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Paris m'a séduit.

Paris m'a séduit.
Paris m'a conquis.
Paris m'a pris dans ses bras voluptueusement.
Il m'a englouti dans la fièvre de ses tourbillons
Dans la frénésie de ses agitations.
Et je me suis senti à peine enveloppée
Aspiré, étouffé, plein perdue dans la masse immense
Je ne compte pas plus qu’un pavé de la rue
Qu'une feuille de platane volant dans l'avenue,
Qui va dégringoler sur les marches du métro,
Au lieu de s'élancer vers le soleil là-haut.
 
Paris m’a séduit.
Paris m’a trahis.
Paris m’a pris mes espoirs et mes illusions.
Je vis seule sous les toits dans ma chambre de bonne.
J’ignore mes voisins. Je ne parle à personne.
Et je me sens toujours fière de ma solitude
Lorsque je vis ma vie accaparante et rude…
 
La vie de la grande ville démesurée,
Où il vous faut aller contre vents et marée,
Dans une lutte ingrate de chaque matin,
Et la sauvage incertitude du destin.
Et maintenant la nuit maléfique et troublante
Tombe sans apporter de calme ni de peine…
C'est à peine si la rumeur est moins grondante,
Car le cas ne s’arrête jamais devant
Devant jamais…
 
Μετάφραση

Paris seduced me

Paris seduced me
Paris conquered me
Paris sensually took me in his arms
He devoured me in the heat of his vicissitudes
In the frenzy of his turmoils
And hardly did I feel overwhelmed
Caught up, stifled, lost in the vast crowd
I count no more than one cobblestone in the street
Just a single sycamore leaf flying in the avenue
Which is going to fall onto the stairs of the metro
Instead of soaring towards the sun up above
 
Paris seduced me
Paris betrayed me
Paris took away my hopes and fantasies
I live alone under the roofs, in my maid’s room
I ignore my neighbors and talk to no one
And I'm always proud of my solitude
As I live my demanding and awesome life
 
Life in the city is extravagant
Where you have to go against all odds
In a thankless struggle of every morning
And the savage uncertainty of destiny
And now the sinister and unsettling night
Falls without bringing with it neither calm nor peace
The rumors hardly ever die down
For the situation never comes to an end
Never comes to an end
 
Arielle Dombasle: Κορυφαία 3
Idioms from "Paris m'a séduit."
Σχόλια
silencedsilenced    Τετ, 23/10/2019 - 03:07

A few inaccuracies in the vocabulary here and there, but nothing major.

sur les marches -> that's real steps, i.e. the stairs leading down into a métro station.

Lorsque je vis Paris accaparant des rues -> I'm not quite sure what that means, but my best bet would be "when I experience Paris and its clamorous streets", except that would rather be "le Paris..." as in "the clamouring aspect of Paris you experience in the streets". That's pretty bad French anyway, in my opinion. Far too lofty and ambiguous.

Actually the sentence begins in the last line of the previous paragraph:
I feel proud of my solitude
dummy line break
when I experience whatever clamorous streets
and life in the city blah blah
where you have to do such and such
in a so and so struggle. Phew, that's it!

Devant... Jamais ! -> that makes no sense whatsoever.
It's hard to make out what she sings, but my bet would be "au grand jamais" ("never ever")

Also it could be worth mentioning to English speakers that it's a man speaking, despite the female singer.

kwameGHkwameGH
   Τετ, 23/10/2019 - 08:59

Corrections well noted.
Thanks for being so kind to review my work.

As to mentioning that the songwriter is a man, I wonder what difference it would make.

silencedsilenced    Τετ, 23/10/2019 - 09:15

Just because it would not show in English while it's mildly surprising in French. The author was Eric Rohmer, the director of the movie. The song was tailor made, and yet he chose a female singer without bothering to feminize the lyrics, which would have taken 5 minutes.

wisigothwisigoth    Τετ, 23/10/2019 - 14:30

How about starting a new collection for such samples. ..Interpretations of a twisted gender..

silencedsilenced    Τετ, 23/10/2019 - 15:11

Good idea!
These gender changes can sometimes produce weird or funny results.
Why don't you go ahead and set it up?

wisigothwisigoth    Τετ, 23/10/2019 - 15:27

I'd have to look into this, and set some priorities, I guess..
Many thank for the unexpected nomination though!

silencedsilenced    Τετ, 23/10/2019 - 15:36

Well you got the idea, so you should get credit for it.

wisigothwisigoth    Τετ, 23/10/2019 - 17:00

I've started that, Sir.

GavinGavin
   Τετ, 23/10/2019 - 11:24

On gender - doesn't it seem a bit odd that Paris is masculine in the song. I thought it was more typically feminine in literary works. Especially if the song is from a male viewpoint?

sandringsandring    Τετ, 23/10/2019 - 15:37

The transcript is a disaster. She sings "Lorsque je vis ma vie accaparant des rues" - As long as I live my life exploring the streets.

silencedsilenced    Τετ, 23/10/2019 - 17:35

You're quite right. I find Mrs Dombasle's voice rather painful, so I spared myself an initial check. But now that I endangered my ears for the sake of knowledge, I agree this line has certainly no "Paris" in it.

I hear "lorsque je vis ma vie accaparante et rude", which would make more sense syntax-wise, and also semantically.

"accaparant" must be feminine and the "ma ... des" combination just doesn't compute:
"ma vie des rues" would be like "my own way of living in the street", which is already pretty odd. Throwing an adjective into the mix ("my own clamorous way of living in the street") would leave your average Frenchman nonplussed.
"*la* vie accaparante des rues" would be ok though, but that's not what I hear.
Besides, that would basically make the guy a hobo :)

sandringsandring    Πέμ, 24/10/2019 - 11:08

That's what I thought. The lyrics were penned by the film director himself. So they are in a male's name. I've found the literal original. I'll correct that in a minute. :)

sandringsandring    Πέμ, 24/10/2019 - 11:07

The source lyrics have been updated. Please review your translation.

Daniele RuiniDaniele Ruini    Πέμ, 08/07/2021 - 15:50

There are some mistakes in the final verse:

La vie de la grande ville démesurée,
Où il vous faut aller contre vents et marée,
Dans une lutte ingrate de chaque matin,
Et la sauvage certitude du destin.
Et maintenant la nuit maléfique et troublante
Tombe sans apporter de calme ni de paix…
C'est à peine si la rumeur est moins grondante,
Car le coeur de Paris ne s’arrête jamais de battre
de battre jamais