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Translation
The modest
Countries, now that you have plenty of
People are born in Salamanca,
Paris, Bordeaux, Lille, Brest
Him birth took him
Around Saintes Maries1
He's a modest.
Like in the olden days did a king
He would stupid enough, I think
To give the throne and the rest
Against one camargue horse
Lame, old, one-eyed, exhausted,
He's a modest.
Followed by his stone pine2
If he flees without touhing ground
the slightest effort like the plague,
It's because at the workshop his Hercules arms
Would make the others ridicule,
He's a modest.
At the boules game3 when he looses,
Do not worry, daddy
If by chance he's contesting you4,
If he pouts, if he mistreats you
Deep down, he's happy for you,
He's a modest.
If, a pain in the arse puts him
In a rage, you'll never see him
Raise on the main a swift hand
It's because he doesn't think it's necessary
To humiliate an oppotent,
He's a modest.
And when he falls madly in love,
There's no danger for him to declare
Effusions, lady, he hates
According to him wearing his heart on his sleeve5
His heart or his ass it's the same,
He's a modest.
When an imbecile is buried
Of his friends if he mocks, if
His eyes are dry and he shows
No sorrow, don't you trust what you see
He is down in the dumps6,
He's a modest.
And if he calls you a foreigner,
May you be from Napoli, Angers
Or elsewhere, don't put on your jacket
Him when he adopts you, of course !
He doesn't want it to be said,
He's a modest.
If you don't act like a dunce
If you can read between the lines
Between the words, between the acts,
Then, You'll see right through him,
And that this playboy7,
He's a modest.
- 1. "Saintes Maries de la mer" is a coast city on the mediterranean near Sète, the homeland of Brassens, where, according to the legend the Virgin Mary and Mary-Magdalena accosted in Provence to spread Christianity.
It is now a pilgrimage for Roma Travellers. - 2. Litterally "umbrella pine" in french.
- 3. Boules, or pétanque, is the traditionnal provencal game where taunting matters more than aiming.
- 4. "s'il te conteste" provencal french for challenging someone.
- 5. Litterally "Put your heart in the sun".
- 6. "En avoir gros sur la patate" is a very colloquial expression meaning "having a lot on your potato" (noggin).
- 7. Litterally "this beautiful advatageous".
gregoire.tricoire✕
Georges Brassens: Top 3
| 1. | Je me suis fait tout petit |
| 2. | Les passantes |
| 3. | La mauvaise réputation |
Idioms from "Le modeste"
| 1. | En avoir gros sur la patate |
| 2. | Fou amoureux |
| 3. | Put your heart |
Comments
About translator
In stanza 5, "dame" is not "lady". It is an interjection used to reinforce an assertion, more frequently found in conjunction with "oui": "dame oui", that is "yes indeed".