Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Harley Davidson

Sung by Brigitte Bardot:


Here is Brigitte performing the song on her show (embedding disabled): Link

Translation after the jump...


Je n'ai besoin de personne
I don't need anyone
En Harley Davidson
On a Harley Davidson
Je n'reconnais plus personne
I no longer recognize anyone
En Harley Davidson
On a Harley Davidson
J'appuie sur le starter
I press the starter
Et voici que je quitte la terre
And here is where I leave the earth
J'irai p'être au Paradis*
Maybe I'll go to heaven
Mais dans un train d'enfer*
But at top speed on a train from hell

Je n'ai besoin de personne
I don't need anyone
En Harley Davidson
On a Harley Davidson
Je n'reconnais plus personne
I no longer recognize anyone
En Harley Davidson
On a Harley Davidson
Et si je meurs demain
And if I die tomorrow
C'est que tel était mon destin
It's that that was my destiny
Je tiens bien moins à la vie
I don't care about my life**
Qu'à mon terrible engin
as much as my awesome machine**

Je n'ai besoin de personne
I don't need anyone
En Harley Davidson
On a Harley Davidson
Je n'reconnais plus personne
I no longer recognize anyone
En Harley Davidson
On a Harley Davidson
Quand je sens en chemin
When I feel the road
Les trépidations de ma machine
The vibrations of my machine
Il me monte des désirs
It builds up desires in me
Dans le creux de mes reins*
In the small of my back

Je n'ai besoin de personne
I don't need anyone
En Harley Davidson
On a Harley Davidson
Je n'reconnais plus personne
I no longer recognize anyone
En Harley Davidson
On a Harley Davidson
Je vais à plus de cent
I go over a hundred
Et je me sens à feu et à sang
And I feel myself as fire and blood
Que m'importe de mourir
What do I care if I die
Les cheveux dans le vent
Hair in the wind

*Thanks to Débordante
**Thanks to Reg Accre

Lyrics by Serge Gainsbourg, Translation by Greg Smith
Posted by at

4 comments:

  1. OFebruary 23, 2011 at 11:04 AM

    Another classic!

    Once again, the YouTube video with Bardot performing cannot be accessed from France due to copyright reasons. It is available on Dailymotion though: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x28ha6_brigitte-bardot-harley-davidson_music

    * "J'irai p't'être au Paradis (= J'irai peut-être au Paradis) / Mais dans un train d'enfer" --> "Maybe I'll go to heaven..." and then there's a play on words with "mais dans un train d'enfer":

    - the idiom "rouler à un train d'enfer" means "to drive dangerously fast, at top speed" - here the use of "dans" instead of "à" creates a double meaning which could be rendered as --> "Maybe I'll go to Heaven / But at top speed in a train from hell" ?

    * The last sentence of the third verse is not "Dans le creux de mes riens" but "Dans le creux de mes reins" --> "rein" means "kidney" (first meaning) and by extension (as here) "the small of the back"

    Well done, Greg!

    I hope I'm not getting boring with my explanations. :-))

    ReplyDelete
  2. Greg IzFebruary 23, 2011 at 11:23 AM

    "I hope I'm not getting boring with my explanations. :-))"

    No way, it makes the songs more interesting to me. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Reg AccreAugust 17, 2012 at 10:32 AM

    [Je tiens bien moins à la vie
    I want life less
    Qu'à mon terrible engin
    Than my terrible engin]

    I don't care about my life
    As much as I care about my awesome machine.

    Here "terrible" in French has seen its meaning altered in the same way that "awesome" has in English. From inspiring awe in a fearful way to ecstatic one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. warmheartsofttouchSeptember 28, 2014 at 4:46 AM

      For "Terrible" I think I would have used "wicked" instead. It gives it a better feel.

      Delete

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