I was asked to translate this song in a comment from a previous Vulgaires Machins translation.

In the run-up to the UK election I had wanted to keep things reasonably topical, and luckily this fits well (excuse the pun), the title summing up the attitude of some of our politicians’ spending plans for the future, and the song being about the quality of information we demand, and receive, from the media.

Puits Sans Fond, “Bottomless pit” is from the excellent album Compter Les Corps.

It’s baking here in London – I’ve just been driving with my elbow out the window (I opened it first) and with this song belting out as I got home and figured that was a good a reason as any to choose it as the next translation. And happily the title is Ca Sent L’été which means “feels like summer” – too hot if you ask me, but then I’m British.

You’ll learn some good vocabulary here on the subject of stuffing your face with food…

24 images/second is the most played of all my French language albums and this is the third La Ruda track from that album that I have translated here. It’s a bit bonkers, both in French and English – hopefully the translation manages to convey some of the imagery.

This is the second song I have posted from the album 24 Images / Second by La Ruda.  The title of this song comes from the expression Avec des si, on mettrait Paris en Bouteille “With ‘ifs’ you can put Paris in a bottle” – meaning that anything is possible if you create enough conditions (Ifs).  “If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.”

The whole song is, by design, packed with little French expressions and this makes it interesting (I should really say here “impossible”) to translate.

This is quite a heavy song from the album En Route Pour La Joie – Je suis un homme pressé – “I’m a busy man” or “I’m a man in a hurry”.

Travers is the last song on one of my favourite French albums – 24 Images / Second by La Ruda.  This album is the first album by the band since they changed their name from the original La Ruda Salska and the first album on which the group changed to a much more rocky style than their previous albums which were more influenced by ska and salsa music.

Travers translates as fault or failing here as in “Malgré mes travers” – “Depsite my faults”.

Notes

• J’en ai monté des roues de secours – The “en” in this phrase emphasises that this is an action that has been performed many times.  This translates reasonably well as “I’ve put on my share of spare tyres” or simply “I’ve often put on spare tyres”.