Les femmes c'est du chinois
Women, that's Chinese to me*
Le comprenez-vous? Moi pas.
Do you understand Chinese? I don't.
Celle-ce est une gamine
That this is a girl
Qui tient tellement à sa peau
who is so close to her skin
Qu'elle baisse ses yeux encre de Chine
She lower's her ink-like eyes
Mais jamais son kimono
but never her kimono
Celle-là est une acrobate
This one is an acrobat
Qui la nuit fait du jiu-jit-su
Who made the night Jiu-jit-su
Il faut vous accrocher à ses nattes
You must hang onto her braids
Sinon c'est ell qui prend le dessus
Otherwise it's she who will take control
Celle-ci est une fillette
This is a girl
qu'on ne mange pas avec les doigts
Who is not to be eaten with fingers
Il faut la prendre avec des baguettes
You must take her with chopsticks
Telle autre quand elle se couche
Also when she goes to bed
Est avide de sensations
Is hungry for sensations
Vous riez jaune, la fine mouche
You laugh yellow, the sly
Comptent les autres au plaford
have another ceiling
Celle-là quand elle perd la bataille
That's when she loses the battle
Pour ne pas se donner à l'ennemi
for not giving the enemy
De votre sabre de samourai
your Samurai sword
Elle se fait Hara-Kiri
It is Hara-Kiri
A genoux vous demandez grâce
On your knees you plead for mercy
Mais celle-ci rien ne l'attendrit
But it softens nothing
Il vous faut mourir par contumace
You must die by default
Au treizième coup de minuit
In the thirteenth stroke of midnight
Les femmes c'est du chinois
Women, that's Chinese to me*
Le comprenez-vous? Moi pas.
Do you understand Chinese? I don't.
*Thanks to Débordante
In French, "c'est du chinois" is an idiom claiming that something is incomprehensible, generally due to complexity. It is a metaphor that makes reference to the Chinese language and alphabet. Similar to the idiom "that's Greek to me" in English.
ReplyDeleteThe song is not about Chinese women, but about women in general, who are incomprehensible to the author, due to their complexity. So the meaning of the chorus is :
"Women, that's Chinese to me
Do you understand Chinese ? I don't."
Nice job you've been doing on this blog! :) I hope you did not totally give up.