Le Pornographe

Brassens muses over his reputation as a writer of dirty songs. It is a paradox that, although he would not use coarse words in his personal life, he uses them quite freely in his professional life. He explains how this came about and describes the exaggeration caused by the stereotyping effect of public expectation. He has no fear of condemnation by the gods based on the meaningless human criteria of pornography.



Le pornographe
Autrefois, quand j'étais marmot,
In the past, when I was a kid
J'avais la phobie des gros mots,
I just could not stand bad language
Et si je pensais "merde" tout bas,
And if I thought “shit” on the quiet
Je ne le disais pas...
I did’nt say it out loud
Mais(1)
But

Aujourd'hui que mon gagne-pain
Today when earning my living
C'est de parler comme un turlupin,(8)
Means speaking like a free spirit
Je ne pense plus "merde", pardi!
I no longer think “shit” - no way!
Mais(1) je le dis.
But I say it.

Je suis le pornographe
I’m the pornographer
Du phonographe,
Of phonography
Le polisson
The rude chappie(2)
De la chanson.
Of pop’lar song

Afin d'amuser la galerie
Just to amuse the gallery
Je crache des gauloiseries,
I come out with dirty remarks
Des pleines bouches de mots crus
With mouthfuls of crude expressions
Tout à fait incongrus...
Completely uncalled for
Mais(1)
But

En me retrouvant seul sous mon toit,
When I get back home, all on my own
Dans ma psyché je me montre au doigt.
In my mind’s eye, I point straight at myself
Et me crie: "Va te faire, homme incorrecte,
And yell : “Incorrect man, get y’self
Voir par les Grecs."
Seen by the Greeks. »

Je suis le pornographe
I’m the pornographer
Du phonographe,
Of phonography
Le polisson
The rude chappie
De la chanson.
Of pop’lar song

Tous les samedis je vais à confesse
On Sat’days, I go to confess
M'accuser d'avoir parlé de fesses
To tell I’ve been speaking of bums
Et je promets ferme au marabout
And firmly pledge the holy man
De les mettre tabou...
To rule them out tabou
Mais(1)
But
Craignant, si je n'en parle plus,
Fearing, if there’s no more mention
De finir à l'Armée du Salut,(3)
To end my life on charity
Je remets bientôt sur le tapis
I’m soon bringing up once again
Les fesses impies.
The bums so impious.

Je suis le pornographe
I’m the pornographer
Du phonographe,
Of phonography
Le polisson
The rude chappie
De la chanson.
Of pop’lar song


Ma femme est, soit dit en passant,
My wife is, mentioned in passing,
D'un naturel concupiscent
By nature quite concupiscent
Qui l'incite à se coucher nue
Which makes her go to bed naked
Sous le premier venu...
Beneath the first comer
Mais(1)

M'est-il permis, soyons sincère,
Am I allowed, lets be truthful
D'en parler au café-concert
To mention that in music-hall
Sans dire qu'elle a, suraigu,
While omitting she has, to the point,
Le feu au cul?
Fanny on fire ?

Je suis le pornographe
I’m the pornographer
Du phonographe,
Of phonography
Le polisson
The rude chappie
De la chanson.
Of pop’lar song


J'aurais sans doute du bonheur,
No doubt I would have good fortune
Et peut-être la Croix d'honneur,
And perhaps the Croix d'honneur,
A chanter avec décorum
For singing with due decorum
L'amour qui mène à Rome...(4)
The love that leads to Rome
Mais(1)
But
Mon ange m'a dit: "Turlututu!
My angel told me “Fiddledee !
Chanter l'amour t'est défendu
Singing love is forbidden you
S'il n'éclôt pas sur le destin
Should it not turn out as the lot
D'une putain."
Of a street girl.

Je suis le pornographe
I’m the pornographer
Du phonographe,
Of phonography
Le polisson
The rude chappie
De la chanson.
Of pop’lar song

Et quand j'entonne, guilleret,
When I strike up a cheerful song
A un patron de cabaret
For the boss of a cabaret
Une adorable bucolique,
A likable man , bucolic
Il est mélancolique...
He is melancholic
Et(1)
And
Me dit, la voix noyée de pleurs:
Tells me, his voice choking with tears
"S'il vous plaît de chanter les fleurs,
If you enjoy singing of flow’rs
Qu'elles poussent au moins rue Blondel(5)
At least let them grow in Soho
Dans un bordel."
In a brothel

Je suis le pornographe
I’m the pornographer
Du phonographe,
Of phonography
Le polisson
The rude chappie
De la chanson.
Of pop’lar song

Chaque soir avant le dîner,
Each evening before the dinner
A mon balcon mettant le nez,
Nipping out on my balcony
Je contemple les bonnes gens
I watch the right sort of people
Dans le soleil couchant...
Walking in the sunset.....
Mais(1)
But
N’ me d’mandez pas d’chanter ça, si
Don’t ask me to sing of that if
Vous redoutez d'entendre ici
You’re afraid to hear me say here
Que j'aime à voir, de mon balcon,
I like to see from my balc’ny
Passer les cons.
The twats (6)pass by.

Je suis le pornographe
I’m the pornographer
Du phonographe,
Of phonography
Le polisson
The rude chappie
De la chanson.
Of pop’lar song

Les bonnes âmes d'ici bas
The goodly souls down here below
Comptent ferme qu'à mon trépas
Firmly expect that at my death
Satan va venir embrocher
Satan’s going to come to skewer
Ce mort mal embouché...
This man who went astray
Mais,
But

Mais veuille le grand manitou,
May the great high chief, be willing
Pour qui le mot n'est rien du tout,
For whom the word means not a thing
Admettre en sa Jérusalem,
Admit into his Jerusalem
A l'heure blême,(7)
At the pale hour

Le pornographe
The pornographer
Du phonographe,
Of phonography
Le polisson
The rude chappie
De la chanson.
Of pop’lar song.

Georges Brassens
1958 - Le pornographe
TRANSLATION NOTES
(1) Mais je le dis- Brassens splits each verse into two by the word “but”, so that the second part becomes a surprise or amusing qualification of the first. This applies in all the verses except one where “but” becomes “and”.
(2) The rude chappie – I used the word chappie because polisson has the idea of “naughty”, “rascally” and I wanted to include a sense of harmlessness. The association in my mind is with the title of “the Cheeky Chappie” given to Max Miller (1894-1963), one of Britain's top comedians in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. The material of his jokes and songs was risqué, full of sexual double entendres which outraged the strait-laced.
(3) L'Armée du Salut – Brassens’ reference reminds us that the Salvation Army is known across the world as the final refuge of the destitute.
(4) L'amour qui mène à Rome...- This is perhaps a reference to the respectful acclaim granted to Brassens’ contemporary, the singing priest, le Père Duval, about whom Brassens relates a personal anecdote in his song;"Les Trompettes de la Renommée.”
(5) rue Blondel – was a street in Paris with a red light reputation
(6) The twats - My unsatisfactory translation refers to “les bonnes gens”, whom Brassens observes from his balcony. In his more frank vein in the second part of the verse he calls them “cons”, which in its milder sense means silly, misguided people. The second sense is obscenely abusive, although not as much in French as with the similar word in English.
(7) L'heure blême - Brassens uses elsewhere this image of fading light to depict the moment of death.
(8) un turlupin, - the moral condemnation contained in this song. Brassens tells us that, according to the teachings of the Church, Satan will finally pitchfork him into the eternal fires of Hell, in punishment for using rude words and for talking too frankly about sexual matters. The strictures of the Church were important at the time when Brassens was writing, but have been largely sidelined by the change in social attitudes and practices during the intervening years. However, the issue of the freedom of the individual in the face of the overweening, ever-evolving forces of authority in society remains crucial. The tragic history of the Turlupins, to which Brassens refers in this line gives a cruel, historical example:
The Turlupins were a religious sect in France in the second half of the 14th century. We can only deduce their ideas from what their adversaries in the Church said about them. They apparently called themselves the “Brethren of the Free Spirit” and “The Society of the Poor". They had a female leader, Jeanne Daubenton. She taught the virtues of the simple life and preached that individuals could achieve salvation through Christ by direct prayer without the intervention of the Church. Also she denied there was any sin in satisfying one’s sensual desires. In 1372, the sect was excommunicated by Pope Gregory and accordingly was suppressed by the King of France, Charles V. The sect members were thrown into prison and their leader was burnt at the stake.
In a debate on moral evil, the picture of Jeanne Daubenton burnt alive on the Place de Grève, surrounded by judgemental officials of Church and state would seem to put such authority into context.

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