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Original lyrics
Marrakech
Dans les rues de Marrakech
Saoule de parfums et de menthe fraîche
Sous les murs roses et les palais
Cachés par les bougainvilliers
Je veux me perdre avec toi
Dans les ruelles d'la médina
Et de chez moi sur la terrasse
On verra les neiges de l'Atlas
Dans les souks, dans les cafés
Tout en sourire et raffinés
Les gens de la rue, ceux des palais
Savent nous parler et nous gâter
Conteurs, musiciens, acrobates
Sur Jemaa el-Fna, dans le même sac
Avec les serpents à sonnette
Ceux qui se dressent à la baguette
Miel, oranges et beignets
Gnawas, riads et palmeraies
Baignant dans une lumière dorée
Ah! c'est si beau, je veux y aller!
Translation
Marrakech
In the streets of Marrakech
drunken with scents and fresh mint,
under the pink walls and palaces
hidden by the bougainvilleas
I want to get lost with you.
In the medina streets
and from my place on the terrace
we will watch the Atlas snows.
In the souks, in the cafés,
the folks from the street or the palaces,
full of smiles and sophisticated,
know how to handle and spoil us.
Storytellers, musicians, acrobats,
all together on Jemaa el-Fna,
complete with rattlesnakes1
those that are whipped into submission2
Honey, oranges and fritters
Gnawas, riads and palm groves
basking in a golden light.
Ah! It's so beautiful, I want to go there!
- 1. I know there are no rattlesnakes in Morocco, but that's what is written.
She might have said "serpents à lunette" (cobras) but she didn't
"serpent à sonnette" can (rarely) be used to name a treacherous person, usually someone you know well enough for him to have had an occasion to betray you.
In this context, as a metaphor for shady people of the streets that would sound rather far fetched IMO - 2. the pun starts with "tous dans le même sac", an idiom meaning something like "making no difference between people", when you voice an opinion.
It has no real meaning here except "all together".
Of course the bag is also where the snakes are, but the pun falls flat since the metaphoric bag and the real one have nothing in common.
Now "dresser à la baguette" means "to use harsh methods for training an animal (or educating someone)". "dresser" also means "to erect".
So the pun means something like "whipped into erection/stiffness/rigidity", but that sounds plain silly in English, and the pun is weak to begin with, so I dumped it
Guest on 2015-08-23✕
Riff Cohen: Top 3
| 1. | משוך בגופי (Meshoch Beguffi) |
| 2. | Dans Mon Quartier |
| 3. | A Paris |
Comments
The bit where she tries to do some puns is a rather embarrassing mess, IMO. I doubt this singer will go down in history.