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Plastic Bertrand: lyrics
 My French is
appalling, and I wouldn't even begin to attempt to transcribe most of Plastic's delightful
mewlings. But here are three songs that have been transcribed by others ... All
translations are my fault - feel free to correct me
where I've got it hilariously wrong ...
Well, there isn't a direct translation for �a Plane Pour Moi. I've settled on This
life's for me, although it could equally well be All's well for me. You get the general
idea. He's happy about his life. Possibly in an ironic way.
There is a theory that the lyrics to �a Plane ... can't be translated into English.
While it's true that the French slang used makes little sense if translated literally, it
is possible to get the general sense. A basic attempt, from Google via my rusty schoolboy
French, is given below. I've also made use of a Usenet
translation, from a French chap who seems to have a better grasp of the vernacular
than me. If anyone with a knowledge of French slang cares to correct me, I'd love to know!
And how do you transcribe the screech in the chorus? "Oooo-weee-oooo"?
"Oooo-oo-ooo-ooo"? "Hou-hou-hou-hou"? "Ouh-ouh-ouh-ouh"?
"Weee-ooo-wee-oh"? Oh, how I've wrestled with that one ...
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Yam! Bam! mon chat Splash
G�t sur mon lit a bouff�
sa langue en buvant tout mon whisky
quant � moi peu dormi, vid�, brim�
J'ai d� dormir dans la goutti�re
O� j'ai eu un flash
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
En quatre couleurs
Allez hop! un matin
Une louloute est venue chez-moi
Poup�e de cellophane, cheveux chinois
un sparadrap, une gueule de bois
a bu ma bi�re dans un grand verre en caoutchouc
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
Comme un indien dans son igloo
�a plane pour moi �a plane pour moi
�a plane pour moi moi moi moi moi
�a plane pour moi
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
�a plane pour moi
Allez hop! la nana quel panard!
Quelle vibration!
de s'envoyer sur le paillasson
Lim�e, ruin�e, vid�e, combl�e
You are the King of the divan!
Qu'elle me dit en passant
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
I am the King of the divan
�a plane pour moi �a plane pour moi
�a plane pour moi moi moi moi moi
�a plane pour moi
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
�a plane pour moi
Allez hop! t'occupe t'inqui�te
touche pas ma plan�te
It's not today
Quel le ciel me tombera sur la t�te
Ou que l'alcool me manquera
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
�a plane pour moi
Allez hop! ma nana s'est tir�e
S'est barr�e enfin c'est marre � tout casser
L'�vier, le bar me laissant seul
Comme un grand connard
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
Le pied dans le plat
�a plane pour moi �a plane pour moi
�a plane pour moi moi moi moi moi
�a plane pour moi
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
�a plane pour moi
�a plane pour moi �a plane pour moi
�a plane pour moi moi moi moi moi |
Wham! Bam! my cat Splash
lies on my bed with his tongue puffed out
by drinking all my whisky.
As for me, not enough sleep, drained, persecuted,
I had to sleep in the gutter
where I had a flash
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
in four colours
Allez-oop! One morning
a darling came to my home,
a cellophane puppet with Chinese hair,
a plaster, a hangover,
drank my beer in a large rubber glass
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
like an Indian in his igloo
This life’s for me, this life’s for me
This life’s for me me me me me
This life’s for me
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
This life’s for me
Allez-oop! The chick*, what a gas!
what a vibration!
to be sent on the door mat
filed, ruined, drained, filled
You are the King of the divan!
she says to me in passing
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
I am the King of the divan
This life’s for me, this life’s for me
This life’s for me me me me me
This life’s for me
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
This life’s for me
Allez-oop! Don't mind, don't worry
Don't affect me
It’s not today
that the sky will fall on my head
or that I will run out of alcohol
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
This life’s for me
Allez-oop! my chick has gone away,
flew away, finally had enough, to break
the sink, the bar, leaving me alone
like a large jerk
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
I've put my foot in it
This life’s for me, this life’s for me
This life’s for me me me me me
This life’s for me
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
This life’s for me
This life’s for me, this life’s for me
This life’s for me me me me me |
* Chick = girl, as in "are you looking at my bird?" Hmm ...
not convinced about that last verse about the chick going away ... I assume it's full of a
lot of slang! And I take it that to be "sent" on the doormat is in the sense of
something rather more carnal ... Let's just say that the above was a loose, literal
translation, if there can be such a thing. But you get the jist.
The French lyrics were taken from the excellent Bide et Musique.
Also at ABC de la
Chanson Francophone. As it was originally a hit for Dalido in the 50s, these words
make a lot more sense, so they're easier to translate!
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Les yeux battus la mine triste
et les joues bl�mes
Tu ne dors plus
Tu n'es plus que l'ombre de toi-m�me
Seul dans la rue tu r�des
Comme une �me en peine
Et tous les soirs sous sa fen�tre
on peut te voir
Je sais bien que tu l'adores
(Bambino, Bambino)
Et qu'elle a de jolies yeux
(Bambino, Bambino)
Mais tu es trop jeune encore
(Bambino, Bambino)
Pour jouer les amoureux
(Bambino, Bambino)
Et gratte, gratte sur ta mandoline
mon petit Bambino
Ta musique est plus jolie
que tout le ciel de l'Italie
Et chante, chante de ta voix c�line
mon petit Bambino
Tu peux chanter tant que tu veux
Elle ne te prend pas au s�rieux
Tu peux fumer comme un Monsieur des cigarettes
Te d�hancher sur le trottoir quand tu la guettes
Tu peux pencher sur ton oreille, ta casquette
Ce n'est pas �a, qui dans son cœur, te vieillira
L'amour et la jalousie ne sont pas des jeux d'enfant
Et tu as toute la vie pour souffrir comme les grands
Et gratte, gratte sur ta mandoline
Mon petit Bambino
Ta musique est plus jolie
que tout le ciel de l'Italie
Et chante, chante de ta voix c�line
mon petit Bambino
Tu peux chanter tant que tu veux
Elle ne te prend pas au s�rieux |
Beaten eyes, a sad expression
and pale cheeks
You don't sleep any more
You are just a shadow of yourself
Only in the street you roam
Like a heart in sorrow
And every evening beneath the window
you can be seen
I know well that you adore her
(Bambino, Bambino)
And that she has pretty eyes
(Bambino, Bambino)
But you are still too young
(Bambino, Bambino)
To play at lovers
(Bambino, Bambino)
And pluck, pluck on your mandolin
my little Bambino
Your music is prettier
than all the Italian sky
And sing, sing your tender voice
my little Bambino
You can sing all you want
She won't take you seriously
You can smoke like a cigarette man
Sway your hips on the pavement as you watch out
You can tilt your cap over your ear,
It's not that, which in its heart, will age you
Love and jealousy are not childs play
And you have all your life to suffer like grown ups
And pluck, pluck on your mandolin
my little Bambino
Your music is prettier
than all the Italian sky
And sing, sing your tender voice
my little Bambino
You can sing all you want
She won't take you seriously
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Also from from Bide
et Musique. I haven't done much work on the translation, so make of it what you will.
Basically it's about a small local train. Hmm. And look, it goes "wooo wooo".
Not sure how a train can dance the pogo. Dodgy suspension, perhaps?
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J'suis le petit tortillard
Qui se pointe � l'aise, en r'tard
Je me tortille dans toutes les gares
Je fais wooo woooo
Ma loco danse le pogo
Johnny Rotten et ses voyooooous
J'suis le train � tout le monde
La Madonna des sleepings
Le train de mon enfance roule
Sur les rails de mon indiff�rence
Et ne s'arr�te qu'� Saint-Lazare
A Pariiiiiis
Jamais j'd�raille, voil� l'travail
Micheline, t'es con,
Allonge-toi sur les rails
J'envoie personne � la gare
J'suis bien trop bien pour �a
Les vaches ont l'droit d'regard
Gare � la sid�rodromophobiiiiiie
J'suis le p'tit tortillard
Qui se pointe � l'aise, en r'tard
En baladant � gauche, � droite
Mon cigare � roulettes
Je tiens, Madame,
� votre disposition
Des coucheeettes (woooo)
J'suis le petit tortillard
Qui se pointe � l'aise, en r'tard (wooo woooo) |
I am the small local train
Who checks in comfortably late
I wiggle into all the stations
I go wooo woooo
My loco dances the pogo
Johnny Rotten and his louts
I am the train with everyone
The Madonna of the sleeping cars
The train of my childhood runs
On the rails of my indifference
And stops only in Saint-Lazare
In Pariiiiiis
I never derail, here's the job
Micheline, you fool,
Stretch out on the rails
I send no one to the station
I'm much too good for that
The cows have the right of access
Siderodromophobia station
I am the little local train
Who checks in comfortably late
While strolling on the left, on the right
My cigar with casters
I have, Madam,
at your disposal
Couchettes (woooo)
I am the small local train
Who checks in comfortably late (wooo woooo)
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Siderodromophobia = fear of railways! La Madone de Sleepings was a book by Maurice
Dekobra, a story of prostitution and romance on a French night sleeper. (It was filmed in
1928 and 1955 if you're really interested!)
Apparently Plastic also recorded a version for RTL in which he replaced "Saint
Lazare" with "Rue Bayard" - this being RTL's address. Fancy.
Ah, now this I can have a stab at ... Not all of it, but the basics ...
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Wha! Wha! Hoooooowwwwl!
Je suis un chien, nous sommes des chiens, vous �tes des chiens
Wha! Wha! Hoooooowwwwl!
Ladies and gentlemen, I am very proud to present myself - Plastic
Bertrand
Wha! Wha! Je suis un chien, nous sommes des chiens, vous �tes des chiens
Wha! Wha! Hoooooowwwwl!
(repeat to fade) |
Woof! Woof! Hoooooowwwwl!
I'm a dog. We're dogs. You're dogs.
Woof! Woof! Hoooooowwwwl!
Ladies and gentlemen, I am very proud to present myself - Plastic
Bertrand
Woof! Woof! I'm a dog. We're dogs. You're dogs.
Woof! Woof! Hoooooowwwwl!
(repeat to fade) |
Profound, eh?
Now this one's sweet ...
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J'suis un petit oiseau
Tout � fait normal
Qui vole comme une libellule
Bzz bzz bzz bzz
Si je fais bzz bzz
C'est parce que je suis bien content |
I'm a little bird
Completely normal
Flying like a dragonfly
Bzz bzz bzz bzz
If I go bzz bzz
It's because I'm so happy |
There's also a similar verse about being a butterfly. Oh, and some rancid sweat.
Bide et
Musique have plenty of other Plastic lyrics, and discussions about them, but I'm only
looking at the An1 tracks here. Oh, I'm so picky.
Back to the main Plastic Bertrand page. |