
Renaud
Rouge‐gorge lyrics with English translation
- Language
- French
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1988
- Genre
- Pop
- Length
- 2:11
Prolo ordinaire, peuple de Paris
Ordinary prole, people of Paris
Rouge-gorge est fier d'être né ici
Robin is proud to have been born here
Quartier populaire, bistrots et bougnats
Working-class neighborhood, bistros and coalmen
Et marchés couverts rues des enfants rois
And covered markets, streets of the king's children
Rouge-gorge doit son surnom bizarre
Robin owes his strange nickname
A sa jolie voix et à son foulard
To his pretty voice and his scarf
Rouge son foulard autour de son cou
Red his scarf around his neck
Rouge sa mémoire à jamais debout
Red his memory standing forever
Rouge-gorge chante "Le Temps des Cerises"
Robin sings 'The Time of Cherries'
Dans les rues vivantes lorsqu'un jour arrive
In the bustling streets when a day arrives
Le temps des noyaux et des bulldozers
The time of cores and bulldozers
Et des vrais salauds en costumes clairs
And real bastards in light suits
Quelque sous-ministre a attaché-case
Some undersecretary with a briefcase
Et mine sinistre l'âme versaillaise
And a gloomy look, the Versailles soul
Décrète trop vieux tout ce quartier-là
Decrees that this neighborhood's too old
Il foutra le feu si l'vieux s'en va pas
He'll burn it down if the old man doesn't go
Rasée la maison détruit l'atelier
The house is razed, the workshop destroyed
Des cages en béton les ont remplacés
Concrete cages have taken their place
Adieu, réverbères, ampoules au plafond
Goodbye, streetlights, bulbs on the ceiling
Bonjour la lumière des tristes néons
Hello to the light of the sad neon signs
Chassés les prolos et chassée la vie
Chased away the common folks and chased away life
Parkings et bureaux ont bouffé Paris
Parking lots and offices have devoured Paris
Les petites gens sont des gens sérieux
The little people are serious folks
Iront gentiment peupler les banlieues
Will gently populate the suburbs
Chante, "Rouge-gorge", "Les Temps des Cerises"
Sing, 'Robin', 'The Time of Cherries'
Savigny-sur-Orge paraîtra moins grise
Savigny-sur-Orge will seem less gray
Chante aussi "Paname" que les assassins
Also sing 'Paname' like the assassins
Ont livré aux flammes sans brûler leurs mains
Delivered to the flames without burning their hands
Chante la mémoire que Doisneau préserve de Paris
Sing the memory that Doisneau preserves of Paris
Le soir d'avant qu'elle crève
The evening before it bursts
Chante la bâtarde Paris-la-soumise
Sing the bastard, Paris the submissive
Que Doisneau regarde et qui agonise
Whom Doisneau watches and who is gasping
Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com
Key vocabulary
- jolie
- prettyA1
- chante
- singA1
- enfants
- childrenA1
- feu
- fireA1
- ici
- hereA1
- jamais
- neverA1
- ampoules
- bulbsB2
- béton
- concreteB2
- bouffé
- ateB2
- cerises
- cherriesB2
About this song
Renaud (Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan) is a French singer-songwriter. He is known for French-language chanson rooted in regional dialects and for topping French album and single charts across multiple decades, including award-winning releases such as “Boucan d’enfer” and “Toujours debout.”