There were twenty or thirty
of us bandits in our group
all dressed in white
in the fashion of, you know,
all dressed in white
in the fashion of merchants.
The first theft I ever
committed in my life
it was when I lifted
the purse of a, you know,
it was when I lifted
the purse of a priest.
I went into his bedroom,
My God, it was so big,
I found a thousand écus,
I swiped them, you know,
I found a thousand écus,
I swiped them for myself.
I went into another,
my God, how high the ceilings!
With gowns and coats,
I filled up three, you know,
with gowns and coats
I filled up three whole carts.
I took them off to sell
at the fair in Holland
I sold them very cheaply
They had cost me, you know,
I sold them very cheaply,
They had cost me nothing.
Those judges from Grenoble,
with their long gowns
and their square hats,
soon had me, you know,
and their square hats,
soon had me convicted.
They condemned me to hang
It was hard to hear
To hang and to strangle,
in the square, you know,
To hang and to strangle,
in the square of the market.
I climbed to the scaffold,
I looked at France,
I saw my companions,
in the shade, you know,
I saw my companions
in the shade of a bush.
Companions in misery
go tell my mother
that she'll see me no more
I'm a child, you know,
that she'll see me no more
I'm a child who is lost.
Valeriu Raut
La Isabel
Sat, 14/09/2019 - 22:08
Translated by Sedulia Scott.
"La Complainte de Mandrin" is an anonymous ballad based on the life of the outlaw Louis Mandrin (1725-1755), who fought the royal government's tax authorities.