English translation

Bike

• 1. ”en bal” or “en balle.” Literally, “in bullet” ⇾ ammunition = at full speed. The pilot, for the sake of flow aerodynamics, lies on the tank to offer the least resistance to the wind at the same time as it accelerates. So, the silhouette looks like a bullet — You'll find, at the bottom of the page, after (below) the numbered annotations, the commentary I added to this translation to explain how this song was written, and the different possible meanings of interpretation of the lyrics.
• 2. ”Sans les mains” (literally “without the hands.” “Hands-off” can also be appropriate, but is less explicit) is a viral expression in France, meaning to carry out an operation, a gesture, an action usually requiring a lot of agility with alarming ease. Most often, it's said with a humorous intention to express a sort of assumed and amusing boasting about an action, an activity that one could or would have to undertake but which turns out to be very complicated in reality.
• 3. One of the motorcycle driving license tests where you have to slalom slowly between plastic skittles placed on the ground
• 4. Thomas Sankara, born December 21, 1949, in Yako (Upper Volta) and died assassinated October 15, 1987, in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), is an anti-imperialist statesman, revolutionary, communist, environmentalist, feminist, Voltaic pan-Africanist and Third World globalist, then Burkinabè, head of state of the Republic of Upper Volta, renamed Burkina Faso, from 1983 to 1987.
• 5. Cheikh Anta Diop, born December 29, 1923, in Thieytou and died February 7, 1986, in Dakar, is a trained scientist, historian, anthropologist, and Senegalese politician. Throughout his life, he endeavored to show Africa's contribution, particularly black Africa, to world culture and civilization.
• 6. ”sans carats” (free-carats ⇾ “without money,” “without jewelry” ⇾ in the sense of “without charm/trinket/flashy jewelry,” without the need to flaunt my success, and therefore my wealth, with massive, showy, precious metal jewelry. But also “free of rights” ⇾ to complete the first words of the phrase “in indie”). This is why I preferred to translate by “free carats” rather than “without carats.” This corresponded better to the two concepts (without flashy jewelry and royalty-free). Please note: at the same time, the author also draws a phonetic parallel with the name of “Sankara” present in the previous verse, since both are pronounced the same way in French. In ad, “cent carats” (hundred carats) in French is also pronounced exactly like “Sankara” or like “sans carat”. In 1993, a play is out from the publishing house: “Nouvelle Imprimerie du Niger” and written by Chaïbou Dan-Inna — A high African civil servant and author of plays, bibliographies, and articles for various newspapers and magazines. In 79, He obtained a degree in modern letters at the University of Niamey (Niger), later, a master's degree in modern literature at the University of Abidjan (Ivory Coast), then in 1985 a post-graduate doctorate in French-speaking literature and civilizations, at the University of “Bordeaux 3” (France) — under the title: “Une vie de cent carats” (A life of hundred carats) and which retraces the journey and perpetuates the message of Thomas Sankara.
• 7. teeth in French slang (the “S” at the end of chicotS isn't pronounced — neither does the T —, it just marks the plural: “une chique,” “des chicots.” We can also say “une chicot,” “des chicots”). Please note: The word is misspelled in the publication of French lyrics published on the Lyrics Translate website.
• 8. ”quer-cro” (crunch) is the “verlan” (“Verlan” = "L'envers” — “reverse” ⇾ “verse-re” in English —, is a French-coded slang language where the syllables are reversed)” of cro-quer. And “Croquer” in French slang is an expression that can mean “take one's share” or “make a profit,” but also “to be corrupted.” On the contrary, “faire croquer” (literally: “make crunch” = give a bite) means "to share,” “to give a profit,” “to give part of the profits” or even “pay bribes.”
• 9. big boss(es)
• 10. Here, the author draws a parallel with ball sports, “attendre une passe de balle” (wait for a ball to pass), “centrer” (center) → pass the ball to the center, as well as a phonetic rhyme with the word “concentrés” (focused) located in the previous verse. Note: Here, we're talking about driving. By this reference, the author designates the drivers of vehicles placed at the front of his motorcycle. Knowing that a motorcyclist most often rides between two rows of vehicles and observes, in particular, the driver's exterior mirror to see if the latter has seen him ⇾ “they're not focused”, possibly even waving at him to “pass” ⇾ “I don't wait for the pass” - and if the driver can see him and thus, the biker can pass by the centerline without danger. “Center” here designates the position of the vehicle positioned in front and whether it is well-placed in the middle of the dotted strips or, on the contrary, doesn't dangerously overflow onto them. Which could put the motorcyclist's life in peril if he tries to overtake at the same time.
• 11. cocaine
• 12. CC ⇾ Cube Centimeter, a term used in auto/motorcycle mechanics to define the displacement of an engine
• 13. « Je roule » (ride/roll) In French (I don't know if this is the case in English), we can just as easily say: « je “conduis (I drive),” je “pilote (I pilot)” une moto (a bike) », que « je “roule” (I ride/roll) à moto (on a bike) ». On the other hand, I doubt you can say, “I roll on a motorbike” in English (? I’m not sure). So, here, Yamê deliberately chose to use “rouler” (roll/ride) rather than “drive” or “pilot” since the ambiguity of this verb in French can simultaneously evoke the action of “rolling a joint” as “riding a motorcycle.” And, evidently, do both simultaneously.
• 14. ”Bawai” is an ellipse of the expression “Bah, ouais” (Well, yeah), which is itself an ellipse of the expression “Et bien oui” (So well, yes)
• 15. Note that “bécane” is French slang for a motorcycle. Usually it is pronounced “baycan” and not bay-k-ne. Actually, Yamê sings: “Bécane, hee, ...cane, heee, woo-oooh”
• 16. A new time, use of “Verlan” here: “J'fume la beu.” (I smoke the weed): To make the “Verlan” a language a little more esoteric, for many words, we don't just invert the syllables. We can sometimes, for example, use only the first inverted syllable: “herbe” (literally “grass”) ⇾ becomes “be-her” (pronounced “buhair” in English). If we remove the second syllable, there remains “be” whose pronunciation we accentuate a little ⇾ “beu” (pronounced “buh,” so).
• 17. ”je'm'en bat les couilles” (literally “I beat my balls — testicles — of it”) is a French slang expression equivalent to the English: “IDGAF”)
• 18. ”sa mère” literally: “his/her mother, (the bitch.” ⇽ Most often, this second part of the locution is not formulated; it's nevertheless implicit in this popular expression) is a French slang expression very used and more and less equivalent to the English exclamation: “fuck!” or “shit!”
• 19. The author here refers to the bars of a prison. You'll note in this regard that when Yamê performs this title (at the Colors Show, in particular), when the moment comes for this verse, he mimes with his hands a prisoner clinging to the bars of his cell. In the case of piloting a motorcycle in an urban area, the pilot is trapped in road traffic, a prisoner, but frees himself from it by overtaking and accelerating in the following verse.
• 20. ”gros fer” (big iron) large displacement/big engine and, by extension, a powerful motorbike
• 21. ”Akrapovic” World Championship-Winning Exhaust System Technology is a specialized company that uses the best materials to produce high-quality exhaust systems renowned for high competition. But, ”Akra or acra” is also a French slang term for a hashish pellet, referring to the dumpling of flour and crumbled fish or crushed and spiced vegetables fried in oil (Creole cuisine).