sandmonkeywoman
graeme.orr.10
Thu, 03/07/2014 - 09:51
Thanks.
'J'ai pas l'moral' means 'I have no morale' ie dispirited. Which fits the song - he is if anything too moral in a narrow sense.
✕
The Responsible Man
I have worries, I have cares
I have troubles, I have torments
I don't have morals, I don't have money
I don't have luck, I don't have friends
I don't have luck, I have taxes*
My stomach aches, my teeth hurt*
But I wouldn't want to change skins
Because I love annoyances
I am a responsible man
I don't hide my head in the sand
I don't want to sing like Grandfather
"In life, you don't have to worry"
Because if I worry today
It's because yesterday he laughed
And tomorrow if I have children
I want them to be happy in life
The more worries I have, the happier I am
I whip them up like cream*
What I like most is being sick with worry
I feed on the worries every which way
But I also like catastrophes
Which put my life in relief
When things are going well, I am unhappy
When things are going poorly, I am very happy
I am a responsible man
I don't hide my head in the sand
I don't want to sing like Grandfather
"In life, you don't have to worry"
And I want to sing to the contrary
"In life you have to worry"
In order to always be solidary
With those who like me see clearly
I am a responsible man
I am a responsible man...
✕
Comments
graeme.orr.10
Thu, 03/07/2014 - 09:51
seriöserspinner
Tue, 22/06/2021 - 21:34
Amazing translation! For some reason, I didn't see it until after I had submitted my own translation. Oh well, now there's two.
Russia is waging a disgraceful war on Ukraine. Stand With Ukraine!
About translator
*The original text here is a play on words, "j'ai pas de pot, j'ai des impôts"- "pot", meaning luck, "impôts" meaning taxes. I couldn't think of a way to incorporate the wordplay into the translation, unfortunately...
*I'm assuming that "foin" here ought to be "foie" because it seems to make more sense, but I could be wrong.
*Technically "petit-lait" means "whey". I thought it would translate better here as "cream".