Le vent - A lively song that celebrates Le Pont Des Arts in Paris

This is a very jolly, lively song, not too serious I would think, in which Brassens celebrates one of the most famous landmarks of Paris – the footbridge over the Seine called Le Pont des Arts.  The following photo beautifully captures its setting in the heart of Paris. 

For history of the bridge click this link to the Wikipediaarticle.  

Brassens is amused that the wind, no respecter of persons of whatever kind, mischievously strikes the bridge  with its strong gusts, discomforting and embarrassing stuffy people of all social classes.

- Le vent (Refrain) Si , par hasard , Sur l' pont des Arts , Tu crois's le vent(1) , le vent fripon(2) , Prudenc' , prends garde à ton jupon! Si , par hasard , Sur l' pont des Arts , Tu crois's le vent , le vent maraud(3), Prudent , prends garde à ton chapeau ! Les jean-foutre(4) et les gens probes(5) Médis'nt(6)   du vent furibond(7) Qui rebrousse(8) les bois , Détrouss'(9)   les toits , Retrouss'(10)   les robes ... Des jean-foutre et des gens probes , Le vent , je vous en réponds(11), S'en soucie(12) , et c'est justic' , comm' de colin-tampon(13) (Refrain) Si, par hasard, Sur l' pont des Arts, Tu crois's le vent, le vent fripon, Prudenc', prends garde à ton jupon ! Si, par hasard, Sur l' pont des Arts, Tu crois's le vent, le vent maraud, Prudenc', prends garde à ton chapeau ! Bien sûr , si l'on ne se fonde Que sur ce qui saute aux yeux(14) , Le vent semble une brut' raffolant(15)   de nuire à tout l' monde Mais une attention profonde Prouv' que c'est chez les fâcheux(16) Qu'il préfèr' choisir les victim's de ses petits jeux (Refrain) Si, par hasard, Sur l' pont des Arts, Tu crois's le vent, le vent fripon, Prudenc', prends garde à ton jupon ! Si, par hasard, Sur l' pont des Arts, Tu crois's le vent, le vent maraud, Prudenc', prends garde à ton chapeau !

The wind (Refrain) If, by some chance, On th’ Pont des Arts, You meet the wind, the impish wind Take care, hold tight onto your skirt! If by some chance, On th’ Pont des Arts You meet the wind, the rascal wind Watch out, hold tight onto your hat! The bedraggled and prim'n proper Malign the furious wind Which lifts the woodwork, Strips tiles off roofs, Blows dresses high…. Of bedraggled and spick and span , The wind,  I guarantee you, Frets about it, and quite rightly, Not in the slightest bit. (Refrain) If, by some chance, On th’ Pont des Arts, You meet the wind, the impish wind Take care, hold tight onto your skirt! If by some chance, On th’ Pont des Arts You meet the wind, the rascal wind Watch out, hold tight onto your hat! Of course if you base yourself on Only your first impression Then the wind seems to be a brute Crazy to do everyone harm But a deep examination Proves that it's  from the irksome people He prefers to choose the victims of his little games. (Refrain) If, by some chance, On th’ Pont des Arts, You meet the wind, the impish wind Take care, hold tight onto your skirt! If by some chance, On th’ Pont des Arts You meet the wind, the rascal wind Watch out, hold tight onto your hat!

Georges Brassens - 1953 - Les amoureux des bancs publics

Le Vent - Translation Notes (The Vocabulary)

1) crois's le vent ,= (Croiser quelque chose) to chance to run into/ to bump into something - to pass someone or something coming in the opposite direction.

2) le vent fripon - the mischievous/ cheeky wind

3) le vent maraud – the rascally wind

4) Jean-foutre – My Petit Larousse tells me that "Je m'en foutisme" = insouciance.  that means not giving a care about anything.

5) des gens probes ,  upstanding upright right-minded. (  There is a contrast here that can make you think that  Brassens is, typically, making a reference to social disparity.   In this context, I think though, that he is merely saying here that the two extremes of contrasting dress styles reveal the complete range of people picked on by the mischievous wind.)

 6) Médis'nt du vent  (Médire de) –slander –speak ill of

7) vent furibond – furious – livid – angry wind

8) rebrousse les bois – brush up (e.g. hair) in the wrong direction

9) Détrouss' les toits – Strip the roofs -Détrousser means to rob violently (eg in a hold up)- to fleece you of your possessions

10) Retrouss' les robes – hitch up/ hike up dresses – roll up (sleeves)

11) répondre de qch – to vouch for something

12) Il ne soucie pas de- he does not care about - he has no regard to

13) colin-tampon  a nothing – a trifle – a thing of no importance – 

14) cela saute aux yeux – it sticks out a mile – it’s quite obvious – you can’t miss it

15) raffolant de – raffoler de means – to be mad about – to be crazy about- to be wild about

16) fâcheux – upsetting – annoying ie something that is a nuisance or a pain – disagreeable/ unpleasant – unfortunate/ untoward.  I use "bad tempered." It is self-evident that those who, because their clothing has been violently blown about, become very annoyed or angry, will, at that moment at least, be the most bad tempered.  This is Brassens' little joke.

The following photo shows two characteristics of the bridge- the venue for young romance and the unpredictable gusts of wind:

Please click here to return to the alphabetical list of my Brassens selection

L'Assassinat- A tale with great pathos of crime and punishment

The details of this tale may be brutal, but Brassens has written a haunting song.  When the client of a prostitute refuses to pay the reasonable price that her youth and beauty merited and her minder comes to intervene, we can expect things to get very nasty.  In spite of the violence, this is a song of great pathos and many performers of Brassens’ music include “L’Assassinat” in their repertoire.

 L'assassinat - 

C'est pas seulement à Paris Que le crime fleurit, Nous, au village, aussi, l'on a De beaux assassinats. Il avait la tête chenu’ (2) Et le coeur ingénu, Il eut un retour de printemps Pour une de vingt ans. Mais la chair fraîch’, la tendre chair, Mon vieux, ça coûte cher. Au bout de cinq à six baisers, Son or fut épuisé. Quand sa menotte elle a tendu’(3), Triste, il a répondu Qu'il était pauvre comme Job. Elle a remis sa rob’. Elle alla quérir son coquin(4) Qui avait l'appât du gain(5). Sont revenus chez le grigou(6) Faire un bien mauvais coup(7). Et pendant qu'il le lui tenait, Elle l'assassinait. On dit que, quand il expira, La langue ell' lui montra. Mirent tout sens dessus dessous, Trouvèrent pas un sou, Mais des lettres de créanciers, Mais des saisi’s d'huissiers. Alors, prise d'un vrai remords, Elle eut chagrin du mort Et, sur lui, tombant à genoux, Ell' dit : "Pardonne-nous !" Quand les gendarm's sont arrivés, En pleurs ils l'ont trouvé’(8). C'est une larme au fond des yeux Qui lui valut les cieux. Et le matin qu'on la pendit, Ell' fut en paradis. Certains dévots, depuis ce temps Sont un peu mécontents.(9) C'est pas seulement à Paris Que le crime fleurit, Nous, au village, aussi, l'on a De beaux assassinats.

It is not in Paris alone That serious crime(1) is rife We in the country too, we have Fine cases of murder. His hair was white with his years His heart was innocent He felt a revival of spring For a girl of twenty. But flesh that’s fresh, flesh that’s tender, Old chap, that’s expensive After just five or six kisses His cash had all run out. When she proffered her tiny hand Sadly he had to reply That he was poor as Job. She put back on her dress. She went off to get her minder To whom money was the sole aim They came back to the skinflint’s home To do a wicked deed. Whilst he was holding him for her She murdered the man. People say that say when he expired, She put out her tongue at him. They turned the place upside down And found not a sou, But some letters from creditors, Some baliffs’ seizure lists. And then, gripped by sincere remorse, She felt grief for the dead And fell to her knees over him Pleading for forgiveness. When the policemen arrived there, Lost in tears they found her. 'Twas one tear deep down in her eyes Which earned her place in heaven. And the morning when they hanged her To paradise she went. Some religious folk ever since Have been somewhat displeased. It is not in Paris alone That serious crime(1) is rife We in the country too, we have Fine cases of murder.

TRANSLATION NOTES

1)      serious crime-  I am adding an adjective to give a 6 syllable line as in the French.

2)      Chenu – ayant la tête chenue means having a head of hair white with age

3)      Sa menotte elle a tendue – The most usual meaning of « La menotte” is the handcuffs.  However in informal talk, for instance to children it has the meaning of “hand”.  In English an informal word for hand is sometimes “mitt”- e.g. “See if you can get your mitts on a smart pair of trousers for me.”  “Paw” also is sometimes used.

4)      Son coquin – « Coquin » as a noun or an adjective describes some-one who is vile, without honour or honesty. It is therefore a term used as insult.  The term can imply sexual immorality:  “la coquine” means the loose woman, the whore and “le coquin” -the “vile” man who, in this story, would be the girl’s pimp.

5)      Qui avait l'appât du gain – « l'appât » translates “the lure” or “the bait” i.e terms used in fishing and hunting.  “Le gain” is profit, remuneration, money-making. – he was very attracted to making money.

6)      Le grigou –a word used in the Langedoc region for a very mean-spirited miser.

7)      Faire un bien mauvais coup – Reverso dictionary gives 2 alternatives: They say un mauvais coup is a familiar expression for- i). acte malveillant – a malicious act ii). affaire qui se révèle infructueuse – an affair that turns out to have unhelpful consequences. “Faire un sale coup à q’n” translates: “to play a dirty trick on some-one”.

8)      En pleurs ils l'ont trouvée – The girl’s recognition of her evil deed and her total remorse is totally conveyed by her behaviour.  She did not seek to escape but accepted her inevitable fate as though her life had no more meaning.

9)      Certains dévots, depuis ce temps sont un peu mécontents. -  Some commentators have said that the only villain in this tale is the girl’s pimp – the girl was redeemed by her repentance, and her client was an innocent man, in desperate straits, who genuinely failed to calculate the price that his pleasures were incurring.  These final lines, however, mention two further guilty parties traditional in the songs of the Anarchist, Georges Brassens, for their violation of natural justice: the Church and the State:

The Church

Although repentance and forgiveness followed by salvation were among the prime teachings of Christianity, Church authorities took it upon themselves to decree upon whom God granted this mercy.  Brassens strongly, disapproves, that some devout people still refused to forgive the poor girl, who had sincerely repented.

The State legal system

Brassens was no friend of the lawyers and  his greatest reproach against them was their use of the ultimate penalty of capital punishment (see Le Gorille).  The hanging of this 20 year old girl shocks us.

There is a very atmospheric recording of this song by the contemporary French singer Francart and it has excellent subtitles

A comment after the post on YouTube expressed the admiration for Francart that I feel as well:

lizziecohen commented 3 years ago

This song is brilliant because it is so impacting in its human story. Francart's voice carries the emotion and the simple guitar accompaniment allows the lyrics to take hold with its underscoring of them. The story doesn't just go away when the song ends. I still hear his playing and his voice and the tragedy of the story still resonates.

Please click here toreturn to the alphabetical list of my Brassens selection

L’Épave - Help given to him in desperate need makes one of life's casualties re-assess who is his good neighbour

The narrator is a man who is left lying incapable in the street, in mortal need of help.  Those who come by are familiar characters from Brassens' world, for most of whom, Brassens had previously expressed admiration and sympathy in different songs: his local barman, a barefoot vagrant, a penniless, long-term student, the good wife of a working class man’ a hard-working street girl, a policeman.

Only one of these proves to be the good Samaritan and it comes as a surprise.

The story reflects a dramatic event in Brassens’  later years.  I have written an account of this, which I have included after the translation notes so that you view the song first.

L'épave(1)  - The human wreck

J'en appelle à Bacchus ! À Bacchus j'en appelle! (2) Le tavernier du coin vient d' me la bailler belle(3). De son établissement j'étais l' meilleur pilier.(4) Quand j'eus bu tous mes sous, il me mit à la porte En disant : " Les poivrots, le diable les emporte! Ça n' fait rien, il y a des bistrots bien singuliers...  Un certain va-nu-pieds(5) qui passe et me trouve ivre- Mort, croyant tout de bon que j'ai cessé de vivre  (Vous auriez fait pareil), s'en prit à mes souliers(6).  Pauvre homme ! Vu l'état piteux de mes godasses, Je dout' qu'il trouve avec son chemin de Damas.(7) Ça n' fait rien, il y a des passants bien singuliers... Un étudiant miteux s'en prit à ma liquette(8) Qui, à la faveur d'la nuit lui avait paru coquette, Mais en plein jour ses yeux ont dû se dessiller. Je l' plains de tout mon cœur, pauvre enfant, s'il l'a mise, Vu que, d'un homme heureux, (9) c'était loin d'êtr' la ch'mise. Ça n' fait rien, y a des étudiants bien singuliers... La femm' d'un ouvrier s'en prit à ma culotte. "Pas ça, madam', pas ça ! Mille et un coups de bottes Ont tant usé le fond que, si vous essayiez  D' la mettre à votr' mari, bientôt, je vous en fiche  (10), Mon billet,il aurait du verglas sur les miches(11)." Ça n' fait rien, il y a des ménages bien singuliers... Et j'étais là, tout nu, sur le bord du trottoir Exhibant, malgré moi, mes humbles génitoires. Une petit' vertu(12) rentrant de travailler, Elle qui, chaque soir, en voyait un' douzaine, Courut dire aux agents : "J'ai vu quelqu' chos' d'obscène !" Ça n' fait rien, il y a des tapins bien singuliers... Le r'présentant d' la loi vint, d'un pas débonnaire. Sitôt qu'il m'aperçut il s'écria : "Tonnerre ! On est en plein hiver, et si vous vous geliez !" Et, de peur que j' n'attrape une fluxion d' poitrine, Le bougre, il me couvrit avec sa pèlerine. Ça n' fait rien, il y a des flics bien singuliers... Et depuis ce jour-là, moi, le fier, le bravache, Moi, dont le cri de guerr' fut toujours : "Mort aux vaches(13) !" Plus une seule fois je n'ai pu le brailler. J'essaye bien encor, mais ma langue honteuse Retombe lourdement dans ma bouche pâteuse. Ça n' fait rien, nous vivons un temps bien singulier...

I appeal to Bacchus! To Bacchus I appeal! The landlord of our pub has just played the dirty on me Of his establishment I was the strongest pillar When I’d drunk my last cent, he had had me slung out Saying: "Drunkards, let them all go to the devil " No big deal; there are some pubs most peculiar. A certain down and out, passes and finds me dead drunk -. Honestly believing that I have stopped living (You would have done the same), made off with my shoes. The poor man! In view of their pitiable state I doubt he’ll find with them his road to Damascus. No big deal; there’re some passers-by most peculiar. A shabby looking student made off with my shirt Which, flattered by the dark, had seemed to  him real smart, But the light of day must  have opened his eyes. I much pity him, poor kid, if he put it on "Shirt of a happy man" it was far from being No big deal; there’re some students most peculiar . The wife of a workman made off with my trousers. “Not those, Madame, not those!"  A’thousand and one boot-caps Have so worn the seat of the pants that if you tried To fit them on your husband, I bet my last cent He would get sheets of ice upon his buttocks." No big deal; there are some families most peculiar. And there I was stark naked, on the pavement edge Showing, despite myself, my humble genitals. A street girl, going back home from one of her jobs , She who, saw a dozen of the same every night, Ran to tell the police: "I’ve seen something obscene!" No big deal; there are some floozies most peculiar. The custodian of the law came sauntering up As soon as he noticed me he exclaimed:  “Good grief! We’re in depth of winter, what if you get frozen!” And for fear I might catch double pneumonia The fellow, he covered me in his heavy  cloak, No big deal; there are some cops  most peculiar... And since that very day, I, the proud, the loud mouth, I, whose war cry had been always: "Death to the pigs!" Not one single time more could I yell it. I try very hard still, but my tongue to its shame Falls heavily back down in my mouth, where it sticks. No big deal; we live in times  most peculiar.

TRANSLATION NOTES

1)     Épave – means wreck or shipwreck but also a person who has fallen into an abject state. At first, I had seen this as a light- hearted song.  However, having since learnt of a close friend , who had known glittering success but took progressively to drink and saw all the elements of his life disintegrate around him, I see the same situation in this song - the tragedy of addiction.

2)     J'en appelle à – « en appeler à » means to appeal to- in this case to the Greek God of wine and winemaking

3)     Vous me la baillez belle means “you are trying to deceive me”, “you are pulling the wool over my eyes”.

4)     Pilier –means a pillar – the idiom: C’est un pilier de bistro means some-one who spends their life in pubs

5)     Un certain va-nu-pieds – Un va-nu-pieds means a tramp or a beggar.  In history “les Nu-Pieds” were the common people of Normandy who rose in revolt in July 1639, reduced to misery by a succession of bad harvests and an outbreak of plague. As the characters in the song are representatives of Brassens’ earlier assocates perhaps the barefoot man is a fellow impecunious revolutionary in pursuit of a lofty ideal, whose realisation might or might not come like the flash of light to Saint Paul on the road to Damascus

6)     S’en prendre à = to set about/ to lay into

7)     Son chemin de Damas – symbolises an overwhelming moment of enlightenment as it was on the road to Damascus that St Paul was converted with his vision of Christ

8)     Ma liquette – apparently “liquette” is slang for shirt.

9)     ….. d'un homme heureux,  c'était loin d'êtr' la ch'mise – The fable of the « Shirt of a happy man » seems to be quite well-known in France, although I have never met it in England.  Jules Verne has a story about it and at the start of his “La chemise d’un homme heureux”, he gives us an explanation, that helps us understand this line:

Once upon a time a son of the great Haroun-al-Raschid, who was not happy, went to consult an old derviche.  The wise old man answered him that happiness was a difficult thing to find in this world.  “However”, he added “I know an infallible means of procuring happiness for you.

“What is it?” asked the prince.

“It is,” replied the Derviche, “to put on the shirt of a happy man!”

10)  Ficher mon billet means to bet my bottom dollar

11)  Une miche – is a round bun, hence in less polite usage it means buttock.  For reason of its shape it is also a rude word for a breast.

12)  “Une femme de petite vertu” is a term for a prostitute.  Brassens has condensed the expression.

13)  10) Mort aux vaches ! – This is the standard abusive slogan used in France when violent extremists are restrained by the police.  The choice of cows as a symbol of oppression is most puzzling as we think of them usually as animals peacefully chewing grass in fields.  A theory is that the expression dates back to 1914- 1918 War, when the French people of the occupied Northern area shouted the slogan:”Mort au Wacht”.  The Wacht were the German police.

Brassens would have shouted this slogan often in his mid-twenties when he was a in an activist Anarchist group, of which he was one of the leaders.  His song Hecatombe (1953) shows his earlier, bitter anti-police feelings, where uses the slogan in the following lines (“Elles” refers to evil belligerent women in their mob):

Frénétiqu' l'une d'elles attache

Le vieux maréchal des logis

Et lui fait crier: "Mort aux vaches,

Mort aux lois, vive l'anarchie!"
L’Epave is a song of his mature years, when Brassens is pointing out that there is good and bad in us all, no matter how we are labelled.  Brassens had had a dramatic personal reminder of this, when he collapsed outside a theatre where he was performing (See below).

The true story behind this song

The videos of Brassens performing his songs onstage often show him sweating and looking strained.  He frequently suffered from excruciating stage fright and and the strain of his stage performances was aggravated as time went on as his health collapsed.   Sometimes he went on stage when he was a very sick man, sometimes with an ambulance waiting at the stage door.  

The incident, upon which “L’Epave” is based, occurred on one such evening.  In his dressing room, Georges Brassens found himself gasping so desperately for breath that he was forced to go outdoors without time to slip on his coat.  As he struggled with his problem, a policeman happened to pass by.  He was alarmed to see a man in such a state on a freezing cold night.  Immediately, he took off his heavy police cape and kept Brassens wrapped in it, until he was sufficiently recovered to go back inside.

The song “L’Épave” is therefore an expression of thanks from Brassens to an unknown Paris police officer.

D.Y 15/06/ 2014

Please click here to go to the Alphabetical List of my collection of Brassens songs