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The Beaches of St Valery
It was in 1940, the last days of Spring.
We were sent to the Maginot line,
A fortress in France, built to halt the advance,
Of an army from a different time.
But we were soon overrun, out-thought and outgunned.
Pushed further back every day.
But we never believed high command would just leave us.
So we fought every inch of the way,
'Til the 51st Highlanders found themselves back
On the banks of the Somme one more time.
It still bore the scars of that war to end wars.
The old soldier's scars deep in their minds.
But we couldn't stay long for the Panzers rolled on
As the battle raged west t'wards the sea,
Until on June the 10th when sapped of all strength
I entered St. Valery.
And all I recall is the last boat leavin'!
My brother on board waving and calling to me
And the Jocks stranded there wi' their hands in the air
On the beaches of St. Valery.
So I huddled all night in a hammered old house
As the shells and the bullets rained down
'Til just before dawn our hopes were still strong
For we moved to the beach from the town
But the boat that had left on the day we arrived
Was the only one that we'd ever see
An' with no ammo or food we had done all we could
So we surrendered at St. Valery.
And all I recall is the last boat leavin'!
My brother on board waving and calling to me
And the Jocks stranded there wi' their hands in the air
On the beaches of St. Valery.
When I returned at the end of the war,
From the Stalag where I'd been confined,
I read of the battles the allies had fought,
Stalingrad, Alamein, and the Rhine.
And with pride in their hearts people spoke of Dunkirk
How defeat had become victory
But nobody mentioned that Highland Division.
They'd never heard of St.Valery.
No stories no statues for those that were killed.
No honours for those who were caught.
Just a deep sense of shame as though we were to blame,
Though I knew in my heart we were not.
So I've moved to a country I've come to call home
But my homeland lies far o'er the sea.
I will never return while my memory still burns
On the beaches of St. Valery.
And all I recall is the last boat leavin'!
My brother on board waving and calling to me
And the Jocks stranded there wi' their hands in the air
On the beaches of St. Valery.
michealtTraducere
Les plages de St.Valéry-en-Caux
C'était les derniers jours du printemps en 1940.
On nous envoya à la ligne Maginot,
une fortification en France, battue pour juguler l'avancée
d'une armée d'une lointaine époque.
Mais nous étions bientôt dépassés, futés et sous-armés,
on nous repoussa encore plus loin chaque jour.
Mais nous ne crûmes jamais que l'état-major nous laisserait;
nous nous sommes donc battus tout le long du chemin.
Jusqu' à ce que les Montagnards de la 51e se trouvaient
sur les rives de la Somme encore une fois.
Elles portaient encore les marques de la guerre pour tuer les guerres,
les blessures des vieux soldats au plus profond de leur esprit.
Mais nous ne pûmes pas y rester longtemps car les Panzer arrivèrent
pendant que la bataille faisait rage a l'ouest, vers la mer,
jusqu' au dix juin, quand, épuisé de tous mes forces,
je suis entré dans St Valéry.
Et tout ce dont je me souviens, c'est le dernier bateau qui s'en allait !
Mon frère à bord, qui me faisait signe et m'appelait,
et les Écossais abandonnés là, les mains en l'air
sur les plages de St Valéry.
Et ainsi je me blottis toute la nuit dans une vielle maison pilonnée
pendant que les obus et les balles tombaient
et jusqu' avant l'aube nos espoirs étaient bons
car nous partîmes de la ville à la plage.
Mais le bateau qui s'en allait le jour où nous fûmes arrivés
fut le seul que nous verrions jamais,
et sans munitions et sans nourriture on ne pouvait plus faire,
nous nous sommes donc rendus à St Valéry.
Et tout ce dont je me souviens, c'est le dernier bateau qui s'en allait !
Mon frère à bord, qui me faisait signe et m'appelait,
et les Écossais abandonnés là, les mains en l'air
sur les plages de St.Valéry.
À la fin de la guerre, quand je revins
du Stalag dans lequel j'avais été enfermé,
je lus sur les battailles que les Alliés avaient combattu.
Stalingrad. Alemein, et le Rhin.
Et avec fierté dans leur cœur les gens parlaient de Dunkerque
comment la défaite était devenue la victoire,
mais personne ne parlait de cette division montagnarde,
ils n'avaient jamais entendu parler de St Valéry.
Pas d'histoires, pas de statues pour ceux qui avaient été tués,
pas d'honneurs pour ceux qui avaient été capturés.
juste un profond sentiment de honte comme si nous étions à blâmer,
Bien que js savais, dans mon cœur que nous ne l'étions pas.
Je me suis donc installé dans un pays que j'ai appris à aimer,
mais mon pays natal est loin d'outre-mer.
Et je n'y retournerai jamais tandis que ma mémoire brûle
sur les plages de St Valéry.
Et tout ce dont je me souviens, c'est le dernier bateau qui s'en allait !
Mon frère à bord, qui me faisait signe et m'appelait,
et les Écossais abandonnés là, les mains en l'air
sur les plages de St.Valéry.
Autorul traducerii a cerut verificare.
Asta înseamnă că ei sunt dispuși să primească corecții, sugestii etc. în privința traducerii.
Dacă sunteți fluenți în ambele limbi din pereche, sunteți bine venit să lăsați comentariile voastre.
Asta înseamnă că ei sunt dispuși să primească corecții, sugestii etc. în privința traducerii.
Dacă sunteți fluenți în ambele limbi din pereche, sunteți bine venit să lăsați comentariile voastre.
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Battlefield Band: Top 3
| 1. | Mo Ghleannan Taobh Loch Lìobhainn |
| 2. | The Beaches of St Valery |
| 3. | The Battle of Falkirk Muir |
Comentarii
Russia is waging a disgraceful war on Ukraine. Stai cu Ucraina!
Despre traducător
In 1940 most of the 51st Highland Division fought a rearguard action to allow the other survivors of the BEF to be evacuated from Dunkirk. The French Army Corps to which they had been attached to help avoid a German conquest of France decided to surrender to the German forces (de Gaulle disobeyed orders, refused to surrender his armoured division to the Germans, and with backing from the 51st managed to escape along with several hundred of his troops, and later stated that it was his experience of fighting alongside the 51st that convinced him that with allies like that carrying on fighting rather than capitulating would be worth while). The majority of the 51st was abandoned, with no boats turning up to evacuate them, and having run out of artillery ammunition and food and with only enough small-arms ammunition remaining for less than an hour of of serious fighting their GOC surrendered to Rommel.
This is of course a fairly political song, so I think it fair for me to make political comments - if you aren't interested in such things, read no further.
A lot of ordinary soldiers who were evacuated from Dunkirk understood what the 51st had done for them. I heard it all from my father-in-law, who until he was at Dunkirk in 1940 was an Englishman with no time for Scots; he reckoned that many English ex-squaddies were still rather unhappy 32 years later that the British top brass and politicians refused to recognise the bravery and commitment of the members of the several brigades of the 51st that had been sacrificed.
Of course our politician probably haven't noticed the consequences of that lack of recognition. The tendency to reduce the Scottish part of the army much more than the English part has already guaranteed that next time the English need a thin red line [the famous one was formed by the 93rd (Sutherland) Highland Regiment, whose current successor military unit is a platoon in the Balaklava company of the 5th battallion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland] they'll have to either do it themselves or do it with a Scottish platoon instead of with a Scottish regiment, and that looks quite difficult. The lack of recognition may reduce the tendency of that platoon's members to be willing to be sacrificed, and that might make it not just quite difficult but impossible.