
Charles Trenet
Au clair de la lune lyrics with English translation
- Language
- French
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1945
- Genre
- French Pop, Tradicional
- Length
- 3:11
Au clair de la lune, mon ami Pierrot
In the moonlight, my friend Pierrot
Enjambe la fenêtre de Marie là-haut
Climb over Marie's window up there
Elle attend, la folle
She's waiting, the crazy one
Et les bras ouverts
With open arms
Dansent la carmagnole
Dancing the Carmagnole
Dans la nuit d'hiver
In the winter night
Au clair d'la lune, Pierrot d'Amérique
In the moonlight, Pierrot from America
En lunettes d'écailles, ah, mon dieu quel chic
In tortoiseshell glasses, oh my god, what style
Chante sa romance, amour du printemps
Sings his romance, love of springtime
Quand il recommence, il s'y prend à temps
When he starts again, he knows how to time it right
Au clair de la lune, la petite Anna
In the moonlight, little Anna
Va cueillir des prunes avec son papa
Goes to pick plums with her daddy
Son papa lui donne un morceau de chocolat
Her daddy gives her a piece of chocolate
Ah, quelle est mignonne, la petite Anna
Ah, how sweet, little Anna is
Au clair de la lune, mes amis m'ont dit
In the moonlight, my friends told me
"Place de Pampelune, vous étiez jeudi
"In Pamplona, you were on Thursday
Et l'impératrice vous embrassait
And the empress was kissing you
-Non, c'est une actrice du théâtre français"
-No, she's an actress from the French theater"
Ce fut une histoire unique à Paris
It was a unique story in Paris
J'y gagnais la gloire, j'y perdais l'esprit
I gained glory there, I lost my mind
Car l'impératrice m'eût aimé d'amour
For the empress would have loved me dearly,
Tandis que l'actrice ne m'aima qu'un jour
While the actress loved me but for a day.
Au clair de la lune, théâtre guignol
In the moonlight, a puppet theater,
Juché sur la lune dans un si bémol
Perched on the moon in such a flat tone.
Tu chantes, poète, au gré des saisons
You sing, poet, to the rhythm of the seasons,
Et tu perds la tête, qui donc a raison
And you lose your mind, who is right after all?
Au clair de la lune, les oiseaux du ciel
In the moonlight, the birds of the sky,
N'ont pas de fortune, ni ruche ni miel
Have no fortune, neither hive nor honey.
Ils déploient leurs ailes, ivres dans l'azur
They spread their wings, drunk in the azure,
Ah, mon dieu, quelles ailes par-dessus la Lune
Ah, my god, what wings above the Moon!
Au clair de la lune, ainsi va le temps
In the moonlight, so goes the time
Quand la Lune est brune, nous avons printemps
When the Moon is brown, we have spring
Quand la Lune est blonde, nous n'avons pas tant
When the Moon is blonde, we don't have much
Ainsi va le monde
So goes the world
Depuis bien longtemps
For a long time now
Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com
Key vocabulary
- ailes
- wingsA1
- aimé
- lovedA1
- ainsi
- thusA1
- ami
- friendA1
- amis
- friendsA1
- amour
- loveA1
- attend
- waitA1
- bras
- armA1
- brune
- brunetteA1
- enjambe
- overpass
About this song
Charles Trenet was a French singer-songwriter associated with French chanson, active for more than 60 years. He wrote both music and lyrics for nearly 1,000 songs, including “La Mer,” and collaborated with musicians Michel Emer and Léo Chauliac.