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Translation
Night and Fog
They were twenty and one hundred, they were thousands,
Naked and emaciated, shivering, in the leaden train cars,
Who tore at the night with their fighting1 fingernails.
They were thousands, they were twenty and one hundred.
They believed they were men, were nothing more than numbers.
It had been a long time since their dice had been rolled.
The moment the hand fell back down, nothing remained but a shadow.
They were not meant to ever see another summer.
The monotonous and unhasty flight of time,
To survive one more day, one hour, obstinately.
How many rotations of the wheels, how many stops and starts,
That never cease making their hope evaporate.
Their names were Jean-Pierre, Natasha, or Samuel.
Some prayed to Jesus, Jehovah, or Vishnu.
Others didn't pray, but whatever the heaven,
The just wanted to no longer live on their knees.
They didn't all make it to the end of the vogage.
Could those who came back be happy?
They tried to forget, astounded that at their age,
The veins in their arms had become so blue.
The Germans stood in ambush in their guard towers.
The moon said nothing the same as you said nothing,
While looking into the distance, while looking outside.
Your flesh was so tender to their police dogs.
People tell me that these days, these words are old-fashioned,
That it's better to sing nothing but love songs,
That blood dries quickly as it passes into history,
And that it serves no purpose to pick up a guitar.
But who has the guts to be able to stop me?
The shadow has turned into a human being,2 today it is summer.
I twisted the words that needed twisting,
So that one day, children know who you were.
You were twenty and one hundred, you were thousands,
Naked and emaciated, shivering in those leaden train cars,
Who tore at the night with your fighting fingernails.
You were thousands, you were twenty and one hundred.
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Submitted by 
Grampa Wild Willy on 2014-12-16
Grampa Wild Willy on 2014-12-16Last edited by Grampa Wild Willy on 2015-06-08
Grampa Wild Willy on 2015-06-08✕
Collections with "Nuit et brouillard"
| 1. | Top 100 des plus belles chansons françaises |
| 2. | Number One Hits in France (1964) |
Jean Ferrat: Top 3
| 1. | La montagne |
| 2. | Nuit et brouillard |
| 3. | Que serais-je sans toi ? |
Comments
About translator
The quotation below the French lyrics is by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a French pilot and writer (1900-1944), whose title "Terre des hommes - Man and His World" was the theme of Expo '67, one of the highlights in the history of Canada, and of my youth growing up in Montréal. The quote says:
The truth of tomorrow feeds on the mistake of yesterday.
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It would have been so much more appropriate had I posted this translation on November 11. But I just wasn't ready then. I needed some more translations under my belt, and I needed to see some skillful translations by others here, to whom I am grateful, to help me prepare for this duty. Because I do see this one as a duty. I first encountered this transcription several months ago. I knew then I wasn't up to it. I hope I am now. Because this deserves nothing less than the absolute best there can possibly be.
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This translation inspired me to seek out and translate this.
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To all those who made it possible for an old fart to while away the hours in front of his computer translating songs . . . for fun.