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  • Georges Brassens

    Corne d'aurochs → English translation

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Aurochs Horn

His name was Aurochs Horn, hark! hark!
Not everyone can be called Jones, hark! hark!
 
Considering him under a poetic light
his prophet's brow could have hinted at
a powerful flow of thoughts
Aurochs Horn
 
Now God have mercy on him, hark! hark!
the flow was just a trickle, hark! hark!
 
As he bent over the water, he might
have seemed lost in deep thoughts
about the transient state of earthly beings
Aurochs Horn
 
Alas, it was just to make sure, hark! hark!
that the wind had not ruined his hairdo, hark! hark!
 
He went on ranting everywhere
"only fools know how to make love properly,
virtuosity is just for oafs!"
Aurochs Horn
 
He studied late in the night, hark! hark!
sexual etiquette manuals, hark! hark!
and over the naked women in museums, hark! hark!
he scribbled drafts of future kisses, hark! hark!
 
And soon, little by little, hark! hark!
we discovered everything, everything about him, hark! hark!
 
Whe learned he was a children of the fatherland1
and was unable to risk his life
to pick a flower for a girl
Aurochs Horn
 
We learn he had a young cousin, hark! hark!
a prominent copper, hark! hark!
and that he had dinner with him, hark! hark!
when food became scarce, hark! hark!
 
Precisely after dinner with this unpleasant character
he was struck by an accute indigestion
and refused help from the therapist
Aurochs Horn
 
because it was a German, hark! hark!
who had invented the medecine, hark! hark!
 
He shuffled off his mortal and bland coil the best he could
and since his life had had no originality
he got state funerals
Aurochs Horn
 
And then his moaning widow, hark! hark!
slept with his successor, hark! hark!
 
  • 1. as in the marseillaise
Original lyrics

Corne d'aurochs

Click to see the original lyrics (French)

Comments
michealtmichealt    Sun, 05/11/2017 - 18:28

Corne d'Aurochs is mostly translated correctly as "Aurochs horn" (or should it perhaps be "Aurochs' horn" with a genitive noun instead of a qualifying noun?) but it is twice translated as "Aurochs horns", both time effectively explaining the singular pronoun "il" in the earlier part of the stanza, so the plural "horns" is wrong, it should be the singular "horn". Apart from that it's a pertty well perfect translation.