Jacques Brel
Les Marquises lyrics with English translation
- Language
- French
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1977
- Genre
- Ballad, French Pop
- Length
- 3:53
Ils parlent de la mort
They talk of death
Comme tu parles d'un fruit
Like you speak of a fruit
Ils regardent la mer
They gaze at the sea
Comme tu regardes un puit
Like you look at a well
Les femmes sont lascives
Women are seductive
Au soleil redouté
In the dreaded sun
Et s'il n'y a pas d'hiver
And if there is no winter
Cela n'est pas l'été
That is not summer
La pluie est traversière
The rain is sideways
Elle bat de grain en grain
It beats from grain to grain
Quelques vieux chevaux blancs
A few old white horses
Qui fredonnent Gauguin
Who hum Gauguin
Et par manque de brise
And due to a lack of breeze
Le temps s'immobilise
Time stands still
Aux Marquises
In the Marquesas
Du soir montent des feux
From the evening rise the fires
Et des points de silence
And points of silence
Qui vont s'élargissant
That widen and expand
Et la lune s'avance
And the moon moves forward
Et la mer se déchire
And the sea tears apart
Infiniment brisée
Infinitely shattered
Par des rochers qui prirent
By rocks that took
Des prénoms affolés
Some frenzied names
Et puis plus loin des chiens
And then further away, dogs
Des chants de repentance
Songs of repentance
Et quelques pas de deux
And a few dance duets
Et quelques pas de danse
And a few steps of dance
Et la nuit est soumise
And the night is submissive
Et l'alizé se brise
And the trade winds break
Aux Marquises
In the Marquesas
Le rire est dans le cœur
Laughter lies within the heart
Le mot dans le regard
The word shines in the gaze
Le cœur est voyageur
The heart is a traveler
L'avenir est au hasard
The future is left to chance
Et passent des cocotiers
And coconut trees pass by
Qui écrivent des chants d'amour
Writing songs of love
Que les sœurs d'alentour
That the sisters around
Ignorent d'ignorer
Are unaware they ignore
Les pirogues s'en vont
The canoes drift away
Les pirogues s'en viennent
The canoes come on back
Et mes souvenirs deviennent
And my memories become
Ce que les vieux en font
What the elderly make of them
Veux tu que je te dise
Do you want me to tell you
Gémir n'est pas de mise
Groaning is out of the question
Aux Marquises
In the Marquesas
Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com
Key vocabulary
- puis
- thenA1
- pirogues
- canoesB1
- quelques
- someA1
- chevaux
- horsesA1
- chiens
- dogsA1
- danse
- danceA1
- femmes
- womenA1
- loin
- farA1
- manque
- lackA1
- nuit
- nightA1
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About this song
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer, songwriter, and actor associated with lyric-driven French-language chanson. He was known for theatrical vocal delivery and character-driven songs, and his work influenced artists such as David Bowie, Scott Walker, and Marc Almond.