’il en rêvait en 2002 en allant voter” isn’t correct, it should be “J’ sais pas quelle tête il aurait fait en 2002 en allant voter.”
That paragraph references the french presidential elections of 81 and 2002: in 81, François Mitterand (socialist) was elected and there was a great hope of a huge policy shift (towards the left); in 2002 the socialist party candidate (Lionel Jospin) wasn’t even in the 2nd round, which was played between Le Pen (far-right nationalistic party) and Chirac (democratic right-wing party)… an event which would’ve had the singer’s father livid, obviously.
Imagine an Obama supporter having to vote either for Mitt Romney or Michelle Bachman, basically.
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