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  • Les Cowboys fringants
    Les Cowboys fringants – La fin du show

    English translation

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English
Translation

The End of the Show

Life has spoiled me like no other
I got it easy, I had fun
I overindulged a lot 1
Without ever caring too much
I travelled 10 times around the globe
In trucks and jumbo jets
Whether I was in Brussels or Candiac 2
I had so much fucking fun 3
 
I sang in the biggest venues
From Paris to Montréal
I benefited from the heat
Of the fame and its spotlights
Then one day, life catches up to you
Like a 18-wheeler truck hitting you
Youth cedes as in a weary war
Under the weight of the years passing
Your health in the slow-fader
I seek a glimpse of light in vain
A tiny sunray to hold on
Through the cracks of a faded glory
I neither want your pity, nor anything else
My life was much cooler than yours
But my worn out body
Is asking for mercy
 
Tonight, it’s the shadow of myself
That’ll be quietly4 leaving the stage
Softly putting down the microphone
Tonight, it’s the shadow of myself
That’ll be quietly leaving the stage
To pass through the other side of the curtain 5
Are we at the end of the show?
Well, I do think it’s the end of the show
Karl6 is it the end of the show?
Yes, we are at the end of the show
 
So, that’s it
That’s where we’re at
I would’ve taken more
It’s already the last stop
Me, who loved life so much
Everything is over
I’m tired
I can’t sing anymore
Damn, I’m sick and tired with all that7
And my heart is no longer there
I’m at the very end8
Of my road
My star is dying
Ring down the curtain
Tonight, the old singer
Gave his last show
 
Shut down the follow and the lights
No, I no longer need the light to shine on me
I’ll get out by the door in the back
On tiptoes, I’ll throw myself into the Universe
 
I’ll be able to say
With a smile
“Ok, alright
I’ve had a pretty nice ride
And I have no regrets”
But that ain’t so true
Because in the end
I’ve hurt myself
Burning my wings
As much as the candle 9
Often, my death instinct
Was stronger
In my head that lies fallow
I dream of resting
Hope is not starring 10 anymore
I gave my last show
 
Shut down the follow and the lights
No, I no longer need the light to shine on me
I’ll get out by the door in the back
On tiptoes, I’ll throw myself into the Universe
 
What is there after the end of the show?
Is it cool or is it radio silence?
What is there after the end of the show?
 
Adieu11, my brothers in tears and blood
Or should I tell you to nothingness 12
Because at the time of the end of the show
There’s nothing on the other side of the curtain
No organized journey
In an enlightened tunnel
Neither Hell, nor Heaven
All that nonsense is such damn bullshit
That’s what happens at the end of the show
That’s what happens at the end of the show
Whether it was extra or ordinary
Every life ends the same way
It’s the one single justice on Earth13
All equals in the cemetery
Whether it was extra or ordinary
Every life ends the same way
It’s the one single justice on Earth
All equals in the cemetery
That’s what happens at the end of the show
That’s what happens at the end of the show
Whether it was extra or ordinary
Every life ends the same way
That’s what happens at the end of the show
No organized journey
In an enlightened tunnel
That’s what happens at the end of the show
(At the end of the show)
That’s what happens at the end of the show
That’s what happens at the end of the show
 
Shut down the follow and the lights
No, I no longer need the light to shine on me
I’ll get out by the door in the back
For Universe to swallow me
 
  • 1. In a more literal translation : I made a ton of excesses. “Au coton” is an idiom that means “a lot” or “to the maximum”
  • 2. Candiac is a small town in Québec, in the Montérégie region, south of Montréal
  • 3. For those unaccustomed to French Canadian swearing, this is a swear word that would translate literally as “tabernacle”. Swearing in Québec/French Canada uses Church-related words that are different from elsewhere in the French-speaking world
  • 4. Or noiselessly
  • 5. Alternative translation: “To step on the other side of the curtain
  • 6. Karl Tremblay is the singer, who died in November 2023; he had cancer and knew he was at the end of his show. The album was published in 2024, after his death
  • 7. “en avoir plein le cul” is an idiom that would translate literally as “having my ass full of it”. It means the same as “sick and tired”, but is slightly less polite
  • 8. Or, in a more literal way, “I’ve arrived at the end of the ends”
  • 9. as in the saying, that also exists in French, “burning the candle at both ends”
  • 10. Or featured
  • 11. the word “Adieu” (À Dieu, literally : to God) is “Farewell” in English, but a permanent farewell, meaning that the next time you’ll see each other you’ll be with God
  • 12. A play on word to contrast with “Adieu” (to God) he says “to nothingness”, meaning he doesn’t believe in neither God nor afterlife
  • 13. Alternative translation: “It’s the sole justice on Earth”
French
Original lyrics

La fin du show

Click to see the original lyrics (French)

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Comments
YmdeithyddYmdeithydd    Thu, 29/08/2024 - 13:10

Lovely, and thank you! My only comments would be:

and the glory of its spotlights -> of fame and its spotlights
18-wheelers truck -> remove ‘s’
curtain is falling -> ring down the curtain
In your point 9 I would have thought he's referring to the motif of the 'moth to the flame'.

Otherwise some effective touches, I thought.

SophieDaoust_QCSophieDaoust_QC
   Thu, 12/09/2024 - 00:15

Thank you very much (a little bit late :D) for your comments, I made the modifications to the lyrics :)

André J CameronAndré J Cameron    Thu, 24/07/2025 - 13:57

Very good translation. One alternative modification I would suggest on is the line "je n'ai plus besoin qu'on m'éclaire" which, in French, has a double meaning: yes he's talking about the singer's spotlight, or to have a light on him, but in French "me faire éclairer" also means "to be enlightened" so in English, I would have used "I no longer need illumination" or "to be illuminated".

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