I recently heard a song by Isabelle Boulay on a French radio station. I was suprised how grabbed I was by her voice given that her music is not generally of the genre that immediately catches my attention.
As I do in these circumstances, I went in search of the samples that accompany MP3 downloads these days and found the album Nos Lendemains (Our tomorrows) in the UK iTunes store.
I was not suprised to find that her previous album De retour à la source was nominated for the Canadian Juno Award for francophone album of the year in 2008 which was eventually won by Daniel Bélanger who was one of the earliest singers I translated on this site.
I suspect that I will soon return to the world of distorted guitars, male vocals and ska, but first here is a translation of a song from Nos Lendemains called Ton Histoire (Your story).
I’ve done something with this translation that I’ve not attempted before.
Whenever I translate on this blog I concentrate first and foremost on conveying the meaning of the original lyrics trying to keep as much as possible the feeling of a song. However, this is the first translation where I have consciously attempted to make the translation poetic, so that it could indeed by sung over the same tune.
For example, here is the first verse…
Quand le silence est roi, le reste est de trop
On retrouve le goût des paradis perdus
Tout ce qu’on ne croyait plus
…here is how I translated it originally…
When silence is king, nothing else matters
We taste again those paradises lost
All the things we no longer believed
…and here is my attempt at adding a little flavour…
When silence is king, all else is excess
The taste of a lost paradise is retrieved
All the things we no longer believed
As you can see I am clearly in no danger of becoming the next Poet Laureate.
When a professional translates a song for the very purpose of being recorded in a new language, he or she will more often than not have to restructure, rewrite, or juggle large chunks of the song in order to create a good song in the new language. As you can see I’ve not done that here.
Once upon a time I translated a tremendously famous song by Charles Aznavour called Hier Encore. I gave the original French, my translation and provided the YouTube video of the actual English recording of the song. You can clearly see the art of the professional translator in that post.
With this translation of Ton Histoire I have, as always, provided certain vocabulary and expressions prior to the lyrics. You can therefore check out for yourself where I may have taken a few liberties with the flavour of words.
I’m not sure how well it worked but it’s an experiment that I enjoyed and may try again in the future. Suggestions welcome!
| Reconnaître | To recognize |
Quelques gestes oubliés qu'on reconnait par coeur, qu'est ce qui s'était passé, était-ce nous d'ailleurs ? | |
Some forgotten gestures we once knew by heart, what happened, was that really us? | |
| Revoir | To see again |
Une main qu'on revoit, carressante et tendue, tout ce qu'on ne croyait plus | |
A hand seen again, caressing and tender, all the things we no longer believed | |
| Bâtir | To build |
Quand le temps a bâti des murs entre toi et ma peau | |
When time has built walls between you and my skin | |
| Jurer | To swear |
Même après ma vie, je le jure, je te dirai ces mots | |
Even after my life, I swear I will say these words to you | |
| Rattraper | To catch up with |
Ton histoire est mon histoire, c'est rattraper nos traces sur les chemins du temps | |
Your story is my story, it's to retrace our steps on the paths of time | |
| Effacer | To erase |
Ton histoire est mon histoire...it's the hope that erases the hurt of the past | |
Your story is my story...it's the hope that erases the hurt of the past | |
| Retrouver | To find, to regain |
C'est retrouver son âme comme retrouver la vue, tout ce qu'on ne croyait plus | |
It's to find one's soul as if to once more see all the things we no longer believed | |
| La soie | Silk |
C'est un regard de soie qui se passe de mots, quand le silence est roi, le reste est de trop | |
It's a silk look that words can't express, when silence is king, all else is excess | |
| Des murs | Walls |
Quand le temps a bâti des murs entre toi et ma peau | |
When time has built walls between you and my skin | |
| Un chemin | Path, way |
Ton histoire est mon histoire, c'est rattraper nos traces sur les chemins du temps | |
Your story is my story, it's to retrace our steps on the paths of time | |
| être de trop | To be superfluous |
C'est un regard de soie qui se passe de mots, quand le silence est roi, le reste est de trop | |
It's a silk look that words can't express, when silence is king, all else is excess | |
Ton Histoire - Isabelle Boulay | Your Story (translation of Ton Histoire by Isabelle Boulay) |
| C'est un regard de soie qui se passe de mots | It's a silk look that words can't express | |
| Quand le silence est roi, le reste est de trop | When silence is king, all else is excess | |
| On retrouve le goût des paradis perdus | The taste of a lost paradise retrieved | |
| Tout ce qu'on ne croyait plus | All the things we no longer believed | |
| Quelques gestes oubliés qu'on reconnait par coeur | Some forgotten gestures we once knew by heart | |
| Qu'est ce qui s'était passé, était-ce nous d'ailleurs ? | What happened, was it really us from the start? | |
| Une main qu'on revoit, carressante et tendue | Recall the caress of a hand, tender and sure | |
| Tout ce qu'on ne croyait plus | All the things we believed in no more | |
| Je n'étais pas loin, je n'oubliais rien | I wasn't far away, I forgot nothing | |
| Quand le temps a bâti des murs | While time built walls | |
| Entre toi et ma peau | Between you and my skin | |
| Je n'étais pas loin, je n'oubliais rien | I wasn't far away, I forgot nothing | |
| Même après ma vie, je le jure | Even after my life, I swear | |
| Je te dirai ces mots | I'll tell you again | |
| Ton histoire est mon histoire | Your story is my story | |
| C'est rattraper nos traces sur les chemins du temps | It's to retrace our steps on those ancient paths | |
| C'est l'espoir qui efface les blessures d'avant | It's the hope that erases the hurt from the past | |
| C'est retrouver son âme comme retrouver la vue | It's to find one's soul as if once more to see | |
| Tout ce qu'on ne croyait plus | All the things we no longer believed | |
| Ton histoire est mon histoire | Your story is my story | |
| Ta douleur est ma douleur | Your pain is my pain | |
| Ta route est ma route | Your path is my path |
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
My name is Keith Mineo. I have complied a Isabelle Boulay song book, listing all her songs and the words. I have relied on internet translations of her songs, leaving us English speakers at a lost at trying to Pick out the real meaning all these beautiful songs. This there an Isabelle Boulay Song Book giving her songs in French with REAL ENGLISH translations as oppose to these less than accurate Internet translations? My email address is: kmineo@pacbell.net I would be willing to share anything I have to help this process. PS: THE PERSON WHO TRANSLATED THIS TON HISTOIRE DID A WONDERFUL SENSITIVE JOB. THANKS Merci Keith
J’apprends parler français maintenant et Je trouve écouter les chansons aident mes études. Merci!
Hello Chris,
Quite interesting to find these sort of translations on the internet, makes me really appreciate this easy way of sharing. Merci.
Hello Keith -
I was searching for Isabelle Boulay lyrics translations and came across this site. My French is limited, but I’m trying to bring it back by studying song lyrics. There is a very pretty song on YouTube that Isabelle sings called “Prends Ton Temps” that was made popular by Renee Claude. I am looking for the full lyrics as my limited French only allows me to understand about 50% of them. Do you have those lyrics by any chance? I cannot find anything on the internet. Si vous les avez, merci beaucoup!
Hi Jean,
I performed a quick search to see if I could find a link on the Internet that I could send you directly to the lyrics but I’m surprised to find that I too am unable to find them anywhere!
Perhaps if you’d like to send me the lyrics that you have already understood I can help you to fill in the blanks.
-Chris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54tqn3YpgCs