A keresés eredménye

I was listening to Sweet Baby James

It was long ago in December, I still can remember
The carefully arranged mess in the back of your room
The snow outside that we watched as it fell
And especially our hearts swirling round madly
 
Of the two of us, it was you who felt it most
You turned up the radio one or two times
It suited me fine, I admit, I didn't like silence
All at once the song came on really strong
You said something softly but I wasn't listening any more
 
I was lost in a faraway place
I was listening to 'Sweet Baby James'
After a long kiss, you said: 'Do you love me'
I lied, I wasn't about to say
That I was listening to 'Sweet Baby James'
 
I remember my fingers drumming out the tempo
After a bunch of chords that gave me fever
I should have only been thinking about your lips
Or about your burning gaze or the sweetness of your skin
 
I never said those words that you dreamed of hearing
I'll always remember your long dark hair
How long that hallway was when I left your room
That snowy looking glass in the December cold
That strange voice that changed history
 
I was lost in a faraway place
I was listening to 'Sweet Baby James'
I should have come back, at least made it clear
That I never wanted to hurt you...
Instead I listened to 'Sweet Baby James'
 

a hundred more years

Versions: #2
a hundred years in the slave's skin
and right after that, a hundred more years
look for crumbs under the tables
before the whites step on them
sleep on bundles of planks
sing only on sunday
you see the black woman
in the role of the maid
and right by her side
her man, all bent
after that, you can't be surprised
 
they're the ones who made
the ones who made
son house and charlie patton
howlin' wolf and blind lemon
 
so red, the blood of africa
on the lovely cotton flower
the all new america
the beautiful democracy, welcome
ships deporting villages
at the end of the immense voyage
engraved in memory
for light years
each ivory teardrop
each iron collar
after that, you can't be surprised
 
they're the ones who made
the ones who made
son house and charlie patton
howlin' wolf and blind lemon
 
always please the ghost merchants
she who is bought and he who is given
born with the longest sentence
still living in what we are
a people shut out from humanity
seeking the blue of the ancient kingdom
the ones who made, you can't be surprised
 
son house and charlie patton
blind blake and willie dixon
ma rainey and robert johnson
howlin' wolf and blind lemon
son house and charlie patton
 

the fisherman's cabin

Versions: #2
the evening fell with all its weight
over the river
i put away my rods
all you could see was the fire
i saw her approaching
her head elsewhere in her prayers
i thought i saw her eyes shine too much
i told her
 
if you cry for a boy
you won't be the last
often the fish are much more affectionate
go for a walk, breathe the fresh air
afterward, i'll talk to you about love
if i remember a bit
she told me
 
she said, exactly, that's what i want to know
and i said, come sit down in the fisherman's cabin
it's a bad dream, forget it
your dreams are always too light or too dark
so come mix the colors for yourself
on the walls of the fisherman's cabin
come sit down
i told her
 
the world isn't so far away yet
you see the lights
and the earth can make
all the sounds it wants
surely there's someone listening
high up in the universe
maybe you're asking for more than he can do?
she told me
 
she said, exactly, that's what i want to know
and i said, come sit down in the fisherman's cabin
it's a bad dream, forget it
your dreams are always too light or too dark
so come mix the colors for yourself
on the walls of the fisherman's cabin
come sit down
she told me
 
she told me, finally, i'm burning to know everything
and i said, come sit down in the fisherman's cabin
surely there's space for two
this road leads nowhere
so come mix the colors for yourself
on the walls of the fisherman's cabin
we'll compare our misfortunes
there, in the fisherman's cabin
share a little warmth
there, in the fisherman's cabin
me, i'm waiting for the world to be better
there, in the fisherman's cabin
 

Little Mermaid

Versions: #3
Don’t cry little mermaid
The city sleeps outside
Your story just begun
Don’t cry little mermaid
The day awaits outside
In the mist of the fountains
 
The morning so clear
The silence so soft
Men’s words float on air
Everyone is together
 
The night passed without sleep
Carved our hollow cheeks
You tear everything in a flash of light
And suddenly it’s life....Suddenly it’s life
 
Don’t cry little mermaid
The city sleeps outside
Your story just begun
 
Don’t cry little mermaid
The day awaits outside
In the mist of the fountains
 
This night you’ve come from angels
Beautiful as ever
Tonight our ways upset you
With light everywhere
 
All these phantoms touch you
Hands which help
Puffs of cold air in your mouth
Suddenly it’s life...Suddenly it’s life
 
Don’t cry little mermaid
The city awaits outside
Your story just begun
 
Don’t cry little mermaid
The day awaits outside
In the mist of the fountains
 
Here you arrive like a Queen
Just at daybreak
With your porcelain echo
Your call for help
 
Like an ingrained signal
Time flies in its own time
First hours, then days, then weeks
Then years of love
Years of love
 
Don’t cry little mermaid
The city awaits outside
Your story just begun
 
Don’t cry little mermaid
The day awaits outside
In the mist of the fountains
 
Don’t cry little mermaid
 
Don't cry little mermaid
The day awaits outside
In the mist of the fountains
 

Mountains out of everything

My treasure you’ve truly got a heart of gold
But you make mountains out of everything
A few crumbs forgotten under the table
And yesterday evening in fact, where were you?
 
My treasure you emptied out my mobile phone
You hoped to find what, words of love?
The quiet little life
At least that’s not our lot
 
It’s always a little war
For a word out of place
A cloudburst a flash of lightning and it’s off
But I know what to do
You know what I prefer
And everyone know how that ends up
 
My treasure I’m going to plead guilty
But to what I have no idea
The news, the awful weather forecast
Fine, Pompeii as well, that was me I admit it
 
My treasure you’ve got a heart of gold but even so
Let’s not get carried away
The peaceful little life
At least that’s not our lot
 
It’s always a little war
For a word out of place
A cloudburst, a flash of lightning, to the shelters
But I know what to do
You know what I prefer
And everyone know how that ends up
 
My treasure ones like you must be won
Ones like you are not found everywhere
You mustn’t think that all this pushes us apart
On the contrary, on the contrary between us
 
My treasure
On the contrary
On the contrary between us
My treasure
 
It’s always a little war
A cloudburst a flash of lightning
But I know what to do
And everyone knows how that ends up
 

The only son

He’s got his little shop
He multiplies the loaves wrapped in plastic
He’s a decent guy, a little bit eccentric
As only sons often are
 
He has his little business
He gives brollies to girls in rain showers
Offers his arm to the lady crossing the road
A modern guy, in jeans and Converse
 
But as he knows what’s going on
As he’s neither blind nor deaf
Under his linen jacket
He wears his bullet-proof vest
 
And as he’s well understood
The world we live in
He never goes out without
His elegant little Colt
 
He’s loaded with class
He speaks bewitching words, words that take flight
Over the roofs, parables
He says “Above all, you mustn’t panic”
 
He speaks with his hands clasped together
Of his father in the sky, of his sainted mother
Who could walk without leaving a footprint
He says “Be cool, have no fear”.
 
But as he knows what’s going on
As he’s neither blind nor deaf
Under his linen jacket
He wears his bullet-proof vest
 
And as he’s well understood
The world we live in
He never goes out without
His elegant little Colt
 
He’s not at all who you think
Him, he’s lived through 35 years
His fiancée Marie Marlene
He sees her every weekend
 
He has friends well placed
At the bar of certain cafes
The gang he hangs out with
They throng around him by the dozen
 
He tells them that everything will change in the end
That everything will turn out well
That everything will change in the end
He tells them that everything will change in the end
That everything will turn out well
That everything will change in the end
 
But as he knows what’s going on
As he’s neither blind nor deaf
And as he’s very, very well understood
He’s a decent guy, a little bit eccentric
As only sons often are
 

Here to stay

Versions: #2
There’s someone else in the looking glass
Between the potions and the creams
All the little pots which pile up
You see, time has passed even so
 
We believed we were treading water
Ah that, we took some pain over it
We spend ourselves, we struggle
And even with a queen’s steps
The big hand moves
 
We’re going to target eternity
We are so comfortable here
We’re all going to act as if
We were here to stay
 
Between the bumps in the road
The set-backs, the dead-ends
The long nights, the short days
And all that scratches the surface
 
We fall each one in turn
Between the raptor’s claws
The only remedy is love
Besides, that’s why we run
From one end of space to other
 
We’re going to target eternity
We are so comfortable here
We’re all going to act as if
We were here to stay
 
Stay, stay, stay
We’re not even hurried
Stay, stay, stay
In a corner of my mind
A lifetime embracing you
A thousand times started over
And that’s why we’re going to stay
Stay, stay
 
I would have like to bring it to you
On a beautiful lace cushion
The nook where the keys are hidden
To the eternal mechanism
 
But the clock is out of reach
And it isn’t there that the essence lies
It can continue to turn
And it can take everything away
I find you more beautiful every day
 
We’re going to target eternity
We are so comfortable here
We’re all going to act as if
We were here to stay
Stay, stay, stay
We are far from worn-out
Stay, stay, stay
In a corner of my mind
A life embracing you
A thousand time started over
 
We’re going to stay, stay, stay
We’re not even hurried
Stay, stay, stay
For those that we’ve hurt
That we should have embraced
Might as well start all over again
 
We’re going to target eternity
We are so comfortable here
We’re all going to act as if
We were here to stay
 

She belongs to me (She's an artist)

She’s got everything she wants
She’s an artist don’t ever doubt it
She’s got everything she wants
She’s an artist don’t ever doubt it
She can make whole nights white
And cast a black shadow over your days
 
She never trembles
And nowhere can she fall
She never trembles
And nowhere can she fall
As she’s the child of no one
The law never touches her
 
She wears an Egyptian ring
That sparkles when she has to speak
She wears an Egyptian ring
That sparkles when she’s going to speak
She’s a high society collector
And you an old-fashioned passer-by
 
You’ll start on your feet
Proud to hear her least whisper
You’ll start on your feet
Proud to hear her least whisper
You’ll end up like the others
Kneeling in front of her key-hole
 
Go and bow down to her on Sunday
And make a detour for her party
Go and bow down to her on Sunday
And make a detour for her party
For Halloween buy her a trumpet
And for Christmas give her a drum
For Halloween buy her a trumpet
And for Christmas give her a drum
 

The shadow on the painting

Versions: #2
A Terracotta landscape
The sky that could be by Magritte
The barn covered with ivy
The lizard sleeping on the stone
The cat curled up on the step
The insect hidden under the leaves
The world is in its pure colours
Like in your boxes of paint
 
Coming from beyond the clouds
From the depths of times and the ages
A strange light falls
Of grass, of wind, of dust
On our two useless armchairs
This kite caught on the tiles
Things seem to be eternal
Like in your box of watercolours
 
In the blue sky between the branches,
The aeroplane leaves a white vapour trail
Like a ribbon, a long cloud
As if to say 'Everything is shared'
In the morning on the huge lake
It just take a boat to move forward
And the water trembles as if it’ll never stop
As if to say “Everything is torn”
 
Maybe you’re trying somewhere
To paint love from memory
To recompose the colours
Of a dying autumn on a heart 1
If you want to know how I feel about it
Things haven’t changed much since
That day when you turned your back
Except perhaps the shadow on the painting
 
In the blue sky between the branches,
The aeroplane leaves a white vapour trail
Like a ribbon, a long cloud
As if to say 'Everything is shared'
Like your first attempts in gouache
A mark upon your pretty canvas
All diluted in the white
As if to say “Everything comes undone”
 
In your favourite light,
The one that looks like Magritte
The barn covered in ivy
The lizard that sleeps on the stone
 

• 1. the 'heart' here could be a pallette

Great people

We could be great people 1
Perfect beings
Charming and generous singers
Humble and discreet
Against all the injustices
And all the battles
But we are usually selfish
And it’s everyone for themself
 
We could make eternal songs
And in a few couplets
We would make the world more beautiful
Mankind less bad
That would make us into rare beings
And like immortals
But we make little songs that fade
And we fade with them
 
And we fade with them
We fade with them
 
We could make songs that are
Useful to society
To denounce its downward spiral
And the absurdities
Like shooting at a singing bird
Emptying a cartridge right into its heart
But we make timid little songs
And we look away
 
We could talk of essential things
And of things of great beauty
As we would be born with wings
It would not be complicated
We’d have words that strike and pierce through
The traitors and the liars
But we make little songs for profit
And we tremble with fear
 
We tremble with fear
And we tremble with fear
 
We could be huge artists
Divinities
Seen as a ray of hope
For humanity
It would just take us appearing
To make everyone happy
But in fact, the people love us
And then leave us
And it is no doubt for the best
 

• 1. This whole song uses the conditional tense throughout - We would be/we would make etc. However, it seems to me the meaning here is more expressing a possible and desirable future so I have used 'could be' to start each verse as that works rather better in English.

Madam don't like

Madam don’t like the guitar at all
Madam don’t like the guitar at all
Madam don’t like it but no problem
We’ll play the guitar anyway
It’s not Madam who’s in charge after all
 
Madam don’t like the bass either
Madam don’t like the bass either
Madam don’t like the low frequencies
We wonder what Madam’s thinking
For us, without the bass, we’re lost
 
Madam don’t like the drums I believe
Madam don’t like the drums I believe
Madam’s going to have to get used to it
And learn that nothing can replace
A good beat like this one
 
Madam don’t like the piano
Madam don’t even like the piano
I find Madam really difficult
We’ve got the best pianist in town
One does wonder what Madam needs
 
Madam don’t like the accordion
Madam don’t like the accordion
We don’t give a damn what madam likes
Or doesn’t like, he’ll play anyway
Us, it’s what we like
 
Madam don’t like what we play
Madam don’t like what we play
Madam says that it’s load of nonsense
That it’s played out of tune, that it’s played loud
So in advance Madam, sorry… Sorry…
 
Madam says that it’s load of nonsense
That it’s played out of tune, that it’s played loud
So in advance Madam, sorry… Sorry…
 

Born in the bayou

I was born in a swamp side bar
On a night with a slender crescent moon
I learnt to walk in the bottom of a canoe
Between the rifle butts
 
I was born in the bayou…
 
I can read the future in armadillos’ entrails
Afterwards I wipe the blood on my jeans
I was one of the best in the voodoo school
Of the black magicians of New Orleans
 
I was born in the bayou…
I was born in the bayou…
 
I’ve a heart as tough as an alligator
The one that’s drying out in the yard
I eat a bit of it
I dance around
They say it’s good for the love-life
 
I was born in the bayou…
 
Talking of that, I’m not phenomenal
But I manage to please the girls
I’ve got my swanky duds for the weekend
When Peggy slips on her flimsy dress
 
I was born in the bayou…
I was born in the bayou…
 
And I dance, I dance on the land that I love
This land that rises from the mud
And I walk, I walk in the beautiful
Green light of the bayou
 
And I dance, I dance on the land that I love
This land that rises from the mud
And I walk on, I walk on in the beautiful
Green light of the bayou
 
I was born in a swamp side bar
On a night with a slender crescent moon
I learnt to walk in the bottom of a canoe
Between the rifle butts
 
I was born in the bayou…
I was born in the bayou…
 

Roses and nettles

Towards what world, under which reign
and to which judge are we promised?
At what age, at which page
and in which box are we registered?
The same questions we ask ourselves
Where are we going and to whom?
And not much in the way of clues
Roses and nettles
 
The painted hands, the clasped hands
we bow down and give thanks
We beg, we worry
and it’s too late when we have understood
Despite all that we hope for
and sometimes achieve
We won’t leave much behind
Except for roses and nettles
 
We are heavy, trembling
like candle flames
We hesitate at each crossroads
In the speeches we have learnt
But as we are heavy
Heavy with love and poetry
Here’s the emergency exit
 
We come closer, we speak again
we pardon ourselves and rebuild
The only world which is worth the trouble
there’ll be everything that that reunites us
And from all that stands against us
we will emerge stronger
And if we don’t leave much behind
There will be more roses than nettles
 
We are heavy, trembling
like candle flames
We hesitate at each crossroads
With the speeches we have learnt
But as we are heavy
Heavy with love and poetry
Here’s the emergency exit
 

Miss adventure

Miss adventure
You alighted without a sound
Wrapping in her covers
A little sleeping angel
 
We were coming from nowhere
We hugged her close to us
What seems like chance
Is often an appointment
 
Miss mystery
Vanished for ever
You will always be the mother
We will always be love
 
It’s the book that we share
And here we are reunited
On the morning of each page
We thank you
 
You are at the age where one finds pleasure
In everything, in nothing, in your body
No witness I presume
Just the moon and suchlike
And this treasure this dove
That had slowed you down
You have placed it in the shadow
And the shadow has reclaimed you
 
This little white spirit
She will be born twice
The first time between your hips
The second between our arms
 
The strength that that gives her
It sparkles like a diamond
We don’t want to tell anyone
Just you
 
You are at the age where one finds pleasure
In everything, in nothing, in your body
No witness I presume
Just the moon and suchlike
And this treasure this dove
That had slowed you down
You have placed it in the shadow
And the shadow has reclaimed you
You are surely very beautiful
Like this little reflection of you
Who sleeps against my wing
She’s all that I know of you
Miss…
 

The suited cardinals

Magyd sleeps in the light
The light of the headlamps and the ring road
One cheek against the ground
One hand on his knife
A man sleeps on the tarmac
That doesn’t seem to trouble
The suited cardinals
Behind the tinted glass
 
And Sabrina who hides herself
And who hopes for her daughter, something other
Than this money that she snatches
From the hands that undress her
She turns up the volumes
So as not to know who they are
Suited cardinals
And lesson givers
 
What a life! How sad!
What country is this
Not my one, no
It can’t be mine!
What a life, how sad ....!
 
And Mamadou who gets sent
To the back of the plane
And to o a place of which
He knows nothing but the name
He’s light as a feather
Unhappy as a child
The suited cardinals
Sit in the seats at the front
 
N’Guyen the illegal immigrant
There’s no trace of her
She came to work on a sewing machine
Those girls that lost are replaced
It’s for some steaming soup
It’s paid piecemeal
For the dresses and the suits
Of the impatient cardinals
 
What a life!
 
N’Guyen the illegal immigrant
And Mamadou who gets transferred
And Sabrina who works the street
and this Magyd who sleeps on the ground
When the lights go up
Everyone walk out silently
The suited cardinals
Weren’t at the showing
 
What a life! How sad!
 

The dancer

Somewhere, God knows where
Perhaps at the corner of the next road
The dancer stands to attention
Awaiting you there
It’s outside, it’s everywhere
It’s the law since the dawn of time
Nobody has an appointment
But everyone turns up
Just like that, without knowing how, automatically
There on the pavement, a star
 
Where does it come from? This mystery
Which leads you to your starting point?
This thread shining on the ground
That only you can see
It’s in the air, God knows where
At the end of your fate line
The dancer stands to attention
Waiting for you to come forward
One day as ordinary as any other
There on the pavement, a star
 
Along its coloured thread
The delicate glow of the signal
Under the dancer’s clothing
The other half of your original
Heart
 
It’s no longer the story of a stranger
It’s your favourite film
And you have the starring role
It’s no longer the story of someone else
It’s chance knocking at the door
It’s for the front page
 
Somewhere, one fine day
At the Crossroads of Good Luck
Two shadows dancing to
No longer form more than one
 
Two shadows dancing to
No longer form more than one
One day as ordinary as any other
There on the pavement, a star
 
Along its coloured thread
The delicate glow of the signal
Under the dancer’s clothing
The other half of your original
Heart
 
It’s the law since the dawn of time
One day you close your arms
And there’s someone inside
 

Telecaster

I dreamt of adventures
Of borrowing my father’s car
Of going to hang around in bars
In the style of a Rock Star, in England
I dreamt of crossing the channel
Hanging on to the hips of my Telecaster 1
 
It was night after night
Delving into the mystery of rock and roll
Until finding the note
That would’ve set my mates straight
Like a drowning man clinging to a branch
Hanging on the neck of my telecaster
 
I hoped there was still a free place
An hour of glory
Something between Gershwin and Mozart
 
Places, there wasn’t a single one left
I left to play for not a penny
And “nowhere”
Cables soaked in beer
And amps that weigh a ton
In all the worst dives
Hanging on to the hips of my telecaster
 
I hoped there was still a free place
An hour of glory
Something between Hendrix and Mozart
 
And then I encountered that girl
It was like a shot in the arm, a bolt of lightning
I played tons of blues
In all the bars of Toulouse to please her
Standing in the white light
Hanging on to the neck of my Telecaster
 

• 1. I think this is unusual in French too, but 'hanches' rhymes with 'manche' and 'blanche'

What do you say to that

Our footsteps in the same footprints
Towards the same tomorrows
Our clothes on the same hangers
What do you say to that?
 
Our place settings on the same table
Our bodies in the same bath
Our castles in the same sand
What do you say to that?
 
Two twin spirits, parallel, well matched
 
That can seem basic or banal
Oh, the ordinary route
And if it was different to the finale
 
Our heroes on the same pedestal
Our leads on the same dog
Our portraits in the same frame
What do you say to that?
 
Our raincoats behind the same door
And who would we need?
Each of us in the warmth of the other
What do you say to that?
 
Two ordinary hearts, renters, on credit
 
That can seem basic or banal
Oh, the ordinary route
And if it was different to the finale
Of love
 
In our battered pasts
In our little second-hand hearts
When the slate has been wiped clean
We’ll be able to give ourselves a break
A carpet of heavy wool
And burying together underneath
Our eternal promises
What do you say to that?
 
When the world will have to disappear
Sold, split, in a bad way
We’ll be forgotten perhaps
What do you say to that?
So, our footsteps in the same footprints
Towards the same tomorrows
Our clothes on the same hangers
What do you say to that?
 
Two ordinary hearts, renters, on credit
 
That can seem basic or banal
Oh, the ordinary route
And if it was different to the finale
Of love
 
What do you say to that?
What do you say to that about love?
What do you say to that?