Translation of the song Le petit gars artist Francis Cabrel
Le petit gars
The little guy
Derrière la rivière du père
Behind the father’s river
On voyait s'agiter la cité
The city could be seen bustling
Et faner les fleurs solitaires
And the solitary flower wilting
Dans les parterres grillagés
In the fenced flowerbeds
Le petit gars là-haut sur sa colline
The little guy up there on his hill
Venait les contempler en paix...
Came to contemplate them in peace…
Ces enfants qui jouent en plein air
These children who play outdoors
Entre la route et la voie ferrée
Between the road and the railway
Ils vont finir par manquer d'air
They’ll end up gasping for air
Ou ils vont s'électrocuter
Or they’re going to get electrocuted
Le petit gars là-haut sur sa colline
The little guy up there on his hill
Venait les contempler en paix...
Came to contemplate them in peace…
Mais le petit gars ne comprenait rien
But the little guy didn’t understand anything
Allongé sous les arbres il se trouvait bien
Stretched out under the trees he was comfortable
Attendant tranquille la récolte du vin
Waiting calmly for the wine harvest
A quoi servent leurs belles manières
What good are their beautiful manners
Si leurs mots sont empoisonnés
If their words are poisoned
A quoi servent leurs têtes fières
What good are their proud heads
Puisqu'ils marchent le dos courbé
When they walk with their backs bent
Le petit gars là-haut sur la colline
The little guy up there on his hill
Venait les contempler en paix.
Came to contemplate them in peace…
Mais derrière la rivière du père
But behind the father’s river
On voyait s'agiter la cité
The city could be seen bustling
Et tourner les ogres d'affaires
And the ogres of business turning round
Dans les tours de verre climatisées
In the air-conditioned glass towers
Le petit gars là-haut sur la colline
The little guy up there on his hill
Venait les contempler en paix.
Came to contemplate them in peace…
Mais le petit gars ne comprenait rien
But the little guy didn’t understand anything
Allongé sous les arbres il se trouvait bien
Stretched out under the trees he was comfortable
Attendant tranquille que cuise son pain.
Waiting calmly for his bread to bake
Mais le petit gars ne comprenait rien
But the little guy didn’t understand anything
Où s'en vont mourir ces pauvres pantins
Where are they going to die these poor puppets
Allongés sous les arbres ils seraient si bien
Stretched out under the trees they would be so comfortable
Attendant tranquilles que coule le vin.
Waiting calmly for the wine to flow