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Translation
Go Back Home
That's it, they blew up the Eiffel Tower
That's it, they blew up the Eiffel Tower
We thought they wouldn't dare but the damage is done
How did it come to this? Difficult to believe
The night was calm, they bombed only three times
I went up to Paris to find my girlfriend
The war took us by the throat, disrupted our routine
Replaced the flowers with tears, the whispers with screams
Her building had been hit, I didn't find her under the debris
I'll go back empty-handed, rejoin my family on the first train
Its departure is scheduled for tomorrow morning
Men are capable of wonders and of the worst follies
It's been four days since I've heard news of Oli
Fuck, it's the war!
They have smashed our ivory towers
I who only knew it through history books
I watch over the family, it's true, our parents are getting old
We pile up buses, we block the streets, we protect ourselves as well as we can
And the crowd flees from these lunatics without straight jackets
It seems they are executing people in the Place du Capitole
Four tickets for a ferry, one chance to escape
A new life on the other side of the Mediterranean
The bullets taunt us, we're afraid of being in the wrong place
My brother told me "If I don't come back, leave without me."
It's hard to stay up to date, they cut the network
Soon it will be four days since I heard news of Flo
Of course the noise of the crowded carriages make me an insomniac
Some people have put their entire house at the bottom of a little sack
The train stops and starts again, making me feel nauseous
We have covered in two days what we used to cover in six hours.
I must rejoin my family at the Port of Marseille but I am running late
I think they'll leave without me, what a nightmare!
Oh well, I'll rejoin them by boat
No network, impossible to get a bar
I see a child on the ground, ask her if she is alone
She says that she saw her parents lying under shrouds
Men are capable of wonders and of the worst follies
It's almost six days since I've heard news of Oli
Destination Marseille! Everything heaped in the hold
We pretend to not see all the bodies which are laid along the way
The cities have changed, life and horror so early
The metros are dormitories, the cinemas hospitals
Under the port, we jostle, we cram to the front
All of a sudden the ferry appears, some would kill for a place inside
On board, I cry for the state of this world
We waited for my brother until the last second
We don't want to be over there, we just want to be somewhere else
To finally breath like the day after a nightmare
The boat embarks, I stare at it's wake on the water
It's almost seven days since I've heard news of Flo
Arrived at the Port of Marseille with the little girl in my arms
Almost a day late, they have all left without me
But I have the details of a smuggler, a beach and an hour
More than thirty, crowded, of course, we are not travelling alone
He says to me: "Choose the girl or your bag to throw away ballast."
Then I empty my pockets and give him all that I have left
And I'm off and away, an actor in a strange tale
Seeking paradise on an inflatable boat, we navigate far from here
And the more the waves increase, the more our hopes diminish
And that pitching, that pitching, some fall into the belly of the beast
Here we are in the middle of a storm
In a second, the girl escapes me and falls
I hear her screams carried away by the roaring sea
The rain, the salt and the tears mix together
A woman clings to my hips and leads me in the dance
The boat spins, we cling together and we sink
Our calls for help are lost in the swell
To think that not long ago I was with my friends
We would go from bar to bar all night long
My lungs fill with water and my eyes close
My soul extinguishes it's lamp
Men are capable of wonders and of the worst follies
I will never again hear news of Oli
The ship docks, first sight, barbed wire
That, my brother had not spoken about
Again guns and bulletproof vests
They make us sign papers in a language we don't speak
They search us, disinfect us like animals
They separate us from my father, no time to say a final word to him
Into temporary camps, blankets, a mattress
A man from Nice tells me he's been there for months
I already miss Toulouse, my mother falls asleep in my arms
She repeats softly to me that Flo will rejoin us
The stifling heat, we emptied all the bottles
In the paper, I learn that they blew up the Eiffel Tower
The next day they crowd us into buses
Packed in one after another, the least able help the more able
Hundreds of fools accompany our departure
Fists brandished in the air, shouts, dirty looks
I come across a guy who chants fervently
It's the first time of the journey that I truly am afraid
I see only him in the middle of the crowd
On his placard is written "Go back home."
But I'm sorry, we can't welcome all the French
We can't welcome all the French
They are arriving in thousands
If they had a scrap of honour
They would go back to their country and they would fight for France
They would fight to defend their family and then their honour
That's how it is, I'm sorry
We came, we came from Nantes, and they destroyed everything
Everything destroyed in Nantes, nothing remains.
We had, we had everything, over there, we lost everything that we had
Er, I don't know what to do, I don't even know where to go
I have lost family members
Today, most of the problems that our country is having
Is the fault of the French
I'm sorry, before they arrived in our country everything was going well
Therefore, we can't welcome people
Who come here to wreak havoc
| Thanks! ❤ |  |  |
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Submitted by 
Motormouse on 2019-02-09
Motormouse on 2019-02-09Added in reply to request by 
jesuisasiya
jesuisasiya ✕
Bigflo et Oli: Top 3
| 1. | Dommage |
| 2. | Rentrez chez vous |
| 3. | Plus tard |
Idioms from "Rentrez chez vous"
| 1. | La famille, c'est la famille. |
| 2. | Le mal est fait |
| 3. | M'en parle pas |
| 4. | running late |
| 5. | to be somewhere |
Comments
Joyce Su Motormouse
Sun, 10/02/2019 - 00:00
Thank you ingirumimusnocte, for taking the time to correct my (far too many) mistakes. I really appreciate the help.
I love the premise of this song, as it brings home the absurdity of some peoples reactions to a tragic humanitarian issue. People seem to forget that refugees would rather be in their home country, if it was safe for them to be there. Changing the perspective may change some minds. :-)
Again, thanks for making this read more accurately, and for teaching me some things along the way.
Cheers, Craig.
About translator
If I missed the mark or can improve this translation, let me know and I'll make the changes accordingly.
Cheers, Craig :-)