Shall We Go for Some French Tango?
Posted on 15. Dec, 2011 by Hichem in Music, Vocabulary
Jeunes demoiselles (Young ladies)!
Imagine the scene: As you are striding along les rues de Paris (the streets of Paris), enjoying the Tango music drifting from a bar nearby, suddenly appears a stranger… A handsome Frenchman who asks:
“M’accorderiez-vous cette danse?”
(“Would you grant me this dance?”)
While you, dazzled and dismayed, can’t help but wonder to yourself:
“Étrange, j’ai vu ce visage auparavant…”
(“Strange, I’ve seen that face before…“)
Zofka – “I’ve Seen That Face Before”
Strange, I’ve seen that face before,
Étrange, j’ai vu ce visage auparavant,
Seen him hanging ’round my door,
Je l’ai vu traîner près de ma porte,
Like a hawk stealing for the prey,
Tel un faucon prêt à dérober sa proie,
Like the night waiting for the day,
Telle la nuit attendant le jour,
Strange, he shadows me back home,
Étrange, il me file jusqu’à chez moi
Footsteps echo on the stones,
Des échos de pas résonnent sur les pierres
Rainy nights, on Hausmann Boulevard,
Nuits pluvieuses, sur le boulevard Haussmann,
Parisian music, drifting from the bars,
Musique parisienne, émanant des bars
Tu cherches quoi, rencontrer la mort?
What are you looking for, meeting death?
Tu te prends pour qui, toi aussi tu detestes la vie?
Who do you think you are, you too hate life?
Dance in bars and restaurants,
Danse dans des bars et des restaurants,
Home with anyone who wants,
Rentre avec quiconque le veut,
Strange he’s standing there alone,
Étrange, il est debout là-bas tout seul,
Staring eyes chill me to the bone
Un regard qui me pétrifie jusqu’à la moelle
Dans sa chambre, Joel et sa valise,
In his room, Joel and his suitcase
Un regard sur ses fringues,
A glance over his clothes
Sur les murs, des photos,
On the walls, pictures,
Sans regret, sans mélo,
No regrets, no soppy
La porte est claquée, Joel est barré.
The door is slammed, Joel’s gone.
Strange… I’ve heard this song before:
Astor Piazzolla – Libertango
Grace Jones – Strange
