Jacques Brel
L’Ostendaise lyrics with English translation
- Language
- French
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1968
- Genre
- Ballad, French Pop
- Length
- 4:47
Une Ostendaise pleure sur sa chaise
An Ostend woman weeps on her chair
Le chat soupèse son poids d'amour
The cat weighs its weight of love
Dans le silence, son chagrin danse
In the silence, her sorrow dances
Et les vieux pensent chacun son tour
And the old think, each in their turn
À la cuisine, quelques voisines
In the kitchen, a few neighbors
Parlent de Chine et d'un retour
Talk of China and a return
À Singapour, une Javanaise
In Singapore, a Javanese
Devient belle-sœur de l'Ostendaise
Becomes the sister-in-law of the Ostend woman
Il y a deux sortes de temps
There are two kinds of time
Il y a le temps qui attend
There's the time that waits
Et le temps qui espère
And the time that hopes
Il y a deux sortes de gens
There are two kinds of people
Il y a les vivants
There are the living
Et ceux qui sont en mer
And those who are at sea
Notre Ostendaise que rien n'apaise
Our Ostend girl whom nothing soothes
De chaise en chaise va sa blessure
From chair to chair goes her wound
Quelques commères, quelques compères
A few gossips, a few pals
Battent le fer de sa brisure
Strike the iron of her shattering
Son capitaine sous sa bedaine
Her captain under his belly
De bière pleine, bat le tambour
Full of beer, beats the drum
Homme de voiles, homme d'étoiles
Man of sails, man of stars
Il prend l'escale pour un détour
He takes the layover for a detour
Il y a deux sortes de temps
There are two kinds of time
Il y a le temps qui attend
There's the time that waits
Et le temps qui espère
And the time that hopes
Il y a deux sortes de gens
There are two kinds of people
Il y a les vivants
There are the living
Et ceux qui sont en mer
And those who are at sea
Notre Ostendaise au temps des fraises
Our Ostend girl in strawberry season
Devint maîtresse d'un pharmacien
Became the mistress of a pharmacist
Son capitaine mort sous bedaine
His captain dead beneath his belly
Joue les baleines, les sous-marins
Plays the whales, the submarines
Pourquoi ma douce, moi le faux mousse
Why my sweet, I the false sailor
Que le temps pousse, t'écrire de loin
As time pushes, to write you from afar
C'est que je t'aime et tant je t'aime
It's that I love you and I love you so much
Qu'ait peur ma reine d'un pharmacien
That my queen fears a pharmacist
Il y a deux sortes de temps
There are two kinds of time
Il y a le temps qui attend
There's the time that waits
Et le temps qui espère
And the time that hopes
Il y a deux sortes de gens
There are two kinds of people
Il y a les vivants
There are the living
Et moi je suis en mer
And I am at sea
Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com
Key vocabulary
- pousse
- growsA2
- bière
- beerA1
- gens
- peopleA1
- homme
- manA1
- joue
- playsA1
- loin
- farA1
- mer
- seaA1
- mort
- deathA1
- peur
- fearA1
- pleine
- fullA1
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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.