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Album:
Les trompettes de la renommée
Original lyrics
Translation
L'assassinat
C'est pas seulement à Paris
Que le crime fleurit
Nous, au village, aussi, l'on a
De beaux assassinats
Nous, au village, aussi, l'on a
De beaux assassinats
Il avait la tête chenue
Et le cœur ingénu
Il eut un retour de printemps
Pour une de vingt ans
Il eut un retour de printemps
Pour une de vingt ans
Mais la chair fraîche, la tendre chair
Mon vieux, ça coûte cher
Au bout de cinq à six baisers
Son or fut épuisé
Au bout de cinq à six baisers
Son or fut épuisé
Quand sa menotte elle a tendue
Triste, il a répondu
Qu'il était pauvre comme Job
Elle a remis sa robe
Qu'il était pauvre comme Job
Elle a remis sa robe
Elle alla quérir son coquin
Qu'avait l'appât du gain
Sont revenus chez le grigou
Faire un bien mauvais coup
Sont revenus chez le grigou
Faire un bien mauvais coup
Et pendant qu'il le lui tenait
Elle l'assassinait
On dit que, quand il expira
La langue elle lui montra
On dit que, quand il expira
La langue elle lui montra
Mirent tout sens dessus dessous
Trouvèrent pas un sou
Mais des lettres de créanciers
Mais des saisies d'huissiers
Mais des lettres de créanciers
Mais des saisies d'huissiers
Alors, prise d'un vrai remords
Elle eut chagrin du mort
Et, sur lui, tombant à genoux,
Elle dit : « Pardonne-nous ! »
Et, sur lui, tombant à genoux,
Elle dit : « Pardonne-nous ! »
Quand les gendarmes sont arrivés
En pleurs ils l'ont trouvée
C'est une larme au fond des yeux
Qui lui valut les cieux
C'est une larme au fond des yeux
Qui lui valut les cieux
Et le matin qu'on la pendit
Elle fut en paradis
Certains dévots, depuis ce temps
Sont assez mécontents
Certains dévots, depuis ce temps
Sont assez mécontents
C'est pas seulement à Paris
Que le crime fleurit
Nous, au village, aussi, l'on a
De beaux assassinats
Nous, au village, aussi, l'on a
De beaux assassinats
The Murder
It's not only in Paris
that crime flourishes
here in the country we too have
some nice murders.
Here in the country we too have
some nice murders.
His hair had grown white with age
and his heart was naive
He felt young again1
for a twenty year old girl.
He felt young again
for a twenty year old girl.
But fresh flesh, tender flesh.
old boy, that costs a lot.
After five or six kisses
his money had run out.
After five or six kisses
his money had run out.
When she held out her paw
saddened, he replied
that he was as poor as Job.
She put her dress back on.
That he was as poor as Job.
She put her dress back on.
She went to find her rascal friend
who was greedy.
They came back to the miser's2 place
to do something very bad.
They came back to the miser's place
to do something very bad.
And while he held him for her
she murdered him.
They say that when he expired
she stuck her tongue out at him.
They say that when he expired
she stuck her tongue out at him.
They looked all over, ransacked the place,
didn't find a penny,
but some creditors letters
and some bailiffs' siezure notices.
but some creditors letters
and some bailiffs' siezure notices.
Then, struck by sincere remorse
she was sorry about the dead man
and falling to her knees beside him
she said "Forgive us!"
and falling to her knees beside him
she said "Forgive us!"
When the police arived
they found her in tears.
It was a tear deep in her eyes
that was worth heaven for her.
It was a tear deep in her eyes
that was worth heaven for her.
And the morning they hung her
she was in paradise.
Some devout people have been.
since then, rather unhappy.
Some devout people have been.
since then, rather unhappy.
It's not only in Paris
that crime flourishes
here in the country we too have
some nice murders.
Here in the country we too have
some nice murders.
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Song details
Translation details
michealtsubmitted on 4 Sep 2016 - 01:00
Author's comments:
I've translated "sou" in the 7th stanza as "penny". This is not really accurate: first of all, the French word "sou" and the English word "shilling" both originally meant one twentieth of a pound (troy-weight, not avoirdupois) of silver, and only became different through depreciation of the currencies, so maybe "shilling" would be better. On the other hand, when this song first appeared on an album (perhaps a few years after it was written) the French sou had been demonetised for more than a decade and the word was (and still is) used to mean roughly "so little money that you can't have that much": 1 sou was 5 old centimes which was one hundredth of a British penny at 1961 exchange rates. No-one ever thought of calling the 1960s 5 new centime coin a sou, they called it "cent sous" (100 sous).
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Idioms from "L'assassinat"
Georges Brassens TOP 3
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Comments 1
Thanks for the comments.
menotte: it's clearly not "handcuffs" so it must be kiddy-speak (langage enfantin); "hand" isn't kiddy-speak, so it's not the right word. The english kiddy-speak for "hand" is "paw" (but it lasts into the teens - "get your paws off me" is 16 year-old girl language for "please remove your hands from my breasts"). Holding out her paw doesn't imply beastliness or greed any more than tendre sa menotte does, which I believe is not even the littlest bit; of course in some contexts it would imply some of that, but all it implies here is that she wants to be paid for what she does (which seems pretty clear in the French).
coquin isn't pimp. True. I couldn't think of a good translation for "son coquin". "Her partner in crime" would certainly imply "pimp" because the only crime (if it was a crime in France when this song was written) up to this point in the song is prostitution. I'm pretty sure Brassens used "coquin" partly because it's only got one phoneme different from "copain", so "her boyfriend" would be possible, but then how would we know that he's a coquin, a malicious rascal? "her malicious rascal" is just not English - obviously it makes sense, but unfortunately I can't imagine anyone actually saying it. Anyway, Brassens didn't use maquereau or souteneur and even though maybe that was just because they wouldn't fit ruin the metre that does make pimp a bad choice. I think I have to go for something like "rascally boyfriend" (or just "rascal boyfriend" if I allow myself to use the noun as an adjective).
"sur lui": I don't believe for a moment that Brassens wanted us to take "sur lui" literally (although I suppose he could have intended it as a joke), I think it far more likely that he expected people to turn it to "à ses côtés", which he didn't want to use because it would wreck the metre (and even worse, it perhaps should be "à ses côtés a lui" to avoid it being misinterpreted as "beside herself"). So I'll leave that as it is.
lui valut les cieux: yes, the tear was her entry ticket. "be worth" in English is exacly like transitive use of "valoir" in French; I should probably change "for" to "to", both are OK in English but "to" will probably sound better to French ears.