My Top Ten Francophone Albums 2005 - 2010
 
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Translation of Dis-lui Oui by Bénabar

July 22, 2010 at 2:54 pm

It’s been a couple of months since I made a translation here. I was out for a run last night listening for the first time to Bénabar’s 2003 debut album and the song Dis-Lui Oui made me chuckle a little and that was as good a reason as any to break the silence.

Bénabar’s songs are really great for anyone learning French – very lyrical, story driven songs with a great variety of vocabulary and natural expressions, and on top of that they are clearly sung by a man who’s voice is not intensely annoying like so many other French singers of the genre. I suspect his songs are in no danger of being labelled particularly cool, but most of them are catchy and often amusing.

Verbs
SupplierTo beg
SupporterTo put up with
Depuis que tu l'as quitté, il habite chez moi, je ne peux plus le supporter, Muriel aide-moi
Since you left him, he lives round my place, I can't stand it anymore, Muriel help me
EngueulerTo tell off, to give an earful to
FrôlerTo brush against, to miss narrowly
J'ai frôlé la crise cardiaque, j'en ai encore mal dans le bras, il fait semblant d'être somnambule pour que je l'engueule pas
I almost had a heart attack, I can still feel it in my arm, he pretends to be sleepwalking so that I don't yell at him
Vocabulary
Le chantageBlackmail
Avec tout ce que vous avez vécu, avoue que c'est dommage, et j' te dis pas combien il souffre, ça serait du chantage
With all you've been through, you'll admit it's a shame, and I won't tell you how much he's suffering, that would be blackmail
Les fiançaillesEngagement
Il me raconte votre vie dans les moindres détails, ce qui se passe dans votre lit depuis vos fiançailles
He tells me about your relationship in every detail, what happened in your bed since your engagement
Phrases / Idioms
ça ne me regarde pasIt's none of my business
Foutre dehorsTo kick out, to send packing
Je sais bien, Muriel, que ça ne me regarde pas, tu l'as foutu dehors et je respecte ton choix
I know, Muriel, that it's none of my business, you kicked him out and I respect your decision
Y mettre du sienTo pull one's weight, to play one's part
Muriel, mon enfant, je t'aide parce que je t'aime bien, mais on ne s'en sortira pas, si t'y mets pas du tien
Muriel, my child, I'm helping you because I really like you, but we won't make it, if you don't pull your weight

Dis-Lui Oui - Bénabar
 
Tell him yes (translation of Dis-Lui Oui by Bénabar)
Je sais bien, Muriel, que ça ne me regarde pas
Tu l'as foutu dehors et je respecte ton choix
Mais il voudrait revenir... d'accord, j'insiste pas
C'est mon ami quand même ! Non, C'est pas lui qui m'envoie

Ça me fait de la peine, vous alliez si bien ensemble
Six ans de vie commune mais je veux pas le défendre
Avec tout ce que vous avez vécu, avoue que c'est dommage
Et j' te dis pas combien il souffre
Ça serait du chantage

Muriel je t'en prie
Je t'en supplie
Dis-lui oui

Depuis que tu l'as quitté, il habite chez moi
Je ne peux plus le supporter, Muriel aide-moi

Il veut toujours qu'on parle et qu'on parle que de lui
La discussion consiste à l'écouter, à dire " oui "
Le seul moment tranquille c'est quand il t'écrit
Mais les poèmes de cinq pages, après il me les lit

Il me raconte votre vie dans les moindres détails
Ce qui se passe dans votre lit depuis vos fiançailles
Je suis un gentleman, je répéterai pas, c'est intime
Rassure-toi Muriel... espèce de petite coquine

Il va et vient la nuit à n'importe quelle heure
Il fouille dans ma chambre pendant que je dors
J'ai frôlé la crise cardiaque, j'en ai encore mal dans le bras
Il fait semblant d'être somnambule pour que je l'engueule pas

Tu sais, c'est un mec bien mais j' veux pas t'influencer
Il gagne pas mal sa vie, à deux c'est mieux pour le loyer
Voyons les choses en face, t'es pas non plus terrible
Regarde-toi dans une glace, Muriel, faut être lucide

Bon, il a des torts, il t'a trompée c'est vrai
Avec ta mère d'accord mais ramène pas tout à toi
Muriel, mon enfant, je t'aide parce que je t'aime bien
Mais on ne s'en sortira pas, si t'y mets pas du tien
 
I know, Muriel, that it's none of my business
You kicked him out and I respect your decision
But he wants you back... OK, I won't push it
He is my friend though, no, he didn't send me

It's difficult for me, you were so good together
Six years living together, but I don't want to defend him
With all you've been through, you'll admit it's a shame
And I won't tell you how much he's suffering
That would be blackmail

Muriel, please
I beg you
Tell him yes

Since you left him, he lives round my place
I can't stand it anymore, Muriel help me

He always wants to talk and to talk about himself
The discussion consists of listening to him and saying "yes"
The only moment of peace is when he's writing to you
Poems five pages long, and then he reads them to me

He tells me about your relationship in every detail
What happened in your bed since your engagement
I am a gentleman, I won't repeat it, it's too intimate
Rest assured Muriel, you saucy little thing

He comes and goes at all hours of the night
He rummages round my room while I sleep
I almost had a heart attack, I can still feel it in my arm
He pretends to be sleepwalking so that I don't yell at him

You know, he's good guy but I don't want to influence you
He does all right for himself, and two people are better for the rent
Let's face it, you're not so hot yourself
Look at yourself in the mirror, Muriel, be honest

Well, he has faults, he cheated on you it's true
With your mother, fair enough, but don't blame it all on him
Muriel, my child, I'm helping you because I really like you
But we won't get through this, if you don't pull your weight

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Translation of Il Faut Que Tu T’en Ailles by Marie Mai

April 9, 2010 at 2:40 pm

Marie-Mai - Inoxydable - Il faut que tu t'en ailles
The UK general election was called on Tuesday and we’ll soon be trundling off to the polling booths to decide how many of our current suits we want to swap for new ones.

Now, this song choice is not supposed to indicate in any way my political preference (not much), suffice to say that it feels quite pertinent.

Ok, so the comparisons break down on closer inspection, it feels a bit harsh to bring his mother into it, but we’ll find out on the first Thursday in May if this is broadly how the nation feels about our Great Leader Gordon Brown.

Il Faut Que Tu T’en Ailles (You really have to go) is the opening song on the 2005 album Inoxydable. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big fan of Quebec’s Marie Mai – I’m not aware of any female artists in the UK producing this quality of pop rock.

Verbs
FrôlerTo brush against
SupporterTo put up with
Je veux vraiment plus rien savoir, je peux même plus supporter que tu me frôles
I truly don't want to know any more, I can't even stand it when you brush against me
S'emmerderTo bore, to annoy
Tout m'emmerde, ton chien, ta mère, tes problèmes, tous les amis bizarres que tu ramènes
Everything annoys me, your dog, your mother, your problems, all the bizarre friends you bring back
SupplierTo beg
Trop tard pour y penser, pas la peine de supplier
Too late to think it over, no point begging
Vocabulary
L'enferHell
Il y a plus rien à faire, vivre avec toi c'est pire que l'enfer
There's nothing left to do, living with you is worse than hell
Le bailLease
Il y a plus rien qui vaille, t'es même plus sur le bail
It's no longer worth a thing, you're not even on the lease anymore
La galèreHell , nightmare
C'est là que s'arrête la galère, j'ai besoin d'un peu d'air
The nightmare ends here, I need a little air
Phrases / Idioms
Tomber/taper sur les nerfsTo get on someone's nerves
Même tes bons côtés me tombent sur les nerfs, ta présence me dérange
Even your good points get on my nerves, your presence irritates me
Rien qui vailleNothing that matters
Il y a plus rien qui vaille, t'es même plus sur le bail
It's no longer worth a thing, you're not even on the lease anymore

Il faut que tu t'en ailles - Marie-Mai
 
You really have to go (translation of Il faut que tu t'en ailles by Marie-Mai)
Y'a plus rien à faire
Vivre avec toi c'est pire que l'enfer
Même tes bons côtés me tombent sur les nerfs
Ta présence me dérange
C'est vraiment le temps que ça change

Il faut que tu t'en ailles
J'ai plus envie de te voir
J'veux vraiment plus rien savoir
J'veux plus faire semblant de te trouver drôle
Sans histoire
Il faut que tu t'en ailles

Tout m'emmerde
Ton chien, ta mère, tes problèmes
Tous les amis bizarres que tu ramènes oh yeah
Y'a plus rien qui vaille
T'es même plus sur le bail
Trop tard pour y penser
Pas la peine de supplier

C'est là que s'arrête la galère
J'ai besoin d'un peu d'air

Il faut que tu t'en ailles
J'ai plus envie de te voir
J'veux vraiment plus rien savoir
J'peux même plus supporter que tu me frôles
Au revoir!
Il faut que tu t'en ailles

C'est là que s'arrête la galère
J'ai besoin d'un peu d'air

Il faut que tu t'en ailles
J'ai plus envie de te voir
J'veux vraiment plus rien savoir
J'peux plus t'entendre pleurer sur mon épaule
Sans histoire
Au revoir!
Il faut que tu t'en ailles

Il faut que tu t'en ailles
J'ai plus envie de te voir
J'veux vraiment plus rien savoir
J'peux plus t'entendre pleurer sur mon épaule
Sans histoire
Avant ce soir
Il faut que tu t'en ailles
 
There's nothing left to do
Living with you is worse than hell
Even your good points get on my nerves
Your presence irritates me
It really is time for a change

You really have to go
I've no wish to see you any more
I truly don't want to know any more
I no longer want to pretend to find you funny
No arguments
You really have to go

Everything annoys me
Your dog, your mother, your problems
All the bizarre friends you bring back, oh yeah
It's no longer worth a thing
You're not even on the lease anymore
Too late to think it over
No point begging

The nightmare ends here
I need a little air

You really need to go
I've no wish to see you any more
I truly don't want to know any more
I can't even stand it when you brush against me
Goodbye!
You really need to go

The nightmare ends here
I need a little air

You really need to go
I've no wish to see you any more
I truly don't want to know any more
I can't listen to you crying on my shoulder any more
No arguments
Goodbye!
You really need to go

You really need to go
I've no wish to see you any more
I truly don't want to know any more
I can't listen to you crying on my shoulder any more
No arguments
Before tonight
You really need to go

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The Top 10 French Language Music Releases of 2009

January 1, 2010 at 2:45 pm

Babylon Circus, Bristol UK, Halloween 2009.
A little clue as to which band produced the best album of 2009.

To start the new year here is my list of the ten best French language albums of 2009.

Broadly speaking we have one hip hop, two rock, three ska, one reggae and three humorous, which are predominantly rock-based.

There were several albums that I was expecting to put on this list but discovered were in fact late 2008 releases. It all goes by far too quickly for me.

In the next post I’ll highlight some of the releases that we can look forward to over the next year. While 2009 has been a great year for ska, there is promise from bands such as Vulgaires Machins that we’ll have some top quality rock to get our ears around in 2010.

 
Les Trois Accords - Dans mon corps
10. Dans Mon Corps

I couldn’t leave a Trois Accords-shaped hole in this list.

Like all their albums, this release contains some of the worst singing you are ever likely to hear outside of the X Factor but sometimes the inanity of a record such as Dans Mon Corps is exactly what the moment calls for.

Dan Mon Corps came out in October and sees the band from Quebec in just as ridiculous and joyful form as ever. The track Croquer des cous is one of my favourites but gives the game away that these guys, despite their attempts to pretend otherwise, are in fact pretty talented punk/rock songwriters and musicians.

 
Sinik - Ballon d'or
9. L’ecrasement De Tête

I would have liked to have included Diam’s S.O.S. here but her incessant talking, worse, her incessant whispering between tracks drives me bonkers.

I also considered Diam’s close friend Sinik’s album Ballon D’or in its place. I had wanted to translate the song 4-4-2 from Ballon D’or shortly after the world cup draw a few days after the release of the album at the end of November.

L’ecrasement De Tête is more intersting and enjoyable than either Diam’s or Sinik’s latest releases which I why I have chosen it here.

 
Fatals Picards - Le sens de la gravité
8. Le Sens De La Gravité

These guys were the subject of a post in October where I was in the happy position of being able to quote an Only Fools And Horses sketch. Their album art was plastered over Paris metro stations advertising their current tour when I was over there at Christmas.

Their music is also fairly humorous and lighthearted but less shameless than either that of Les Singes Savants or their Canadian counterparts, Les Trois Accords, despite having represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007.

 
BB Brunes - Nico Teen Love
7. Nico Teen Love

I didn’t care very much for BB Brunes’ first album, Blonde Comme Moi. While it had its moments, I found it largely rather empty. I had however been looking forward to their second album, Nico Teen Love ever since hearing the preview tracks on their website. It is altogether a more interesting and accomplished offering.

There are clearly strong influences from bands such as The Libertines and Arctic Monkeys (Black and Blue is almost obscenely Monkeyesque) and when you start listening to the key riff in Bouche B you will be forgiven for thinking you are listening to Queens of the Stone Age. At one point there is even a blatant, though probably unintentional, Pulp riff.

Although there are 15 tracks, over half of them are under three minutes and none of them are over four minutes. I listened to this album for the first time on my iPod while on the treadmill and it did a fine job of keeping me running. It’s rare that I outrun an album and have to “rewind”, but that’s what happened.

 
Marie-Mai - Version 3.0
6. Version 3.0

Being an ex Star Académie contestant, my very bones tell me that I should avoid Marie Mai’s music. However, I like pretty much everything this Québécoise has ever recorded including this, her third album, released in September. She is an excellent singer and packs her albums full of pacey, energetic pop rock with the kind of distorted guitar backing that air guitarists fantasize about in front of their bedroom mirrors.

 
Broussaï - Perspectives
5. Perspectives

I don’t know why but as the years roll merrily forward, I have started to get into Reggae in a way that I had never felt the need to do previously. I’ve always been a ska fan but only recently has this crossed over to the full blown reggae beats of an album such as Broussaï’s Perspectives. As well as some great songs, the production quality of this album is fantastic. Every instrument and vocal sounds crisp and clear on top of the dominant bass.

 
Eiffel - A Tout Moment
4. A Tout Moment

This album was the subject of my last post which was a long, long time ago on December 6th. With no release from one of my favourites, the Québécois Vulgaire Machins, in 2009 (they have finished recording and are currently mixing their new album), Eiffel released one of the few solid French language rock albums of 2009.

 
Les gars dans l'coin - #8604 - EP

Now we’re at the business end of the top ten, here is a EP that I adore. Five fantastic thumping ska tracks, each one a belter. One of the best EPs ever released.

 
La Ruda - Grand soir
2. Grand Soir

For most of 2009 I didn’t expect to find an album that would prevent Grand Soir from being my favourite album of 2009. La Ruda have consistently produced great albums ranging in style from the hard rock of 24 images/seconde to the pure ska of Passager Du Réel. Grand Soir in my mind is their best release yet.

 
Babylon Circus - La belle étoile
1. La Belle Étoile

Not only did Babylon Circus produce the best album of the year, they were also in my mind the best live band of the year. So good in fact that after seeing them live for the first time in London in October I went to see them again a week later before they left England.

La Belle Étoile was their first release for five years and was a quite a different offering from the previous albums. This album would make my top ten albums of the decade. In any language.

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La Belle Étoile finally available for download in the UK!

December 3, 2009 at 7:39 am

I’ve just performed my regular check for La Belle Étoile across the UK online music stores and it has recently become available on both iTunes and Amazon.

Unfortunately there is currently a problem with the Amazon widget creator which means that I have only been able to include seven tracks from the album on the widget to the left. Luckily they are seven of the best. You can hear samples from all tracks here.

Unless something spectacular happens over the next four weeks, I can confidently state that La Belle Étoile is the finest French language album of 2009. I absolutely adore it.

I was privileged to be able to catch two performances by Babylon Circus while they were on the UK leg of their current European tour and given half a chance I fully intend to travel over to France and see them again in the new year.

They are one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen and I for one hope they gain the massive recognition they deserve.

La Belle Étoile, released in March 2009, is something of a musical departure for the band whose last album was release five years ago. Previous studio releases have been packed with hard ska and reggae beats and more than a dash of the revendicatif. This album is slightly more melodic and slightly more subtle and devastating with its attack on your whatever part of your brain is responsible for trapping catchy songs in the internal humbox.

Every base is covered from the thumping, concert-opening Perdu, the thumping, crowd-pleasing La Cigarette, to the understated Des Fois and Le Fils Caché Du Pape to the gorgeous voice of Karina Zeviani on Marions-nous au soleil and the embarrassingly-catchy Nina.

What can I say? I love it. I urge you to use the Amazon widget to the left to listen to extracts.

Tomorrow I will publish a translation of one of the tracks – haven’t decided which yet.

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The Gamble That Didn’t Pay Off

November 17, 2009 at 4:41 pm

The album in the widget to the left is not the album discussed in this post. All will become clear.

Yesterday, BB Brunes released their second album Nico Teen Love. Their first single from this album was released several months ago and was available to listen to free online. You can see videos of Dynamite (translated here) and others in the video section of their site. Extracts from three other songs from Nico Teen Love have been available for some time here.

It had been possible to pre-order the album in physical form and, unfortunately, for a physical price but, not wanting another CD in my life I decided to wait until the release date and download from either iTunes or Amazon depending on which was the cheapest (not that I’ve ever found an album that was cheaper on iTunes).


I knew this was at best a foolish gamble and, as I had feared, the album is not available in either store, nor is it available to purchase from the band’s official site. So I now have a physical copy of the album making its way to me from France.

If you want to hear extracts from all the songs on the album you can hear them on the French Amazon store although you will not be able to buy the album outside of France. Alternatively, you can fire up iTunes, navigate to the store and then in the bottom right of your iTunes application select the round flag icon and then use the following list of countries to move to the French store. You can then search for the album and listen to the extracts, but again, unless you have a French iTunes account you won’t be able to get your ears on the full album. The iTunes price of 14.99 euros is horrific and is made worse when you see that it is priced at a much more sensible 9.99 EUR on Amazon.

Amazon have however got their hands on some of my money today after I bought Diam’s new release S.O.S. Voilà pourqoui the album in the widget is not the subject of this post. Unusually this was the same price (GBP 7.99) as in iTunes but I prefer to buy from Amazon so that I get the DRM-free MP3s and Amazon’s downloader integrates the album into your iTunes library for you without any hassle.

So, there will be two reviews coming shortly.

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