
Maurice Chevalier
Prosper (Yop la boum) lyrics with English translation
- Language
- French
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1935
- Genre
- Chanson
- Length
- 3:07
Quand on voit passer le grand Prosper
When we see the great Prosper go by
Sur la place Pigalle
In Pigalle Square
Avec son beau petit chapeau vert et sa martingale,
With his beautiful little green hat and his waistcoat,
A son air malabar et sa démarche en canard
With his swaggering look and his waddling walk
Faut pas être bachelier pour deviner son métier
You don’t need a diploma to guess his trade
Prosper yop la boum
Prosper yop la boum
C'est le chéri de ces dames
He's the darling of the ladies
Prosper yop la boum
Prosper yop la boum
C'est le roi du macadam
He's the king of the pavement
Comme il a toujours la flemme
As he always feels so lazy
Y n'fait jamais rien lui-même
He never does anything himself
Il a son "Harem"
He has his 'Harem'
Qui de Clichy à Barbés
From Clichy to Barbès
Le jour et la nuit sans cesse
Day and night, non-stop
Fait son petit business
He runs his little business
Et le soir, tous les soirs
And in the evening, every evening
Dans un coin d'ombre propice
In a favorable corner of shadow
Faut le voir, faut bien l'voir
You have to see him, you really have to see him
Encaisser les bénéfices
To cash in on the profits
Il ramasse les billets
He picks up the bills
Et leur laisse la monnaie
And leaves them the change
Ah quel sacrifice
Ah what a sacrifice
En somme c'est leur manager
In the end, he's their manager
Et yop la boum, Prosper!
And yop la boum, Prosper!
Avec sa belle gueule d'affranchi
With his handsome freedman’s face
Là-haut sur la butte
Up there on the hill
Ah! toutes les gonzesses sont folles de lui
Ah! all the girls are crazy about him
Et se le disputent
And fight over him
Y en a qui s'flanquent des gnons
Some even slap each other
Mais oui! et se crêpent le chignon
But yes! and mess up their hair
Pendant c'temps voyez-vous
Meanwhile, you see
Tranquillement il compte les coups
Calmly he counts the blows
Prosper yop la boum
Prosper, yoh la boom
C'est le chéri de ces dames
He's the darling of these ladies
Prosper yop la boum
Prosper, yoh la boom
C'est le roi du macadam
He's the king of the asphalt
Quand une femme se fait coincer
When a woman gets caught
Par les roussins du quartier
By the redheads from the neighborhood
Il la laisse tomber
He lets her fall
Et il s'en va carrément
And he just walks away
Vers son réassortiment
Towards their restock
Dans l'arrondissement
In the district
Et quand sur le champ
And when in the field
Elles ne sont pas à la page
They're not quite in tune
Voulant faire comment
Trying to figure out how
Faire leur apprentissage
To do their training
Dans une ville de garnison
In a garrison town
Il les envoie en saison
He sends them in season
Faire un petit stage
To do a little internship
Il a de la classe et du flair
He has style and flair
Et yop la boum, Prosper
And hey-hey, Prosper
Et yop la boum...
And hey-hey...
Yop la boum...
Hey-hey...
Dans une ville de garnison
In a garrison town
Il les envoie en saison
He sends them in season
Faire un petit stage
To do a little training
Il a de la classe et du flair
He's got style and flair
Et yop la boum, Prosper
And hey-hey, Prosper
Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com
Key vocabulary
- faut
- must
- flemme
- laziness
- affranchi
- free
- gonzesses
- girls
- folles
- mad
- disputent
- argue
- temps
- time
- voyez-vous
- you see
- roussins
- horses
- va
- go
About this song
Maurice Chevalier was a French entertainer known for song-and-dance performance and popular recordings. He became an international star in the 20th century, later appearing in Hollywood films such as GIGI and FANNY.