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A Bastille Day Tribute Posted by on Jul 19, 2016 in Culture, Music, Vocabulary

Last week’s Bastille Day celebrations ended in tragedy. Any day is the wrong day for such a terrible act, but on that day – a celebration of the French ideals of liberté, égalité, et fraternité (liberty, equality, and brotherhood) – it felt especially awful. July 14 may be changed forever by the events in Nice, but for me it has always been a day of such joy that I want to honor that happier spirit this week.

 

In addition to des défilés (parades) and peut-etre des feux d’artifices (maybe some fireworks), a fixture of just about any French town’s Bastille Day celebration is the bal populaire (local public dance). A favorite of old and young alike, these bals often feature classic French music and singers including one of my favorites, Edith Piaf.* Her song “Mon manège a moi” never fails to put me in a festive mood. I hope it does the same for you . . . even if this year it’s a little late for you to enjoy at your own bal populaire.

Enjoy the original . . . or a more updated version by another one of my favorite chanteurs (singers), Etienne Daho.

 

Tu me fais tourner la tête / You make my head spin
Mon manège à moi c’est toi / My very own carrousel (or merry-go-round) is you
Je suis toujours à la fête / I am always at the fair
Quand tu m’prends dans tes bras / When you take me in your arms
Je ferais le tour du monde / I could travel around the world
Ca ne tourn’rait pas plus qu’ça / And it couldn’t spin any more than that
La terre n’est pas assez ronde / The Earth simply isn’t round enough
Pour m’étourdir autant qu’toi / To dazzle me as much as you

Comme on est bien tous les deux / Aren’t we a pair
Quand on est ensembl’ nous deux / When we’re together, we two
Quelle vie on a tous les deux / What a life we have
Quand on s’aime comme nous deux / When we love like we two do
On pourrait changer d’planète / We could move to another planet
Tant qu’j’ai mon cœur près du tien / As long as I have my heart close to yours
J’entends les flonflons de la fête / I hear the happy noises of the fair (carnival)
Et la terre n’y est pour rien / And the Earth has nothing to do with it

Ah oui, parlons-en de la terre / Yes let’s talk about the Earth
Pour qui elle se prend, la terre ? / Just who does she think she is, the Earth?
Ma parol’ ‘y a qu’elle sur terre / My word, there’s only her on the Earth
Y’a qu’elle pour faire tant de mystères / Only her to make such a fuss

Mais pour nous il y a / But for us there are
Pas de problems / No problems
Car c’est pour la vie qu’on s’aime / Because we love each other for life
Et s’il y avait pas d’vie même / And were there no life even
On s’aimerait quand même / We love each other anyway

Car… / Because . . .

Tu me fais tourner la tête / You make my head spin
Mon manège à moi c’est toi / My very own carrousel (or merry-go-round) is you
Je suis toujours à la fête / I am always at the fair
Quand tu m’prends dans tes bras / When you take me in your arms
Je ferais le tour du monde / I could travel around the world
Ca ne tourn’rait pas plus qu’ça / And it couldn’t spin any more than that
La terre n’est pas assez ronde / The Earth simply isn’t round enough
Pour m’étourdir autant qu’toi / To dazzle me as much as you

Je ferais le tour du monde / I could travel around the world
Ca ne tourn’rait pas plus qu’ça / And it couldn’t spin any more than that
J’ai beau chercher à la ronde, / I search all around
Mon manège moi / My merry-go-round
C’est toi ! / Is you!

* For a great overview of the life of Edith Piaf, check out the wonderful2007 film La Vie en Rose starting the lovely French actress Marion Cotillard.

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About the Author: Tim Hildreth

Since my first trip to France at 16, I have been a passionate francophile. I love the language, food, music, art, people, and more that make France and la Francophonie in general such an amazing part of our global community. Having lived in France and studied the language and culture for over 35 years, it is my great pleasure to be able to share a little bit of my deep love with you through this blog.