French Golden Oldie
Jacques Prevert may perhaps be a lesser known name than
Charles Baudelaire, Stephane Mallarme or Paul Verlaine in the realm of French
poetry, nonetheless his name was first introduced to me when I was studying
French in my youth at L’Alliance Francaise. Ever since, one of his poems, “Barbara”, which was about the afflictions
brought on by war, has stuck in my head to this day.
Here’s the link to the French song “Les Feuilles Mortes” (“The Dead Leaves”)
performed by Italian-French actor/singer Yves Montand:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo1C6E7jbPw&list=FLlMBDFYTe8MGL_Z6TJc6LOg
Here’s the link to Nat King Cole’s rendition of “Autumn Leaves”:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kP8jPa1wCg&list=WL3CC20B8209A59FA0
The lyrics of “Les
Feuilles Mortes” as performed by Yves Montand in the above clip:-
Oh
! je voudrais tant que tu te souviennes
Des jours heureux où nous étions amis.
En ce temps-là la vie était plus belle,
Et le soleil plus brûlant qu'aujourd'hui.
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle.
Tu vois, je n'ai pas oublié...
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle,
Les souvenirs et les regrets aussi,
Et le vent du nord les emporte
Dans la nuit froide de l'oubli.
Tu vois, je n'ai pas oublié
La chanson que tu me chantais.
C'est une chanson qui nous ressemble.
Toi, tu m'aimais et je t'aimais
Nous vivions tous les deux ensemble,
Toi qui m'aimais, moi qui t'aimais.
Mais la vie sépare ceux qui s'aiment,
Tout doucement, sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable
Les pas des amants désunis.
Mais
la vie sépare ceux qui s'aiment,
Tout doucement, sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable
Les pas des amants désunis.
Here’s
my English translation of the lyrics:-
Oh,
how I wish that you could call to mind
The
happy days when we were friends.
At
that time life was more beautiful
And
the sun more sizzling than today.
The
dead leaves gather around the shovel,
You
see, I’ve not forgotten…
The dead leaves gather around the shovel;
The
memories and the regrets too;
And
the north wind carries them
Through
the cold night of oblivion.
You
see, I’ve not forgotten
The song that you sang to me.
It
is a song that mirrors our story.
You, you loved me, and I loved you;
We
used to live, the two of us together.
You,
who loved me, and I, who loved you.
But
life separates those who love each other
Very softly, without making a noise,
And
the sea wipes away from the sand
The footprints of the lovers torn asunder.
But
life separates those who love each other
Very
softly, without making a noise.
And
the sea wipes away from the sand
The
footprints of the lovers torn asunder.