Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel - Mon enfance English translation lyrics
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My Childhood
My childhood passed In silent greyness In false respectfulness In a lack of battles. In the winter, I was held in the belly Of the large house That had thrown the anchor To the north amid the seagrass mats In the summer, half-naked but always modest I would become an Indian Somehow already certain That my smug uncles Had stolen the Far West from me. My childhood passed With women in the kitchen Where I would dream of China Getting older around the table The men eating cheese, Envelopped in clouds of tobacco Taciturn, intelligent Flemish men Who didn't know about me Me, who, every night Would kneel down for nothing Increasing my unhappiness At the foot of the too-big bed. I wanted to get on a train That I had never taken. My childhood passed Going from one servant to another I was already surprised That they never stayed the same I was surprised again By all the family circles How easily they went from one death to another And by the formal mourning. I was surprised through all of it To be one of this flock That taught me to cry This flock that I knew too well. I had the eye of a shepherd But the heart of a sheep And then my childhood burst open That was adolescence And the wall of silence tumbled down one morning. This was the first flower And the first girl The first gentleness And the first fear. I was flying, I swear I swear that I was flying My heart was opening its arms I was no longer a barbarian And then the war arrived. And here we are tonight.
Mon enfance
Mon enfance passa De grisailles en silences De fausses révérences En manque de batailles L'hiver j'étais au ventre De la grande maison Qui avait jeté l'ancre Au nord parmi les joncs L'été à moitié nu Mais tout à fait modeste Je devenais indien Pourtant déjà certain Que mes oncles repus M'avaient volé le Far West Mon enfance passa Les femmes aux cuisines Où je rêvais de Chine Vieillissaient en repas Les hommes au fromage S'enveloppaient de tabac Flamands taiseux et sages Et ne me savaient pas Moi qui toutes les nuits Agenouillé pour rien Arpégeais mon chagrin Au pied du trop grand lit Je voulais prendre un train Que je n'ai jamais pris Mon enfance passa De servante en servante Je m'étonnais déjà Qu'elles ne fussent point plantes Je m'étonnais encore De ces ronds de famille Flânant de mort en mort Et que le deuil habille Je m'étonnais surtout D'être de ce troupeau Qui m'apprenait à pleurer Que je connaissais trop J'avais L'œil du berger Mais le cœur de l'agneau Mon enfance éclata Ce fut l'adolescence Et le mur du silence Un matin se brisa Ce fut la première fleur Et la première fille La première gentille Et la première peur Je volais je le jure Je jure que je volais Mon cœur ouvrait les bras Je n'étais plus barbare Et la guerre arriva Et nous voilà ce soir.
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Copyrights:
Author: Jacques Brel / Gérard Jouannest, Gérard Jouannest, Jacques Brel, Jacques Brel/Gérard Jouannest
Composer: Jacques Brel
Publisher: Barclay
Details:
Released in: 1967
Language: French
Covered by: Vera Mann (2004, Dutch) , Jeroen Willems (2006, Dutch)
Translations: German , English
Appearing on: Infiniment (2003) , L'intégrale des albums originaux (2010) , Suivre l'étoile | Intégrale (2013) , Les 50 plus belles chansons (2013) , L'Album de Sa Vie (2022)
More info:
- Country: Belgium
- jacquesbrel.be
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