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LT → French, Italian → Léo Ferré → Love → English
  • Léo Ferré
    Léo Ferré – Love

    English translation

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English
Translation

Love

That word
That I was waiting for without knowing you
That I hanged on my window
That didn't drag in business
Of those who went to war with me
That word
That puts in my vocabulary
The way to teach you how to behave
 
Love... Love... Love
 
That word
That scoffs at disasters
That is well worth one hundred and ten thousand verses
That's enough for you when I sing it
 
That runs through your veins when I enchant you
That word
That makes virtue out of vice
That puts the power on the street
That word
 
Love... Love... Love
 
That word
That you syllabify after the party
That puts the party in your head
And then your head in mine
And then my head in yours
That word
That escaped from the dictionary
Where it had nothing left to do
That word
 
Love... Love... Love
 
{Spoken :}
That word
That populates our loneliness
That dies on the threshold of habit
That is made before it is said
That we say when there's nothing left to say
That word
That makes men fraternal
That gets the girls out of the brothel
That word
 
Love... Love... Love... Love... Love... Love
 
That word
Like a weapon to fight offence
Like a smile of silence
 
Like a boatman from the other world
Like a destiny that does its rounds
That word
Like the reason that fades
Like the price of madness
That word
 
Love... Love... Love... Love... Love... Love
 
That word
Like a door into the open
Like my text in your margin
Like your eyes in my birdsong
Like me in your curves
That word
Like the salary of the dream
And like the pavement that rises
That word
 
Love... Love... Love... Love... Love
 
French
Original lyrics

Love

Click to see the original lyrics (French)

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Translations of "Love"

English
Portuguese
Comments
silencedsilenced    Wed, 15/07/2020 - 16:54

Ferré has a specific way of using French. Some people worship it, some hate it. I rather like it, but sometimes I find it a bit tiring :)

Qui traîne au nez des catastrophes -> what you translated would rather be "qui mène les catastrophes par le bout du nez".
Here it's something like "that scoffs at disasters", said in Ferré's peculiar French :)

vaut bien cent dix mille strophes -> "is (well) worth..."

s'est barrée du dictionnaire -> that's a nice pun, either "crossed itself out from the dictionary" or "escaped from the dictionary" ("se barrer" like "se casser" : hit the road)

peuple notre solitude -> rather "dwells" or "populates", i.e. brings some life into their loneliness.

se fait avant de se dire -> something like "that is put into acts before being said" (or "is made before being said" since the word is "love")

fait sa ronde -> would be "doing its rounds" (like a watchman) or "dancing in a circle"

le large -> most likely the open sea (Ferré was very fond of the sea)

fuselage -> could also allude to sleek womanly shapes, as in "fuselé" or "fuseau" (the dress)

BerreolaBerreola    Wed, 15/07/2020 - 21:30

What about cette parole? Is it "this word" or "that word"?

silencedsilenced    Wed, 15/07/2020 - 21:34

The French does not indicate a proximity, so "this" and "that" are both possible, in my opinion.
Since the word is kept unsaid for a while, I'd tend to use "that", but that's debatable.

BerreolaBerreola    Wed, 15/07/2020 - 22:14

Yes, I'm going a little back and forth as to what the best option is.
I translated the first lines myself (with some help) a while back, what do you think?

This word
That I expected without knowing you
That hung out of my window
That I did not find among my possessions

BerreolaBerreola    Wed, 15/07/2020 - 22:28

People were at war with me
This word
That was placed in my vocabulary
To teach me manners

silencedsilenced    Wed, 15/07/2020 - 23:56

I wonder if the "que"s should be translated at all. English can dispense with them while French can't.
They might help with the rhythm but also sound a bit heavy.

The main problem I see with your translation is the split of this sentence:
Qui traînait pas dans les affaires des gens qui me faisaient la guerre -> this hints at "make love, not war".
"traîner dans les affaires" can mean something like "lie around among the clothing"
The metaphor is of the word being a piece of clothing left to hang at the window, so that it would not be mixed up in the clothing of these "warring people".
But of course "affaire" also means "business" so it can be read as "this word had nothing to do in the business I had with people who waged war against me"

To teach me manners -> teach you (it's about her, not him).
Again this can be read both ways: "teach you how to behave" or "teach you the art of love"
literaly : Qui met dans mon vocabulaire de quoi t'apprendre les manières -> (this/that word) which puts into my vocabulary enough to teach you [the ways (of love) / some manners]"

BerreolaBerreola    Thu, 16/07/2020 - 00:34

Thanks! I'm making subtitles to go live with the song, so I'm trying to sort of "match" the French as well as possible. So I think it's best to keep them.

That's a very strange part which still confuses me. I really don't understand this passage very well. Do you have an ideal translation?

"To teach you some manners" sounds harsh in English. Does it in French as well?

silencedsilenced    Thu, 16/07/2020 - 00:35

I suppose so. That implies she's ill-mannered :)
Maybe "teach you how to behave" or something? I don't know if there is a milder equivalent in English.

BerreolaBerreola    Thu, 16/07/2020 - 00:19

And do you think l'offense is or "the offense" just "offense"?

silencedsilenced    Thu, 16/07/2020 - 00:32

That would rather be for a native speaker to say.
I understand it as "love can help fight offense" (or offence as they put it in the UK), like "fight racism" or "fight ignorance".

BerreolaBerreola    Thu, 16/07/2020 - 00:51

And another thing: la raison, is it THE reason, like the reason for doing something, or can it be reason like in "Use reason!"

silencedsilenced    Thu, 16/07/2020 - 00:56

I understand it as "cognitive abilities", i.e. love is stronger than reasoning (and drives you mad, as the next line says)

Emika AllensEmika Allens
   Thu, 16/07/2020 - 11:25

Well, this comment section blew up since I last checked!  :)
I'm just going to read your suggestions and try to combine them so as to change the translation afterwards.

silencedsilenced    Thu, 16/07/2020 - 11:37

This is what you get for rousing the ghosts of French surrealism. :D

Emika AllensEmika Allens
   Thu, 16/07/2020 - 12:34

To be completely honest, I had never heard of this poet before, so it was just request fulfilling as usual until I realised what I'd got myself into.  :D
So I think I made almost every change you guys suggested. How does the translation look now?

silencedsilenced    Thu, 16/07/2020 - 12:44

I'm not one to throw compliments around, but you did a very fine job, in my opinion.
Of course this French full of double meanings can only be interpreted, but your translation reads like a charm and conveys the mood very well.

One final bit of nitpicking, just for nitpicking's sake:
a door in the open -> "into the open", if that's possible in English? (a door behind which vast open spaces would lie)

BerreolaBerreola    Thu, 16/07/2020 - 21:54

So it has nothing to do with the open sea?

silencedsilenced    Thu, 16/07/2020 - 21:59

it could also mean "the open sea" but it's very vague. I thought of it because Ferré was very fond of the sea, but basically "le large" just means wide open spaces. Could be the ocean, a desert, the wilderness...

Emika AllensEmika Allens
   Thu, 16/07/2020 - 13:05

It's absolutely possible (plus I like it better than "in the open"). I'm kinda relieved to be done with this translation!  :D

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