Here’s a song from KYO, a French group whose CD I finally found in Québec City. I had that CD on repeat for the rest of my time there. I’m not kidding. It’s boyband-type music, good for listening to when you’re feeling a little angsty and teenage again.
I feel guilty for listening to Maroon 5’s Songs About Jane.
Faites-moi de la place
Juste un peu de place
Pour ne pas qu’on m’efface
J’n’ai pas trop d’amis
Regardez en classe
C’est pas l’extase
J’ai beaucoup d’espace
Je suis seul
Et personne à qui le dire
C’est pas l’pire
Quand la pause arrive
Je ne suis pas tranquille
Il faut que je m’éclipse
Ou alors, accuser les coups,
Ou dehors
Give me some space
Just a bit of space
So that I’m not erased
I don’t have a lot of friends
Look, in class
It’s not that great
I’ve got a lot of space
Alone
And no one to talk to about it
That’s not the worst of it
When it’s time for break
I’m not still
I’ve got to slip away
Or else suffer blows
outside
Faudra que je coure
Tous les jours
Faudra-t-il que je coure
Jusqu’au bout
Do I need to run
Every day?
Must I run
Right to the end?
Je n’ai plus de souffle
Je veux que l’on m’écoute
Plus de doutes
Pour m’en sortir
Je dois tenir
Et construire mon futur
Partir à la conquête
D’une vie moins dure
Sûr que c’est pas gagné
Mais j’assure mes arrières
Pour connaître l’amour et le monde
I’ve no more breath
I want someone to listen
Don’t want no more doubts
To get myself out of this
I have to hold on
And build my future
Leave for the conquest
Of a less difficult life
Of course, it’s not over yet
But I’ve got my back
To know love, and the world
Faudra que je coure
Tous les jours
Faudra-t-il que je coure
Jusqu’au bout
Pour connaître le monde
Et l’amour
Il faudra que je coure
Tous les jours
Do I need to run
Everyday?
Must I run
To the end?
To know the world
And love
I need to run
All the time
J’voudrais m’arrêter
J’peux plus respirer
Dans ce monde parmi vous
I want to stop
I can’t breathe anymore
In this world with you
I seem to be taking breaks from studying by translating French things.
Anyway, this is a lovely song which I heard on the radio in Québec; I’ve since bought the CD (it was on sale at Future Shop. Yes, they have Future Shop in Québec.)
Je grille une cigarette
Je suis du bois d’allumette
Qui se consume et je présume
Que tout chemin se termine
Autant pour prince que pour vermine
La vie est ainsi faite
I smoke a cigarette
I’m a matchstick
that burns up, and I’d guess
that every road ends
for the prince as it does for the bums
Such is life
Or que tout est bête
Tout est vain et inutile
Lorsqu’épuisé, fatigué
Le corps n’est plus qu’un autre projectile
Propulsé depuis matin
Jusqu’au soir en bus, en train
Je sais qu’un coeur peut s’arrêter pour moins
But, everything’s so stupid
Everything’s done in vain, useless
When you’re exhausted, tired
Your body’s just another projectile
That’s been going since morning
Until night on the bus, on the train
I know that hearts have stopped for less
Imparfait
Le monde est imparfait
Imparfait
Imperfect
The world’s imperfect
Imperfect
Le vent est si tendre sur midi
Tu es septembre sur Paris
Je pense à toi, ça fait du bien
Toi dans ta ville et moi transsibérien
Qui t’aime et qui t’adore
Puis qui se hait d’aimer si fort
L’amour est comme je le redoutais
The wind’s so gentle at noon
You’re September in Paris
I think of you, it does me good
You in your city, and me, trans-siberian (???)
Who loves you, who adores you
Then hates herself for loving you so much
Love is what I feared it would be
Imparfait
L’amour est imparfait
Imparfait
Imperfect
Love is imperfect
Imperfect
Imparfait
Le monde est imparfait
Imparfait
L’amour est imparfait
Imparfait
Le monde est imparfait
Imparfait
Imperfect
The world’s imperfect
Imperfect
Love is imperfect
Imperfect
The world’s imperfect
Imperfect
Meh, so now you see what I do when I come from from work. YTV has recently started airing Bleach after Fullmetal Alchemist. I don’t like it nearly as much, but when I found out that one of the character’s theme song is in French… well. I actually am not too fond of the song itself–it’s kind of boring, but translations are fun!
“T’en va pas” – Orihime Inoue’s image song
T’en va pas
si tu m’aimes t’en va pas
papa si tu l’aimes dis lui
qu’elle est la femme de ta vie vie vie
papa ne t’en va pas
on veut pas vivre sans toi
t’en va pas au bout de la nuit
Don’t leave me
If you love me, don’t go
Papa, if you love her, tell her
that she is the love of your life life life [1]
Papa, don’t leave
We don’t want to live without you
Don’t go at the end of the night
{Refrain:}
Nuit tu me fais peur
nuit tu n’en finis pas
comme un voleur
il est parti sans moi
on ira plus au ciné tous les trois
{Chorus:}
Night, you frighten me
Night, you’ll never stop doing that
Like a thief
He left without me
Us three won’t go to the movies anymore
Nuit tu me fais peur
nuit tu n’en finis pas
comme un voleur
il est parti sans moi
papa si tu pensais un peu à moi
Night, you frighten me
Night, you’ll never stop doing that
Like a thief
He stole away without me
Papa, if you thought of me for a moment…
Où tu vas quand tu t’en va d’ici
j’arrive pas à vivre sans toi
avec la femme de ta vie vie vie
papa fais pas d’connerie
quand on s’aime on s’en va pas
on ne part pas en pleine nuit
Where will you go when you leave this place? [2]
I can’t live without you
with the love of your life life life
Papa, don’t screw up
When people love each other, they don’t leave
They don’t leave in the dead of the night
Nuit tu me fais peur
nuit tu n’en finis pas
comme un voleur
il est parti sans moi
tu m’emmènera jamais aux USA
Night, you frighten me
Night, you’ll never stop doing that
Like a thief
He stole away without me
You’ll never take me to the States
Nuit tu me fais peur
nuit tu n’en finis pas
comme un voleur
il est parti sans moi
papa j’tassure arrête ton cinéma
Night, you frighten me
Night, you’ll never stop doing that
Like a thief
He left without me
Papa, I assure you–stop being dramatic [3]
Nuit …. sans moi
papa j’tassure qu’un jour tu reviendras
Night … without me
Papa, I assure you, you’ll come back one day
Nuit … sans moi
papa j’tassure arrête ton cinéma
Night … without me
Papa, I assure you, stop being dramatic
Nuit … sans moi
papa j’suis sure qu’un jour tu reviendras (2x)
Night … without me
Papa, I’m sure you’ll come back one day
Nuit … sans moi
papa si tu pensais un peu
si tu pensais un peu à moi
Night … without me
Papa, if you thought a bit
If you thought a bit about me
Nuit … sans moi
tu m’emmeneras jamais aux USA
Night … without me
You’ll never take me to the States
Nuit … sans moi
papa j’suis sur qu’un jour tu reviendras
Night … without me
Papa, I’m sure you’ll come back one day
[1]: Of course, “love of your life” doesn’t show up. I’m using translator’s license here. A more literal one would be “woman of your life,” but that just sounds weird.
[2]: This sentence is not explicitly in future tense, but …
[3]: This sentence just makes no sense. Maybe if I knew more about the character I’d be able to translate this thing …
Actually, in conclusion, I really don’t like this song. My translation makes no sense because the orginal’s a bit weird. And reading her character history on Wikipedia doesn’t help.
Update: Apparently the character songs in Bleach aren’t written specifically for the characters. That might explain something.
By popular request 😛 Corrections, as always, welcomed.
ほんとの気持ち
Honto no kimochi
True feelings
私 きっと あなたを 好きにはならない
返事も短いし 優しくないし
Watashi kitto anata wo suki ni wa naranai
Henji mo mijikai shi yasashikunai shi
I will never love you
Your replies are short and not gentle
どんな人を あなたは 好きになるのかな
多分 間違いなく それは 私じゃない
Donna hito wo anata wa suki ni naru no kana
Tabun machigai naku sore wa watashi janai
I wonder what kind of person you will love
It probably–definitely won’t be me
もうすぐ 二人に 初めて 夏が やって来るんだ
今あなたの 髪が風に そっと 揺れてる
Mou sugu futari ni hajimete natsu ga yattekuru n’da
Ima anata no kami ga kaze ni sotto yureteru
Soon, our first summer will come around
Now, your hair softly flutters in the wind
でも昨日 別れてから なんだか寂しくて
あなたの後を 追いかけたくなったな
Demo kinou wakarete kara nandaka samishikute
Anata no ato wo oikaketakunatta na
But yesterday, after we parted, it was a little lonely somehow
I wanted to chase after you
どんな人を あなたは 好きになるのかな
考え始めたら 切なくなってきた
Donna hito wo anata wa suki ni naru no kana
Kangae hajimetara setsunakunatte kita
I wonder what kind of person you will love
When I started thinking about it, I was saddened
もうすぐ 二人に 初めて 夏が やって来るんだ
夏が過ぎても あなたは まだ優しくないかな
Mou sugu futari ni hajimete natsu ga yatte kuru n’da
Natsu ga sugite mo anata wa mada yasahikunai kana
Soon, our first summer will come around
I wonder if you will still be unkind even when summer’s over
もうすぐ 二人に 初めて 夏が やって来るんだ
今あなたの その隣を そっと 歩いてる
Mou sugu ni futari ni hajimete natsu ga yatte kuru n’da
Ima anata no sono tonari wo sotto aruiteru
Soon, our first summer will come around
Now, I walk quietly by your side
私 今 分かったの きっと あなたは違うんだ
他の人とは 違うんだね
Watashi ima wakatta no kitto anata wa chigau n’da
Hoka no hito to wa chigau n’da ne
Now, I finally realized–you’re different, for sure
You’re not at all like the others, are you?
優しくなくても それで 私 構わない
Yasashikunakute mo sore de watashi kamawanai
Even though you’re not kind, I don’t care
あなたのそばに ずっといたい あなたを見つめていたい
この想いを 解き放って すぐ伝えたい
Anata no soba ni zutto itai anata wo mitsumeteitai
Kono omoi wo tokihanatte sugu tsutaetai
I want to be by your side forever, I want to gaze at you
I want to set these feelings free, I want to tell you soon
目の前にいる 私を見て 私いつもこんなだけど
そのままの あなたを こうして 好きになったの
Me no mae ni iru watashi wo mite watashi itsumo konna dakedo
Sono mama no anata wo koushite suki ni natta no
Look at me, right in front of you; I’m always like this but
How you are now, I liked you just that way
もうすぐ 二人に 初めて 夏が やって来るんだ
今あなたの その隣を 私 歩いてる
Mou sugu ni futari ni hajimete natsu ga yatte kuru n’da
Ima anata no sono tonari wo sotto aruiteru
Soon, our first summer will come around
Now, I walk quietly by your side
One of my favourite tracks on F.I.R.’s latest album isn’t really a song at all; in fact, I’m not sure how to describe it. It reminds me of a read-a-long story set to some medieval-sounding music, or at least what medieval music sounds like in the movies. A little like the Fable demo that was online before the game came out.
Long ago, there was a bird who sang but just once in her life
From the moment she left the nest
she searched relentlessly for a thorn tree
never resting until she found one
Then she began to sing
more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth
But, carried away in the rapture of the song
she impaled herself on the longest, sharpest thorn
But as she was dying
she rose above her own agony to outsing even the lark and the nightingale
The thorn bird traded her life for that one song and
the whole world was captivated to listen!
And God, in His heaven, smiled upon her
As her very best was brought out only at the cost of great pain
Driven by the thorn, with no thought for her death to comeBut when we push the thorn into our breast
We know …
We understand …
And still … we choose the pain of the thorn …
The title is “The Legend 傳說” and it’s beautiful in a sad way. Right now, I’m just puzzled over its meaning. The last few lines, especially.
Is the song suggesting that great beauty can be born of great pain? Or that it’s stupid to subject ourselves to something like that?
Wasn’t she outsinging “the lark and the nightingale” even before she pierced herself with the thorn? (Unless nightingales and larks aren’t “creatures on the face of the earth”, but that’s even less likely.)
Oh, and isn’t there some reference to larks and nightingales in Romeo and Juliet?
The observant of you will have noticed that “The Spirit of This Place” is now a link on the sidebar. This means that I am offering it for download, since I have now officially graduated and this is my graduation theme song. So go and download it already! I have the lyrics in the full entry. Plus the full translation.
[Note to Neale: Yes, I am reading the Xanth series. How did you guess?]
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Argh, school is back. >>;; Argh. It feels like I’ve been back for a long time. Most classes have jumped right into the thick of things. >>;; I have not been able to change my Higher Level math course back to Standard Level. It’s intensely frustrating. “IB 12’s: Hang in there.” T_T Argh. At this rate, I will be stuck in Higher Level math and fail and never, ever get my diploma >>;; EVER! It doesn’t help that my appointments are never met and that every time I make one it’s pushed back. ¬¬;
Heh heh, and the first issue of SWC’s science journal is officially hot off the presses. We beat every other paper in the school ^_^!!
Oh yes, and that “Kiss Me” song? I found the romanized lyrics on a site…
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