Les Chansons d'amour (BO)

Delta Charlie Delta → English translation

2 translations
English, Turkish

Original lyrics

Delta Charlie Delta

C'est mon dernier morceau dans l'air

c'est mon dernier rêve à la morgue

mon single pour célibataire

ma terreur dans un nom de code

delta charlie delta

sur la fréquence de la police

delta charlie delta

la chanson de la mort qui glisse

C'est un tube à tomber par terre

mais tu tombes avant de l'entendre

c'est la poussière à la poussière

le méchant petit tas de cendre

delta charlie delta

le stromboscope de l'ambulance

delta charlie delta

la chanson de la mort qui danse

C'est ton père qui dit que tu dors

ta mère qui voudrait te toucher

c'est le poids autour de ton corps

pour comprendre enfin que tu es

delta charlie delta

ça se danse la tete contre les murs

delta charlie delta

La chanson de la mort qui dure

delta charlie delta

sur la fréquence de la police

delta charlie delta

la chanson de la mort qui glisse

delta charlie delta

le stromboscope de l'ambulance

delta charlie delta

la chanson de la mort qui danse.

Translation

Delta Oscar Alpha

My last song over the air

My last dream in the morgue

My single for singles

My terror in a code

Delta Oscar Alpha1

Over the police radio

Delta Oscar Alpha

The wicked sliding song

It's a smashing hit

but you fell before hearing it

Dust to dust

The cruel little heap of ashes

Delta Oscar Alpha

The ambulance strobe lights

Delta Oscar Alpha

Death's dancing song

Your father said you were sleeping

Your mother wanted to touch you

The weight around your body

Makes it finally clear that you are2

Delta Oscar Alpha

That dances my head against the walls

Delta Oscar Alpha

The wicked lasting song3

Delta Oscar Alpha

On the police radio

Delta Oscar Alpha

Death's sliding song

Delta Oscar Alpha

The ambulance strobe lights

Delta Oscar Alpha

The wicked dance tune

1. DOA (dead on arrival) is the code used in the United States, I'm pretty sure it's DOS (dead on scene) in the U.K.
2. Apparently this doesn't make much sense in French or English!
3. Ive decided to use "wicked" here for its contrasting connotations.

Les Chansons d'amour (BO): Top 3

1.	As-tu déjà aimé ?
2.	Ma mémoire sale
3.	Je n'aime que toi

Comments

silenced

Wed, 08/07/2020 - 02:18

You might want to use the footnote feature, it's super easy once you get used to it and it makes the footnotes a lot more pleasant to read:
type [fn]some footnote[/fn] between these tags right where you want the number to appear, and you should see this1

DCD/DOA/DOS -> yup, you got it :)

la chanson de la mort qui glisse -> sorry, I have no idea what he means.
"de la mort" could mean "wicked / smashing / great" in another context, but "glisser" just means "slide / skip / slip", as far as I know. With a bit of a stretch it could mean "glide on the road" for a car.
I suppose he just needed a rhyme for "police"

à tomber par terre -> "smashing / amazing"
"smashing hit / get smashed" maybe?

C'est ton père qui dit que tu dors -> that's present tense. I wonder why you used the past. Does it sound better in English?

c'est le poids autour de ton corps -> makes no sense to me. "it's the weight around your body". Aha.
another elusive rhyme for "dors"?

ça se danse la tete contre les murs -> lit. "this song is to be danced with your head against the walls" ("ça" refers to "la chanson" at the start of the next stanza). Erf... Why not?

La chanson de la mort qui dure -> this is a pun on "de la mort qui tue", another equivalent to "great / amazing", mostly used by teenagers.

1. some footnote

palenoon

Wed, 08/07/2020 - 03:14

Okay, thanks for the tips/help. (Seriously, I appreciate you a lot for this.) I will fix them in the morning.
Interesting thing about "de la mort"—I wouldn't have known it was used that way, but it makes sense. And same with à tomber par terre.. I was under the impression it meant "hackneyed" (which is a word I've never used) therefore, it meant "over played" etc. Does that carry any of the same connotation to you?
And yeah, I used the past tense because it felt clunky to me in the present tense. I could probably stand to change it back though, to avoid confusing people.

I guess I'll keep what I put for "c'est le poids..." because I just.. I don't know what else would translate accurately and well but I appreciate the input.

I'm wonder if I should keep the "lasting song" or use something closer to saying how great it is, to keep in with the pun.. like "Death's everlasting song"? I dunno. Anyway, you're a real help and I thank you again!

silenced

Wed, 08/07/2020 - 03:45

"de la mort (qui tue)" just means "great". "c'est une tuerie" "ça tue" can be used too.
Be careful though, if you use any of these in an inappropriate context, you might cause an awkward silence :)

"hackneyed" sounds very Brit :D That's where I learned my English so for me it's ok.
Meant like "cliché", that would be "bidon", "ringard" or things like that. Nothing involving "mort" comes to mind.
"à mort" can mean "a lot" (usé à mort -> completely worn out) so possibly "old / stale" in some context, but I see no obvious link with "hackneyed".

Past tense is fine, the question was rather meant to improve my English. I'm always glad to get that kind of native speaker feedback.

well, pardon my bluntness, but this is not the best piece of French ever.
"c'est le poids..." is just a filler, in my opinion. Put whatever sounds less embarrassing and hope the reader doesn't dwell on it too much :)
Same for this annoying "glisser".

The pun is not a very good one either, I'd say you can dispense with it. Maybe add a footnote for the curious reader.

Les Chansons d'amour (BO)

Delta Charlie Delta → English translation

Delta Charlie Delta

Delta Oscar Alpha