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English Translations of La Belle Dame Sans Regrets
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Translation by Chip T.Here's a ROUGH translation of La Belle Dame Sans Regrets. Also, may want
to check out another famous French "regret" song: Edith Piaf's "Non, Je
Ne Regrette Rien." |
The Beautiful Woman Without Regrets
Let's dance you say
And me, I am (dancing)
(My footsteps are left/maladroit)=literal trans. Actually means: I'm
clumsy/awkward, or I'm not a good dancer.
You blow me (my feet) away
I'm afraid of the idiots/fools (Author's note: Not sure about this one!)
I search in vain for words
To understand/explain your life, Then
Chorus
You lie, my sister
You break my heart
I think, you know
Mistakes, Never
I listen, You talk
I don't understand well
The beautiful woman without regrets
I cry, You laugh
I sing, You scream
You sow the seeds
Of a bad oak
My wheat flies away????????
You're fed up with it
I wait, Always
My cries are muted
Repeat Chorus.
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No, it doesn't make too much sense to me either. Think we'd better talk
to a real Frenchman to figure this one out.
It's still a great song. Hope it gets lots of airplay in Paris!
The new CD is incredible! And, I like the country ditty, too!
Chip T. Translation by Cristina Walstad PulidoOkay, I'll give it a shot. To any French listeners out there, forgive me, I made a liberal interpretation of the Tu semes les graines/d'un mauvais chéne/mon ble s'envole/tu en a ras le bol: |
You say let's dance And me, I am My steps are awkward You ? my feet In vain I search for the words In order to understand your life, now You lie, my sister You break my heart I think, you know Am never wrong I listen, you talk I don't quite understand The lovely lady without regrets. I cry, you laugh I sing, you shout You harvest the seeds Of a bad/old oak All my money's gone You've spent it all I always wait You don't hear my cries You lie, my sister You break my heart I think, you know Am never wrong I listen, you spek I don't quite understand The lovely lady without regrets
Here it is, the english lyrics as closley as I could translate
THE BEAUTIFUL WOMAN WITHOUT REGRETS Dance you say And I, I am I've two left feet My feet you angered I .... (unknown) I look in vain for words To explain your life You lie, my sister You break my heart I think, you know Erros, never I listen, you talk I don't understand well The beautiful woman without regret I cry, you laugh I sing, you scream You seed the grain Of an evil (unknown) My wheat flies you have (unknown) I wait, always My cries are silent You lie, my sister You break my heart I think, you know Errors, never I listen, you speak I don't understand The beautiful woman without regrets
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REMINDER: This is a direct translation, I'm not on drugs.
I also no nothing of poetry, so it was difficult to make a decent rhyme.
Translation by Joe NavratilWell, here's a (very) rough translation, more literal than poetic. If anyone wants to correct the literal translation, or present a more poetic one, feel free to tell me I'm wrong :-)-Joe |
Dansons tu dis Let's dance you say Et moi, je suis And me, I am Mes pas sont gauches My steps are clumsy Mes pieds tu fauches You step on my feet Je crains les sots I'm afraid of making mistakes Je cherche en vain les mots I search for the words in vain Pour m'expliquer ta vie, alors To explain to me your life, well... Tu ments, ma soeur You lead, my sister Tu brises mon coeur You break my heart Je pense, tu sais I think, you know Erreurs, jamais Errors, never J'ecoute, tu parles I listen, you speak Je ne comprends pas bien I don't understand too well La Belle Dame sans Regrets The Beautiful Lady without Regrets Je pleure, tu ris I cry, you laugh Je chante, tu cries I sing, you yell Tu semes les graines You sow your seeds D'un mauvais chene Of a bad oak tree Mon ble s'envole My wheat flies away Tu en a ras le bol You've had enough J'attends, toujours I wait, as always Mes cris sont sourds My shouts are deaf Tu ments, ma soeur You lead, my sister Tu brises mon coeur You break my heart Je pense, tu sais I think, you know Erreurs, jamais Errors, never J'ecoute, tu parles I listen, you speak Je ne comprends pas bien I don't understand too well La Belle Dame sans Regrets The Beautiful Lady without Regrets
Translation by Habib Khoury
"Let's dance", you say And me, I follow My steps are clumsy You trip my feet I fear the fools (who might laugh) I search for the words in vain To explain to me your life, so... You lie, my sister You break my heart I think, you know Errors, never (you're never wrong) I listen, you speak I don't understand too well The Beautiful Lady without Regrets I cry, you laugh I sing, you yell You sow the seeds Of a bad oak tree My money flies away You have enough (you don't need me anymore) I wait, as always My shouts are silent You lie, my sister You break my heart I think, you know Errors, never I listen, you speak I don't understand too well The Beautiful Lady without Regrets
Translation by Andrea Bergman
The Beautiful Girl Without Regrets Dance, you say and me , I am my steps are left my feet you anger I look in vain for words for me to understand your life You lie, my sister you break my heart I think, you know Errors never I listen, you talk I don't understand very well The beautiful girl without regrets. I cry, you laugh I sing, you scream you sow the seeds of a rotten bitch my pain flies away you make the good better I'm always waiting my screams are silent You lie, my sister you break my heart I think, you know Errors never I listen, you talk I don't understand very well The beautiful girl without regrets
Translation by Samuel Latchman
February, 1999"Let's dance" you say, And I follow. My steps are clumsy, You trip me up. I fear the fools. I look in vain for words to understand your life, then You lie, sister, You break my heart. I think, you do know: Mistakes, never. I listen, you speak, I don't quite understand The Smart Lady Without Regrets. I cry, you laugh, I sing, you yell. You sow the seeds Of a bad oak. (you have a bad relationship in store for us) My dough's vanishing, You're fed up with it. I'm still waiting, My cries are muted. You lie, sister, You break my heart. I think, you do know: Mistakes, never. I listen, you speak, I don't quite understand The Smart Lady Without Regrets.
Translation by Jean-François Fournier
June 20, 1999Dansons tu dis Let's dance you say Et moi, je suis And I am following (he joins the dance) Mes pas sont gauches My steps are clumsy (in a hesitant manner) Mes pieds tu fauches You sweep me off my feet (the cause of his clumsiness) Je crains les sauts I fear the steps (sauts : jumps as the complicated steps of ballet) Je cherche en vain les mots I search my words in vain Pour m'expliquer ta vie, alors To figure out your life, so... Tu ments, ma soeur You lie sister (lie as in not saying the truth) Tu brises mon coeur You break my heart Je pense, tu sais I think that you know OR I think, you know Erreurs, jamais Mistakes? Never! J'ecoute, tu parles I listen, you speak Je ne comprends pas bien I don't understand too well La Belle Dame sans Regrets The Beautiful Lady without Regrets Je pleure, tu ris I cry, you laugh Je chante, tu cries I sing, you yell Tu semes les graines You sow your seeds D'un mauvais chene Of a bad oak tree Mon ble s'envole My wheat flies away Tu en a ras le bol You've had enough J'attends, toujours I wait, again Mes cris sont sourds My shouts are muted (contrary of loud and resonant) Tu ments, ma soeur You lie, my sister (lie as in not saying the truth) Tu brises mon coeur You break my heart Je pense, tu sais I think that you know OR I think, you know Erreurs, jamais Mistakes? Never! J'ecoute, tu parles I listen, you speak Je ne comprends pas bien I don't understand too well La Belle Dame sans Regrets The Beautiful Lady without Regrets
Translation by PhR from Montreal. May 26, 2000It seems no one has the French text for La Belle Dame, and everyone is going by ear. I have the further advantage of not having the song either, and remembering very little of it. So, here's my attempt. I've tried to keep the original syllable counts, and some of the ambiguity. I've also fixed the part about the "oak", as oaks grow from acorns, not seeds (assuming the original has a slight English accent). La belle Dame sans regrets Lady Fair With No Regrets Dansons, tu dis. Let's dance, you say. Et moi, je suis. And me, I follow, Mes pas sont gauches, My steps clumsy, Mes pieds tu fauches. My feet trampled. Je crains les sauts, I fear the gaps, Je cherche en vain les mots In vain I seek the words Pour m'expliquer ta vie alors. That would explain your life then. Tu mens, ma soeur. You lie, sister. Tu brises mon coeur. You break my heart. Je pense, tu sais. I think you know. Erreurs jamais. Mistakes never. J'ecoute, tu parles. I hear you speak, Je ne comprends pas bien I don't really get you, La belle dame sans regrets Lady fair with no regrets. Je pleure, tu ris. I cry, you laugh. Je chante, tu cries. I sing, you scream. Tu semes les graines You sow the seeds D'un' mauvais' gene. Of awkwardness. Mon ble s'envole, My bread's going, Tu en a ras le bol. You've had your fill. J'attends toujours, I'm still waiting, Mes cris sont sourds. My screams muffled. Tu mens, ma soeur. You lie, sister. Tu brises mon coeur. You break my heart. Je pense, tu sais. I think you know. Erreurs jamais. Mistakes never. J'ecoute, tu parles. I hear you speak, Je ne comprends pas bien I don't really get you, La belle dame sans regrets Lady fair with no regrets. |
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Ok. This song is really about french nuclear tests in the pacific. I'm finally convinced. So here's the REAL translation. The one you won't find anywhere else. Hang on to every inch of your screen, here goes : |
In the small atoll of Mururoa There are many cases of leukemia As an effect of the threat Of the frenches' nuclear tests Mr Chirac said we must test anew I don't subscribe to this point of view It would be such an ignorant thing to do If the french test their weapons too How can I save my holidays From being spoiled by radiation waves There are so many carcinogenes Hacking all of my precious genes We share the same biology Though I have a strange anatomy Believe me when I say to you I hope the frenches stop their testings too
There. Ah, what a relief to know that the truth has finally been told.
Guillaume.