
Charles Aznavour
Le Toréador lyrics with English translation
- Language
- French
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1964
- Genre
- French Pop, Ballad
- Length
- 3:20
Tu gis les yeux perdus
You lie there with lost eyes
Livide et pitoyable
Pale and pitiful
Le corps à demi nu
The body half-naked
Recouvert d'un drap blanc
Covered with a white sheet
Ton habit de lumière
Your outfit of light
Est jeté lamentable
Thrown away in lamentation
Avili de poussière
Betrayed by dust
Et maculé de sang
And stained with blood
La course continue
The race goes on
Tandis que tu rends l'âme
While you breathe your last
Tant pis pour le vaincu
Too bad for the vanquished
Il mérite son sort
He deserves his fate
Et le nom du vainqueur
And the name of the victor
Que l'assistance acclame
Let the crowd cheer
Bien plus que la douleur
Much more than the pain
Te transperce le corps
Pierces your body
Le corps
The body
Tu ne reverras plus
You will see no more
Les courses ennivrantes
The intoxicating races
Sous un soleil de plomb
Under a blazing sun
À te crever les yeux
To gouge out your eyes
Tu ne reverras plus
You won't see again
Les filles ravissantes
The lovely girls
Debout sur les gradins
Standing in the stands
T'acclamant comme un dieu
Cheering you like a god
Tu n'éprouveras plus
You won't feel anymore
Ce sentiment étrange
That strange sensation
Fait d'un curieux mélange
Made of a curious blend
De peur et de fierté
Of fear and pride
Quand dans l'arène en feu
When in the blazing arena
Tu marchais d'un pas noble
You walked with a noble stride
Tandis qu'un passo doble
While a paso doble
Ponctuait ton entrée
Marked your entrance
La bête a eu raison
The beast has prevailed
De ta fière prestance
Over your proud presence
Elle a sali ton nom
It has tarnished your name
Elle a ruiné ta vie
It has ruined your life
Ta merveilleuse allure
Your wonderful grace
Et ta folle arrogance
And your wild arrogance
Sont tombées dans la sciure
Have fallen into the sawdust
Et le sable rougi
And the reddened sand
Tes ongles sont plantés
Your nails are digging in
Dans le bois de ta couche
To the wood of your bed
Et seul, abandonné
And alone, abandoned
Tu vois venir la mort
You see death coming
Cette fille d'amour
This girl of love
Qui te colle à la bouche
Who sticks to your lips
Pour mieux voler tes jours
To better steal your days
En possédant ton corps
By possessing your body
Ton corps
Your body
Tu ne reverras plus
You will see no more
La chaude Andalousie
The warm Andalusia
Quand la terre glacée
When the frozen earth
Va se jeter sur toi
Will come crashing down on you
Tu ne reverras plus
You will see no more
Ces danseuses en folie
Those wild dancing girls
Ces chanteurs de flamenque
Those flamenco singers
Aux pathétiques voix
With their pathetic voices
Une idole se meurt
An idol is dying
Une autre prend sa place
Another takes its place
Tu as perdu la face
You have lost your face
Et soldé ton destin
And settled your fate
Car la gloire est frivole
For glory is frivolous
Et quand on la croit nôtre
And when we think it's ours
Elle s'offre à un autre
It offers itself to another
Et il ne reste rien
And there is nothing left
Non rien
No, nothing
Non rien
No, nothing
Non rien
No, nothing
Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com
Key vocabulary
- vaincu
- defeatedB2
- bois
- woodA1
- poussière
- dustA2
- sang
- bloodA2
- chaude
- hotA1
- couche
- layerA1
- courses
- racesA1
- curieux
- curiousA1
- dieu
- GodA1
- entrée
- entryA1
About this song
Charles Aznavour was a French-Armenian singer and actor whose music blended French chanson with Eastern European folk, American jazz, tango, and Middle Eastern influences. He was known for a long-running career marked by thousands of recordings and his songwriting, composing or co-composing over a thousand songs for himself and other artists.