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Translation
A socialist chick
I can't say she was rude
or arrogant.
On the contrary, she was rather
elegant.
Like a slice of bread with marmelade
dipped in coffee1,
like a scribbling on a
toilet wall
I met her in a pacifist
protest.
There was quite a fight going on with
the police
I had hurt myself flinging
a cobblestone.
I had sprained the ankle of my arm
(I mean) my wrist
She was a socialist,
Protestant and feminist.
A bit of a pain, a bit sad too
a school teacher.
She thought the revolution was about
to come.
She believed in the great winds
of hope2
The kind of bullshit I had read
somewhere
I can't remember.
She spoke about Bernard Tapie5
with enthusiasm
She said he had genius
and class
I told her: "Right you are, Daisy,
he's like Karl Marx,
only more awesome and more honest
and more efficient6"
As for me, I was a Nothing-at-all-ist
Anarcho-Mitterrandist7
Don't know if that actually exists
but it turns me on!
And then she said she knew
big-wigs,
she was a good friend of a friend
of Nunky8
she had dinner with Jack Lang9
a month ago
and Guy Bedos10 had four helpings
of meat.
I told her I was done with the
high society
I had met Charles Hernu11
in jail
I had dinner once in a
ministry building
but to say the truth the food was not as good
as my mother's
I told her "Daisy, you shouldn't talk politics
with me.
We'll end up having a row,
that's a classic.
How could I possibly agree
with you?
I already have a hard time agreeing
with myself."
She said: "My name is not Daisy
anyway.
I'm Gladys, if that's alright with you"
I said "Right.
I have to go, got to get back to the
Gare de Lyon13
before someone pinches my moped,
that would be a bummer."
And that's how my Socialist,
who was so afraid of thieves14
dumped me right in the middle of the protest
because of a moped
How could you change life15
if you fear for your goods.
You can't be at the same time
a sheep and a rebel.
- 1. the traditional French breakfast
- 2. Renaud uses common French political waffle, I don't really know English equivalents, but all suggestions are welcome
- 3. far right paper, the mouthpiece of the Front National far right party
- 4. that implies Minute is not even worthy of the name "paper" :)
- 5. At the time the song was written, Tapie was the embodiment of Reagan and Thatcher's neo-cons ideology in France. A kind of emblematic French yuppie, so to speak. He even ended up as a (rather insignificant) minister in a socialist government a few years later.
History proved he was but a dignified crook, but then again what else would you expect from a yuppie? - 6. I don't know about you, but this depiction has me rolling on the floor laughing
- 7. like "anarcho-syndicalist"' with "syndicate" replaced with François Mitterrand (Socialist president at the time)
- 8. "Tonton" (Uncle) was a very common nickname of Mitterrand
- 9. Socialist minister of culture. A symbol of the "Gauche caviar", the wealthy Socialists who had long lost touch with the prole
- 10. a famous stand-up comedian who openly supported the Socialists
- 11. Socialist minister of defense. He was the scapegoat in the infamous Rainbow Warrior scandal and had to resign, but he never actually went to jail
- 12. Mitterrand used the Communists as a springboard to get elected in 1981, then blatantly betrayed them by jumping in Reagan, Thatcher and Kohl's train in 1983, and did his best to reduce their influence from that point on
- 13. one of the main Paris train stations, serving the Southeast
- 14. he's sniping at the Socialists again, implying they are but bashful Bourgeois :)
- 15. "changer la vie" was one of the many Socialist slogans of the era
- 16. the idiom goes "you can't be (simultaneously) at the oven and at the mill", linking "moulin and "Jean Moulin" nicely
- 17. Both were members of the French résistance. Jean Moulin died during the war at the hands of the Gestapo and is revered as a symbol of courage and integrity. Dutourd is a lot less famous. He survived the war and had a fleeting moment of fame when he became very critical of the Socialists after their twist toward social-democracy at the expense of the communists. He notably wrote a book called "The most stupid Left in the world" in 1985 :)
Guest on 2018-02-03✕
Renaud: Top 3
| 1. | Mistral gagnant |
| 2. | Manhattan-Kaboul |
| 3. | Laisse béton |
Idioms from "Socialiste"
| 1. | So to speak |
Comments
citlālicue
Sat, 03/02/2018 - 23:08
It is actually, have anymore like this one?
Freigeist 
Brat 
Thunderoad
Sat, 25/05/2019 - 00:10
Really I don't know what else to say, except that it is super.
honnest > honest
Andf > And