debi.rogers.90
Mon, 11/11/2013 - 20:17
I love this translation! It fits with the melody of the song. Could I cover your translation and put it on YT?
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Translation
The Comrades Aboard
No, this boat was no wicked raft
Of the Medusa, that black craft
Let it be known in all the ports
Let it be known
She sailed like the Père Peinard
Tranquilly on the grand duck pond
And called herself the Comrades Aboard
The Comrades Aboard
Her fluctuat nec mergitur
Was no literary yarn
Whatever spellbinders believe
May have you believe
Her captain and seaworthy men
Were not the sons of ruffians
But bona fide friends of free port
First comrades aboard
’Twere no friends of luxuriant means
No pampered Castor and Pollux
Nor folks of Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah
’Twas neither a group of friends picked
By Montaigne and La Boetie
They tapped each other heartily on the belly
The comrades aboard
They were no angels either
Of the Gospels, they'd not read a line
But they all loved each other well,
It showed in the sails
John, Peter, Paul and company
Was their only litany
Their Credo, their Confiteor
The comrades aboard
The smallest shot from Trafalgar
And it was friendship at the helm
It was friendship that pointed north
That pointed them north
And when they were in some distress
Their arms would wave an S.O.S.
You'd have taken them for semaphores
The comrades aboard
At their reunions of close chums
There wasn’t often a no show
If one was missing on board
It’s because he was dead
Yes, but never ever
Will they close the books on his watery grave
One hundred years after the rascal’s fate
He will still be missed
I’ve sailed with many a ship before
But the only one that’s held firm
The one that's always held her course
Always held her course
Sailed like the Père Peinard
In all tranquillity on the grand duck pond
And called herself the Comrades Aboard
The Comrades Aboard
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Please help to translate "Les copains d'abord"
Collections with "Les copains d'abord"
| 1. | Top 100 des plus belles chansons françaises |
| 2. | Songs about friendship |
| 3. | POMPLAMOOSE - covers (2020) |
Georges Brassens: Top 3
| 1. | Je me suis fait tout petit |
| 2. | Les passantes |
| 3. | La mauvaise réputation |
Idioms from "Les copains d'abord"
| 1. | (jamais,)au grand jamais |
| 2. | at the helm |
| 3. | Close the books |
Comments
debi.rogers.90
Mon, 11/11/2013 - 20:17
petitbalperdu
Sat, 19/04/2014 - 04:40
sure thing! send me the link afterwards.
sanducu
Sun, 05/07/2020 - 19:45
a beautifull, beautifull translatian. and here comes the"but": sorry to be a petty purist, but in the title, and of course in the refrain is said:
"d'abord", which translates as " first", "in the first place", etc. in your version it is equal with " comrades on deck", when it should be something like " the comrades/mates/chums first"
kind regards.
About translator
Père Peinard – the name of an anarchist journal created by Émile Pouget in February 1889, ironically because “père peinard” means a quiet, tranquil man.
Fluctuat nec mergitur – She is tossing on the waves but will not be swallowed by them; motto of Paris, France and on its coat of arms, depicting a ship sailing the rough seas
For explanations of all other allusions, see
Analyse Brassens:
http://www.analysebrassens.com/?page=texte&id=83&%23