La ronde des jurons- a study of the ancient and lost art of swearing

It should not surprise us that Brassens devoted a song to the swearwords of France.   Swearing has been described as “poor men’s poetry” and Brassens, of course, is the champion of the underprivileged in the face of the oppression of the institutionalized forces of State and Church,  whose social and religious taboos have been targeted by swearwords through the centuries.

I have not imposed upon myself the impossible task of finding a precise English equivalent for each French oath.  I feel that there are valid arguments which justify regarding an oath as a unique, national, cultural entity

I have, however, made an attempt to sort out these French swearwords in the translation notes that follow the script of the poem.

The letters in brackets in the French text refer to my vocabulary notes to be found further down in this post

- La ronde des jurons 1 Voici la ronde(a) des jurons 2 Qui chantaient clair , qui dansaient rond , 3 Quand les Gaulois 4 De bon aloi(b) 5 Du franc-parler suivaient la loi , 6 jurant par-là , jurant par-ci(d) , 7 jurant à langue raccourci'(e) , 8 Comme des grains de chapelet 9 Les joyeux jurons défilaient(f) : (Refrain) 10 Tous les morbleus , tous les ventrebleus , 11 Les sacrebleus et les cornegidouilles , 12 Ainsi , parbleu , que les jarnibleus 13 Et les palsambleus , 14 Tous les cristis , les ventres saint-gris , 15 Les par ma barbe et les noms d'une pipe , 16 Ainsi , pardi , que les sapristis 17 Et les sacristis , 18 Sans oublier les jarnicotons , 19 Les scrogneugneus et les bigre' et les bougre'   20 Les saperlott's , les cré nom de nom , 21 Les peste , et pouah , diantre , fichtre et foutre, 22 Tous les Bon Dieu , 23 Tous les vertudieux , 24 Tonnerr' de Brest et saperlipopette , 25 Ainsi , pardieu , que les jarnidieux 26 Et les pasquedieux. 27 Quelle pitié ! Les charretiers(g) 28 Ont un langage châtié(h) ! 29 Les harengères(i) 30 Et les mégères (j) 31 Ne parlent plus à la légère ! 32 Le vieux catéchisme poissard(k) 33 N'a guèr' plus cours chez les hussards ... 34 Ils ont vécu(L) , de profundis(m) , 35 Les joyeux jurons de jadis

The dance of the swearwords Here’s the dance of the swearwords Which sang out clear, danced as a'rondo When Gauls of old Worthy folk all Followed the law of plain-speaking, Swearing here there and everywhere Swearing with hard-hitting words. Like beads of a rosary The merry oaths came pouring out: (Refrain) All the morbleus, all the ventrebleus, The Sacrebleus and the cornegidouilles, Just as, parbleu, with the jarnibleus And the palsambleus, All the cristis, the ventres saint-gris, The par ma barbe and the noms d’une pipe, Just as, pardi, with sapristis And the sacristis, Not forgetting les jarnicotons, The scrogneugneus and the bigre' and the bougre', The saperlott's, the cré the nom de nom, The plague, and pouh, diantre, fichtre and foutre, All the Bon Dieu, All the vertudieux, Tonnerr' de Brest and saperlipopette, just as, pardieu, with the jarnidieux And the pasquedieux. What a shame! The truck drivers Have now cleaned up their language! And the fishwives And harshest shrews Now don’t speak without thinking! The old obscene  catechism Is scarce used now by the hussars They’ve had their day, so rest in peace, The merry oaths of times gone by.

Swearwords	Lines	Full meaning	Type of oath
morbleu,	10	Mort de Dieu	Swearing on the body of Christ - but minced words
ventrebleu,	10	Ventre de dieu	Swearing on the belly of Christ cut open on the cross- but minced word.
cornegidouille,	11	An oath invented for the surrealist play « Ubu Roi » of 1896
sacrebleu	11	Sacré Dieu	Swearing on the sacred God - but minced word.
parbleu	12	Par Dieu	Swearing on God - but minced word.
jarnibleu	12	Je renie Dieu	Denying God-total blasphemy !  -but minced words
palsambleu	13	Par le sang de Dieu	Swearing on the blood Christ shed on the cross - but minced words
cristi,	14	Christ	Swearing on Christ’s name
ventre saint-gris	14	Ventre de dieu	Swearing on the belly of Christ – but a substitute noun
ma barbe	15	Mon Dieu	Swearing on God but substitute noun
nom d'une pipe	15	Nom de dieu	Swearing on God’s name, but substitute noun
pardi	16	Par Dieu	Swearing on God - but minced word.
sapristi	16	Sacré Christ	Swearing on the sacred Christ - but minced word.
sacristi,	17	Sacré Christ	Swearing on the sacred Christ - but minced word.
jarnicoton	18	Je renie Dieu	Denying God-total blasphemy !  But substitute noun
scrogneugneu	19	Nom de Dieu	Swearing on God’s name but minced words
bigre	19	bugger	Obscenity - but minced word.
bougre	19	bugger	Obscenity
saperlotte	20	Sacred God	Swearing on God but substitute noun
Cré nom de nom	20	Sacred Name of God	Minced words and substitute noun
peste	21	The Plague	Swearing on the horrific plagues of medieval Europe
pouah	21	Expression of disgust as in English
diantre	21	Devil	Swearing on the Devil - but minced word.
fichtre	21	F*ck (but less strong in French)	Obscenity
foutre	21	F*ck (but less strong in French	Obscenity
Bon Dieu	22	The Good Lord	Swearing on God’s goodness
vertudieu	23	Innocent God	Swearing on God’s innocence
saperlipopette	24	Sacred God	Swearing on God but substitute noun
Tonnerre de Brest	24	Tonnerre de Dieu	Swearing on God’s thunder- but substitute noun
pardieu	25		Swearing on God
jarnidieu	25	Je nie Dieu	Denying God- total blasphemy - but minced word.
Pasquedieu	25	Par le sang de Dieu	Swearing on the blood Christ shed on the cross - but minced words

SOME VOCAB POINTS

a)La ronde = a dance performed in a circle, a square dance, a folk dance .  I thought of using the word “rondo” but that is “rondeau” in French.

b)De bon aloi = honest,  respectable,  sound
c)Le franc-parler = outspokenness, speaking your mind.
d)Par-là …. par-ci = here and there, all over the place
e)Frapper à bras raccourcis= to lay into to some-one with your fists.  The French argue among themselves the significance of shortened arms.  Perhaps the most plausible explanation  is that it means: with shortened sleeves, rolled up for the fight.
f)Défiler - pass by – flash by
G)Les charretiers  =  carters
h)Châtié = polished, refined
i)Les harengères  = the fishwives- a pejorative description as in English
j)Mégère =  a cantankerous, evil tempered woman, a shrew.
 k)Poissard  = vulgar,  coarse
L)Ils ont vécu = If you say something « a vécu », you mean that it has had its day – is a thing of the past

m)De profundis is a phrase for a requiem.

SORTING OUT THE RIGHTS AND WRONGS OF SWEARING

As I look at the Google chart of readership of this blog, I see that Georges Brassens has followers in most countries of the world.  It is an odd thought that as they read this song they will all relate to swearwords in their own languages with their own distinctive forms.  It is one of the mysteries of the human psychology that swearing is an international phenomenon, as people feel the need to punctuate their communication with apparently redundant words of anger and revolt.

The balance of the swearwords quoted by Brassens shows that the majority of the traditional oaths in France derive from the religion of the population. They refer to the Christian God, to Jesus Christ, to the Saints and to the beliefs and rituals of the Catholic Church.  By calling on our Gods, we are conforming to normal religious practice, Christians do this in prayer.  However, to do this while swearing shows total disrespect.  All well brought-up children in Christian countries know that swearing is wrong and are frequently admonished to wash their mouths out after transgressing.  This mild, domestic reprimand is overshadowed, however, by a much more ancient and awesome authority. The bible tells us that when Moses received the commandments from God, the third in importance was the injunction that the name of God should not be taken in vain. 
It would seem that by calling on religious forces wantonly in oaths, we are tinkering with the mighty electricity of the universe by which God controls his creation.  The Book of Deuteronomy describes in horrific detail how the God of the Old Testament channels his corrective discipline in the form of curses- Chapter 28 verse 15 onwards:
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
Cursed [shall be] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep……
Deu 28:28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart"

The Church of the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire saw themselves as delegated to tap into these powers of the almighty and harnessed them in ecclesiastical curses against the enemies of their faith. A famous example is the Ernulphus curse, used by the Roman Church in excommunications. tTis curse is quoted at some length in Lawrence Sterne’s “Tristram Shandy”.

The common people were prohibited, however, from calling on these powers and numerous women, who thought they had the gift to do so, were burnt alive as witches.  Under the same ruling, the casual references to the deity in popular swearwords were also condemned by the rulers of the Church.  They were convinced that the people’s  habit of cursing, taking in vain not only God’s name but also the beliefs and rituals of the Church impinged on the Church’s role and diminished its prestige.  Swearing was therefore strongly and sometimes cruelly suppressed under the blasphemy laws.
Under the system of the joint share of absolute power by Church and state in Europe it fell to the sovereign to mete out punishment for this offence against the Church and the sovereigns undertook this responsibility from the 13^th century until the 18^th century. Wikipedia tells that the last person hanged for blasphemy in Great Britain was Thomas Aikenhead aged 20, in Scotland in 1697. He was prosecuted for words which denied the veracity of the Old Testament and the legitimacy of Christ's miracles.
Below is a painting by Gerard Hoet, dated 1728: “The Blasphemer Stoned”

In spite of the countermeasures, swearing could not be wiped out.   An escape which people used in order to continue to break the religious taboos was to disguise the religious content by mincing words or phrases or substituting different nouns for the divine.  In French these oaths are called « blasphèmes dérivés » or « blasphèmes euphémistiques”.  Brassens’ song gives us a long list.

Ironically, it was sometimes the sovereigns themselves, who in their compulsion to use a good curse, turned to this neutralized language. It is said that the French king Henri IV (1553-1610), who had the habit of using the strong derived oath “jarnidieu” –“ I deny God” was advised by his confessor, Father  Coton, to substitute his own name. As a result the sterilised oath “jarnicoton” came into use –line 18 in Brassens’ song. 
In this song Brassens is regretting the loss in our times of the wealth of colourful oaths used for centuries past.  The famous English writer, Robert Graves (1895- 1985) in his little book “Lars Porsena or the future of swearing (1929)” expresses the same sentiment.   Graves suggests that swearing as an art in England reached its high water mark in the late eighteenth century at a period when the reformed church in England was somewhat somnolent and relaxed.   He talks of the swearing duels that took place and, probably tongue in cheek, he analyses the essence of the poetry of swearing (page 47): “…. the alliterative emphasis and rhythm of swearing, … the maximum nervous reaction that can be got from a normal subject by combinations and permutations of the oath.”  He speaks admiringly (page 27) of those who swore “luxuriantly, from anti-institutional conviction.” When I discussed this extract with my well-read Russian daughter-in-law, she told me that there is still a strong tradition of swearing in Russia, where it is sourced by a rich vocabulary, which its most skilled practitioners can turn into an impressive rhetorical art.
The gradual onset of democracy in Europe saw the weakening of traditional prohibitions imposed by princes and priests.  Without the consciousness of breaking the awesome taboos of an all-powerful Church, the old oaths became nothing more than standard expressions of irritation. 
 Those who felt the need to shock and express social revolt from then on found greater power  in swearwords that broke the sexual taboos.  Robert Graves and apparently Georges Brassens saw this as the moment when swearing went into decline having lost the grandeur of its revolt. Offending a few strait-laced persons did not compare with sniping at the ruthless dictatorial heads of Church and state.
Brassens mentions only four obscene words (and mild ones at that) “bougre” and “bigre” on line on line 19,  “fichtre” and “foutre” on line 21. 
I became aware of the word “foutre” immediately after I arrived in Arras to take up a post of English assistant.  I incorporated the verb with all its variants into my active vocabulary.  It was only several months later after a meeting with the female teachers of the girls’ lycée, that I was informed that the word I was using profusely was similar to the English word “f*ck”, which I would not think of using in its oath form in English.
Brassens is of the opinion that the contemporary habit of swearing using a limited number of obscene words has destroyed the previous inventive and vivid art.   He cites the paucity of the invective of the modern hussar compared with that of hussars in previous centuries.  Robert Graves has once again exactly the same opinion.  Graves had been an army officer during the First World War (His memoirs:  “Goodbye to all that” are widely recognized as a masterpiece).  He despaired of the unimaginative monotony in the swearing reported when soldiers appeared before him charged with insubordination.  We read on page 41 of Graves’s book:
"Orderly-room charges of obscene and blasphemous language show a distressing sameness:
“Sir, the accused called me a f*cking c*nt” or
“Sir, the accused called me a f*cking prick.”

Both Brassens and Graves believe that swearing has had its day.  Those of us who lived with it during our military service,  blasting loud and long in our ears, would not regret its passing.

D.Y.  21/06/2013

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Le mauvais sujet repenti-sad story showing society's inconsistent and hypocritical attitudes to the sex trade

This poem is a morality tale- or perhaps more aptly an immorality tale- about prostitution.  The title suggests the traditional, inspiring story of the sinner who sees the light – the story of the bad character who repented.  However Brassens’ title is ironical.

The narrator of the poem was indeed by common judgment a bad character.  He was a pimp.  In contemporary Britain, it is politically correct to be kinder to prostitutes.  They are “sex workers”, but their pimps are still the lowest of the low.  However the moral issues here are shown to be complex.  If the man’s previous life was despicable, his act of repentance was even more despicable. He abandoned the woman with whom he had lived in a passionate relationship- although by mutual agreement shared with many others- , who had made his fortune and he left her to a grim fate.

His personal behaviour was certainly vile, but we note that he and his partner provided a service to clients who were pharmacists, church officials, civil servants and serving police officers.  We are aware that her pitch was close to the Chamber of Deputies. Brassens, the anarchist who rejected all outside interference in personal choice is pointing to the absurd contradictions in legislation which aims to prevent payment for sex.

Le mauvais sujet repenti

Elle avait la taill' faite au tour,(1) Les hanches pleines, Et chassait l' mâle aux alentours De La Mad’leine...(2) À sa façon d' me dir' : "Mon rat, Est-c' que j' te tente ?" Je vis que j'avais affaire à Un' débutante... L' avait l' don, c'est vrai, j'en conviens, L'avait l' génie Mais sans technique, un don n'est rien Qu'un' sal' manie... Certes, on ne se fait pas putain Comme on s' fait nonne, C'est du moins c' qu'on prêche, en latin, À la Sorbonne... Me sentant rempli de pitié Pour la donzelle, J' lui enseignai, de son métier, Les p'tit's ficelles... J' lui enseignai l' moyen d' bientôt Faire fortune, En bougeant l'endroit où le dos R'ssemble à la lune...(3) Car, dans l'art de fair' le trottoir, Je le confesse, Le difficile est d' bien savoir Jouer des fesses... On n' tortill' pas son popotin D' la mêm' manière, Pour un droguiste, un sacristain, Un fonctionnaire... Rapidement instruite par Mes bons offices, Elle m'investit d'une part D' ses bénéfices...(4) On s'aida mutuellement, Comm' dit l' poète,(5) Ell' était l' corps, naturell'ment, Puis moi la tête... Un soir, à la suite de Manoeuvres douteuses, Ell' tomba victim' d'une Maladie honteuse... Lors, en tout bien, toute amitié, En fille probe, Elle me passa la moitié De ses microbes... Après des injections aiguës D'antiseptique, J'abandonnai l' métier d' cocu Systématique... Elle eut beau pousser des sanglots, Braire à tue-tête, Comme je n'étais qu'un salaud, J' me fis honnête... Sitôt privé' de ma tutelle, Ma pauvre amie Courut essuyer du bordel Les infamies... Paraît qu'ell' s' vend même à des flics, Quell' décadence ! Y'a plus d' moralité publiqu' Dans notre France...

She had a most shapely figure Full in the hips, And hunted for males, roundabout The Madeleine From her way of saying : « Darling, D’you fancy me ? » I saw that I was dealing with A raw beginner. She’d the gift, it’s true, I quite agree, She'd the genius, But without technique a gift’s no more Than a nasty habit… It’s true you don’t become a whore Like you do a’nun That’s at least what they preach, in Latin At the Sorbonne… Feeling overwhelmed with pity For the damsel I taught her the little secrets Of her profession I taught her the method to soon Make her fortune By swaying the place where the back Looks very like the moon For, in the art of street walking, I must confess What’s hard is to rightly know how to Make play with the bum… You do not wiggle your bottom In the same manner For a chemist, a church warden A civil servant. Rapidly instructed by My good offices She invested me with a share Of her profits We helped each other mutu’lly As the poet says. She was the body, natur’lly Then me the head. One night following some Suspect carryings on She fell the victim of A shameful illness… Then, justly, out of true friendship A forthright girl, She passed on to me a half Of her microbes …… After sev’ral sharp injections Of antiseptic I gave up the career of cuckold Systematic...... In vain was all her deep sighing Howling at full blast, As I was nothing but a swine I turned honest man. Deprived of me as her guardian, My poor girl friend Went straight to submit to the shame Of the brothel … Seems she’s even sold to coppers What decadence ! There’s no public morality now In this France of ours……

1953 - Les amoureux des bancs publics

TRANSLATION NOTES

1)      fait au tour – le tour is the lathe and so a part of the body that is « fait au tour » is well-turned, shapely.

2)      La Madeleine – The area around the historic building of the Madeleine has long been regarded as a hunting ground for prostitutes.  As their clientele in this area was from a better class, the women would be a better class of prostitute.

3)      Brassens was a great admirer of a rounded female bottom and uses the moon analogy frequently.  See Vénus Callipyge

4)      N.B.The irony of his squalid arrangement  being presented as a standard business contract.

5)      Brassens lived with his book of La Fontaine’s fables.  In La Fontaine’s « L’Aveugle et le Paralytique », there are the lines :

Aidons-nous mutuellement,

La charge des malheurs en sera plus légère.

THANKS FOR A CONTRIBUTION TO THIS TRANSLATION
I am grateful to a French gentleman called Arthur for three amendments he has given me that I have incorporated now in this translation.  It's a great help.  Many thanks.  David Y.

 

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La marche nuptiale -The pathos of the wedding procession for Brassens' parents

This is a very touching, very personal song, because Brassens is describing the wedding day of his parents.  Although the title of the song is “Wedding March” and Brassens speaks of the day as a memory that he will never forget, the sombre music of the song is more suitable for a “marche funèbre”-  a funeral march.  This is appropriate because their wedding appears to have had a prevailing mood of pathos, marked by embarrassment, disappointment and deep emotional distress on the part of the bride.  The families of bride and groom were so poor that their bridal carriage, to the amazement of the onlookers was an ox cart propelled by the wedding guests. 

It is an unconventional wedding, because the couple have already been together for a long time and their son is accompanying them with music on his harmonica.  We are told that they are on the way to the Town Hall and so they would seem to be on their way to a civil ceremony, not a church marriage. The crisis for the bride comes, when heaven manifests its disapproval by striking the procession with a mighty wind and soaking the participants with a heavy downpour of rain.

The account in the song does not tally with Brassens’ biography and this question will be discussed in the following translation notes.

Barbara sings this song with a lot of verve and feeling.

Mariage d'amour, mariage d'argent, J'ai vu se marier toutes sortes de gens Des gens de basse source et des grands de la terre, Des prétendus coiffeurs, des soi-disant notaires. Quand même je vivrais jusqu'à la fin des temps, Je garderai toujours le souvenir content Du jour de pauvre noce où mon père et ma mère S'allèrent épouser devant Monsieur le Maire.(1) C'est dans un char à boeufs, s'il faut parler bien franc, Tiré par les amis, poussé par les parents, Que les vieux amoureux firent leurs épousailles (2) Après long temps d'amour, long temps de fiançailles (3) Cortège nuptial hors de l'ordre courant, La foule nous couvait d'un oeil protubérant Nous étions contemplés par le monde futile Qui n'avait jamais vu de noces de ce style. Voici le vent qui souffle emportant, crève-coeur! Le chapeau de mon père et les enfants de choeur.. Voilà la plui' qui tombe en pesant bien ses gouttes, Comme pour empêcher la noc', coûte que coûte. Je n'oublierai jamais la mariée en pleurs (4) Berçant comme un' poupé' son gros bouquet de fleurs Moi, pour la consoler, moi, de toute ma morgue, Sur mon harmonica, jouant les grandes orgues. Tous les garçons d'honneur, montrant le poing aux nues, Criaient : "Par Jupiter, la noce continue !" (5) Par les homm's décriée, par les dieux contrariée, La noce continue et viv' la mariée ! In Barbara’s version she repeats the second stanza at the end of her song Quand même je vivrais jusqu'à la fin des temps, Je garderai toujours le souvenir content Du jour de pauvre noce où mon père et ma mère S'allèrent épouser devant Monsieur le Maire.(1) 1957 – In the album : Je me suis fait tout petit

Marriages for love, marriages  for money I have seen all sorts of people getting married : Folk of humble stock and great figures in the land, Some calling themselves coiffeurs, some self-styled lawyers. Even if I should live  until the end of time I will always treasure the memory Of the poor wedding day my father and mother Went to get themselves wed before Monsieur the Mayor It was, if  full truth need be told, in an ox cart With our friends pulling it, and relatives pushing, That the long-time lovers rode to their nuptials After a long term love,  a long time engagement. A marriage cortège most unconventional, The crowd thronged around us,  eyes wide with amazement We were being looked on by people not involved   Who hadn’t ever seen a wedding in this style Here comes the wind, which blows away, oh the heartbreak !  The hats of my father and children in the choir. Then there’s the rain which falls, dishing out big  rain-drops  As if to stop the wedding, at all cost. I shall never forget the bride, sitting weeping, As she cradled  like a doll her big bunch of flowers. I to console her, I, with all my proud contempt On my harmonica, played great organ pieces And all the groomsmen, shaking their fists at the clouds Were shouting « By Jupiter, the wedding goes on ! Though by humans decried, by the gods obstructed The wedding  continues and so long live the bride ! Even if I should live  until the end of time I will always treasure the memory Of the poor wedding day my father and mother Went to get themselves wed before Monsieur the Mayor

TRANSLATION NOTES

1)     devant Monsieur le Maire- I thought of putting « Before his Worship the Mayor » as that is the Mayor’s (odd) title in Britain, but that would have changed the cultural setting.

2)     firent leurs épousailles – Brassens says that his parents celebrated their wedding in an ox cart.  Surely the mayor did not marry them in it.  I have taken the liberty of changing it!

3)     Après long temps d'amour, long temps de fiançailles – According to the story in the song, the parents had been in love for a long time and had had a long engagement.  Obviously they must have been living in sin, to use the English terminology of those days, and she had given birth to the son who was playing the harmonica and telling the story.  In fact, Georges Brassens mother, Elvira Dagrossa, who came from an Italian family, had been married previously and had had a daughter, Simone, in 1912.  Her husband had been called up during the 1914- 1918 war and he had been killed in 1919.  As she married Jean-Louis Brassens in 1920 after having been a widow for only one year, it is difficult to see how they could have been lovers and engaged for a long time.  As Georges Brassens was born, their legitimate son in 1921, it was impossible for him to have been at his parents’ wedding –except in the womb perhaps !

4)     Je n'oublierai jamais la mariée en pleurs- It is understandable that this would have been a very emotional day for Elvira. Just a year ago, she had been married to a different man, the father of her nine year old daughter – until the ominous telegram was delivered at her house.  As a devout Catholic, she would be afraid of the wrath of God and the anger of the skies would seem to confirm this.  She was getting married in a civil ceremony to a man who had little respect for her religion and her Catholic education would have convinced her that she was jeopardising her immortal soul. 

5)     Criaient : "Par Jupiter, la noce continue !"In turning their eyes to the heavens, the sceptical Brassens menfolk, do not address the god of the bride, capable of oppressing a poor and vulnerable woman who has already suffered much, but call on the heroic god of the Ancients.

.

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Here is an impressive version sung by the Spaniard, Serge Lama, in the company of Georges Brassens

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Celui Qui A Mal Tourné - reassuring tale of people at their worst but also at their best

I find this a touching poem and very personal to Brassens, as the experiences and emotions of the man in the story closely parallel those of Brassens.

 Brassens never found himself accused of murder of course, but in his youth, Brassens had become involved in unworthy criminality, which diminished his self-respect and gave him a great sense of guilt. He too had been condemned by the harsh verdict of the courts, which made no allowances.  He had been painfully conscious of the disgust and anger he had aroused in the ordinary people around him and had gone into long exile. Even when he became a successful performer, his self-image was of an outsider estranged from the society of “respectable” people - to him they were "Les croquants and les croquantes".

Paradoxically, the audiences who thronged to listen to him were in the majority from this “respectable” class and, who knows, might have included some members who were over-weight, over- wealthy and devoted to sensual pleasure, like the ageing fun seeker, whom the man in the story had accidentally snuffed out. Nevertheless, the audiences reacted to the social outsider on the stage with appreciation, sympathy and love. 

It is possible therefore that the enlightenment of the man seen in the last verse of the song describes Brassens' own realisation in the closing years of his career.  One can imagine that on some nights at the end of his performances, when stage-fright habitually tore his nerves to shreds, Brassens returned to the privacy of his dressing room and overwhelmed by the warmth of his reception, drowned by the invasive sense of human kindness, sank to the floor and wept uncontrollably.  The final two lines of the song are the most important in the song.

Celui Qui A Mal Tourné Il y avait des temps et des temps Qu'je n'm'étais pas servi d'mes dents, Qu'je n' mettais plus d'vin dans mon eau (1) Ni de charbon dans mon fourneau. Tous les croque-morts, silencieux, Me dévoraient déjà des yeux: Ma dernière heure allait sonner C'est alors que j'ai mal tourné(2) N'y allant pas par quatre chemins, J'estourbis(3) en un tournemain(4), En un coup de bûche(5) excessif, Un noctambule(6) en or massif.(7) Les chats fourrés,(8) quand ils l'ont su M'ont posé la patte dessus Pour m'envoyer à la Santé(9) Me refaire une honnêteté. Machin, Chose, Un tel, Une telle,(10) Tous ceux du commun des mortels Furent d'avis que j'aurais dû En bonn' justice être pendu. À la lanterne(11)! et sur-le-champ! Y s'voyaient déjà partageant Ma corde, en tout bien tout honneur(12), En guise de porte-bonheur.(13) Au bout d'un siècle, on m'a jeté À la porte de la Santé. Comme je suis sentimental, Je retourne au quartier natal, Baissant le nez, rasant les murs, Mal à l'aise sur mes fémurs,(14) M'attendant à voir les humains Se détourner de mon chemin. Y' en a un qui m'a dit: " Salut ! Te revoir, on n'y comptait plus..." Y' en a un qui m'a demandé Des nouvelles de ma santé. Lors, j'ai vu qu'il restait encor Du monde et du beau mond' sur terre, Et j'ai pleuré, le cul par terre, Toutes les larmes de mon corps(15).  Georges Brassens 1957 - Je me suis fait tout petit,

It had been a very long while Since I’d had aught to bite into Since I’d put wine in my water Nor any coal into my stove. All morticians on the quiet Were already eyeing me up My last hour was going to chime That was when I went badly wrong. Not to beat long about the bush I killed a man in a wild flash, Clobbering with much too much force A night-reveller stuffed with money. The ermined judges,  finding out Came down very hard upon me Sending me to Santé prison To remake ‘n honest man of me. Lots of folk whose names slip my mind All ordin'ry human beings, Were of a mind, I ought to have In all fairness gone to be hanged. Strung up high and with no delay ! While they saw themselves already Slicing my rope fair and proper, To be shared out as good luck charms. A century on, they threw me out From the gate of Santé Prison As I’m the sentimental sort, I go back to where I was born. Keeping head down, hugging the walls, Ill at ease to be in my shoes, Expecting to see the humans Veer off, to keep out of my way. There’s one who said to me : “Hello! Never counted on seeing you…..” There’s one who enquired news of me - My « Santé » - my health and prison. Then I saw that there still remained People and fine people on earth I flopped to the ground and I wept With uncontrollable tears.

TRANSLATION NOTES

1)      Qu'je n' mettais plus d'vin dans mon eau – The normal practice of putting water in wine is reversed. To avoid sentiment, the poet does not want to tell us too directly that the man was desperately short of food and shelter.

2)      C'est alors que j'ai mal tourné.  There is probably some irony here, as, the state that the was in, makes clear that things had gone badly wrong for him long before.

3)      J'estourbis = I killed.  The poet says he does not wish to beat about the bush but he uses a less usual verb for “to kill.”

4)      en un tournemain = in an instant/ in the twinkling of an eye/.  Perhaps in this case a mad,, impulsive action is implied.

5)      un coup de bûche = a blow with a lump of wood.

6)      Un noctambule = sleepwalker/ night owl/ a late nighter

7)      en or massif  = in solid gold

8)      Les chats fourrés, A slang expression meaning “judges”, descriptive of their robes.

9)      La Santé – The proper noun denotes the Prison in the 13th arrondissement of Paris.  The common noun of course means “health” and this permits puns in the poem.

10)   Machin, Chose, Un tel, Une telle – In English, when we want to quote some-one whose name we forget , we say « Thingummy says…. ».  In French they say « Machin dit….. » or they could use the other devices on this line.

11)   À la lanterne  Wikipedia gives this full explanation :  Lanterne is a French word designating a lantern or lamp post. The word, or the slogan "À la lanterne!" gained special meaning and status in Paris and France during the early phase of the French Revolution, from the summer of 1789. Lamp posts served as an instrument to mobs to perform extemporised lynchings and executions in the streets of Paris during the revolution when the people of Paris occasionally hanged officials and aristocrats from the lamp posts. The English equivalent would be "String Them Up!" or "Hang 'Em High!

12)   (faire) en tout bien tout honneur means something done with honourable intent and without any reservations

13)   En guise de porte-bonheur. There is an old superstition that a piece of hangman’s rope already used in an execution, brings good luck.

14)   fémurs, are femurs in English also of course, which are the thighbones – so we don’t share the idiom.

15)   Pleurer les larmes de mon corps means to cry my eyes out

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