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Translation
Hand-to-hand
[Verse 1: Ademo]
Don't give a fuck about the Himalaya
Don't give a fuck, I'm not aiming for the summit anymore
My heart goes "oulalala"
Crime of passion that I commit
On your heart I make a bullet hole
I make blood stains on the sweater
By no means do I wish to get to know you
Not you, nor these motherfuckers
If I were to listen to myself, I'd walk off
Corsican blood mixed with towelhead1
The moon, I don't like it anymore, you can keep it
I sleep under the influence of wax2, of hooch
I'm neither from home, nor from yours
She wants a kiss, she wants me to fuck her
I know the way, I know the address
I'm fucking you in the ass on Hades' continent
As dirty as the devil3, short fuse
As strong as the hit4 I'm slinging
I'm sulking, I only listen to
My sole soul, mektoub5
I live in an erotic dream
Where I don't speak much but I stroke the world
I die in an exotic nightmare
Where earth looks like my grave
[Pre-chorus: Ademo]
Igo, why are you speaking uyghur6 ?
If they're killing eachother, tell me who's signing
No honor, you smell from here
You, pay these bastards no mind"
Me, I gave for a long time
Then I lost my petals
[Chorus: Ademo]
Hand-to-hand9
I sling it, I chop it, I serve it, regrets in front of your baby
I get out from your place, I take your badly-parked car then I get rid of your parking ticket
I'm looking for a bill, a business, plans in the hideout, a bit too saddened
I'm kissing these cockroaches in the building 6's basement, firm pectorals
Hey, buddy, start up in the jungle, I'm here 24/7, I monkey around there,
The street, I hurtle it down at full speed dressed in Gucci, like Mitch12
I take a walk in the nicer parts of town with that angst13 that scares rich people off
[Verse 2: Nos]
Without, without, without the street's profits, I never would've fucked the game
Don't feel so human, a bit like my possessed igos18, yah
There's blood to drain, yah
Hand-to-hand, hand-to-hand, they're all pretending, I'm discreet, yah
You recognized the cry, animal side
But you know the price: Ny-ma's19 barrel
Hand-to-hand
Only family in the building, we're pushing it to you, slinging hand-to-hand
Not laced, a stranger's heart, nothing has changed
Whatever must come, will come, yah
It may be my last album,
Maybe my last puta20
Maybe my last smile from you
In my hood, in my hood
No more hate than love which I'm dropping between my two towers21
Less human beings after midnight, I'm leaving broken,
My turn on one of hell's cloud
Come, let's get the hell out my brother, before we lose ourselves
[Chorus: Ademo]
- 1. "Bougnoule" is a French racial slur aimed towards North-African people. "Towelhead" would be the US equivalent, as it is aimed towards Muslim-Arabs. However, it is worth noting that North-Africans (which refers to Algerians, Moroccans, Tunisians and Libyans) are not ethnically Arab, rather Arabized. For their part, PNL are half-Algerian from their mother's side and half-Corsican from their dad's side. Corsica is a French island located near Italy's Sardinia island and which can be ethnically linked to Italians.
- 2. Refers to a highly concentrated (aprox. 80% of THC) form of marijuana. Because of its honey color, it's called "wax" in English and "la dorée" (lit. "the golden one") in French.
- 3. "Taneish" is the verlan (= inversion of syllabes) of "Sheitan" which is Satan in Arabic.
- 4. Again, verlan is used. "ppe-f'" for "frappe" which means "hit", or a drug of good quality. It can also mean a very pretty girl ("C'est une frappe"/"She's a hottie".)
- 5. Muslim concept of destiny. If you hear someone saying the phrase "C'est le mektoub !"/"That's the mektoub", it basically means that as it is written, it shall be done. You can't escape your destiny.
- 6. Uyghur is a language from the Turkic branch spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. Here, the French popular phrase "parler chinois"/"to speak Chinese" (which means you're being taken aback so bad you're basically losing your French and start speaking a complete different language) is being twisted with Chinese being switched with Uyghur. As the Uyghur people are currently facing religious repression at the hands of the Chinese government and PNL are themselves practicing Muslims, it can be interpreted as a nod to their cause.
- 7. "I swear to God" in Arabic.
- 8. "Dad" in Arabic.
- 9. "Au DD" or "Au dé-dé" is slang for "au détail" (lit. "retailing") and means selling small amounts of drugs. "Hand-to-hand" is US slang for the exchange of small amount of drugs for money, a process illustrated in the music video of the song. Indeed, drugs are a recurrent theme for the duet as they've never hidden the fact they used to survive by indulging in this illegal business.
- 10. Here, the term "Bacqueux" is used and refers to the people working in the BAC (or Brigande Anti-Criminalité/Anti-Crime Unit). The suffix "-eux" gives a negative connotation.
- 11. Again, verlan is used. "Ients-cli" = "clients".
- 12. From the 2002 movie "Paid in full", Mitch is a flamboyant drug dealer.
- 13. Here, the word "seum" is used which is Arabic for "poison". In French, the phrase "avoir le seum"/"to have the seum" means being frustrated and/or particularly angry.
- 14. QLF ("Que La Famille"/"Solely family") is PNL's motto. It means they'll always put their family first.
- 15. Reference to the track of the same name, "Jusqu'au dernier gramme" is believed to be one of N.O.S' strongest verse.
- 16. 91 is the department code of Essonne, where the duet is from.
- 17. Informal name of Paris.
- 18. Slang for the Spanish term "amigo" which can either mean "friend" or "brother".
- 19. Again, verlan for "Manny" which is a protagonist of the iconic 1983 Scarface movie.
- 20. "Whore" in Spanish.
- 21. In France, public housing are most of the time characterized by tall tower blocks and are a symbol of precariourness.
Farha✕
Collections with "Au DD"
| 1. | Victoires de la musique 2020 |
PNL: Top 3
| 1. | J’comprends pas |
| 2. | Onizuka |
| 3. | DA |
Comments
Fatih Gümüs 
Степан About translator
Superbe traduction, chanson très bien expliquée, du très bon travail !!