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  • Georges Brassens

    La mauvaise herbe → traduzione in Inglese

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The weedy plant

When the day of glory arrived1,
as all the others had snuffed it,
I alone got to know the dishonour
of not having died on the battlefield.
 
I’m a weedy plant,
good people, good people,
it’s not me that’s chewed as cud
and it’s not me that’s stacked in sheaves...
Death mowed the others down,
good people, good people,
and it didn’t take me,
that’s not right and that’s how it is.
La la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la
And I ask myself
in God’s Name why
does it upset you
that I live a bit...
And I ask myself
in God’s Name why
does it upset you
that I live a bit...
 
The girl who’s anyone’s is kindhearted
she lets me have, on my lucky days,
well-hidden little bits of her skin,
that no other men have touched.
 
I’m a weedy plant,
good people, good people,
it’s not me that’s chewed for cud
and it’s not me that’s put into sheaves...
She sells herself to others,
good people, good people,
she gives herself to me,
that’s not right and that’s how it is.
La la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la
And I ask myself
in God’s Name why
does it upset you
that I’m loved a bit...
And I ask myself
in God’s Name why
does it upset you
that I’m loved a bit...
 
People are made, we are told,
to live in flocks, just like sheep.
Me, I live alone, and it won't be tomorrow
that I’ll follow their right path.
 
I’m a weedy plant,
good people, good people,
it’s not me that’s chewed for cud
and it’s not me that’s put into sheaves...
I’m a weedy plant,
good people, good people,
I grow in freedom
in gardens where few people go!
La la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la
And I ask myself
in God’s Name why
does it upset you
that I live a bit...
And I ask myself
in God’s Name why
does it upset you
that I live a bit...
 
  • 1. the second line of the French national anthem, la Marseillaise, is "le jour de gloire est arrivé" and this line is presumably an intentional reference to it
Testi originali

La mauvaise herbe

Clicca per vedere il testo originale (Francese)

Georges Brassens: 3 più popolari
Commenti
michealtmichealt
   Lun, 05/02/2018 - 11:04

Thanks Pierre, I should have had that footnote from the start.

PaotrLaouenPaotrLaouen    Mar, 10/03/2020 - 20:07

1) "Etre de la mauvaise herbe" is a common expression, a variant of "mauvaise graine", usually used to depict teenagers who don't behave properly.

2) Although it is obviously borrowed from the Marseillaise, in this specific cas "jour de gloire" refers to the victory over Germany in 1918, and the first stanza alludes globally to the circumstances which led to the institution of the quasi-religious cult of the "Soldat inconnu".

TVaudrozTVaudroz    Lun, 24/08/2020 - 07:42

Merci beaucoup Monsieur, d'avoir traduit l'une de mes chansons préférées ! C'est un beau travail.