Translation of the song Les Quatre bacheliers artist Georges Brassens

Nous étions quatre bacheliers

We were four high-school gradutes

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

La vraie crème des écoliers,

the true cream of the schoolboys,

Des ecoliers.

of the schoolboys.

Pour offrir aux filles des fleurs,

In order to offer flowers to the girls,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

Nous nous fîmes un peu voleurs,

we made ourselves kind of thieves,

Un peu voleurs.

kind of thieves.

Les sycophantes du pays,

The local sycophants,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

Aux gendarmes nous ont trahis,

betrayed us to the police,

Nous ont trahis.

betrayed us.

Et l'on vit quatre bacheliers

So four high school graduates were seen

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly

Qu'on emmène, les mains liées,

being led away in handcuffs,

Les mains liées.

in handcuffs.

On fit venir à la prison,

They summoned to the jail,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

Les parents des mauvais garçons,

the parents of the naughty boys,

Mauvais garçons.

naughty boys.

Les trois premiers pères, les trois,

The first three fathers, all three,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

En perdirent tout leur sang-froid,

it made them lose all their cool,

Tout leur sang-froid.

all their cool.

Comme un seul ils ont déclaré,

Like a single person they declared,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

Qu'on les avait déshonorée,

that they had been dishonoured,

Déshonorés.

dishonoured.

Comme un seul ont dit C'est fini,

Like a single person they said That's it,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

Fils indigne, je te renie,

unworthy son, I disown you,

Je te renie.

I disown you.

Le quatrième des parents,

The fourth one of the parents,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

C'était le plus gros, le plus grand,

he was the heaviest, the biggest,

Le plus grand.

the biggest.

Quand il vint chercher son voleur

When he came to get his thief

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

On s'attendait à un malheur,

people expected a tragedy,

A un malheur.

a tragedy.

Mais il n'a pas déclaré, non,

But he didn't declare, he didn't,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

Que l'on avait sali son nom,

that someone had blackened his name,

Sali son nom.

blackened his name.

Dans le silence on l'entendit,

In the silence he was heard,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

Qui lui disait : Bonjour, petit,

saying: Good morning, son,

Bonjour petit.

good morning son.

On le vit, on le croirait pas,

He was seen, you wouldn't believe it,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

Lui tendre sa blague à tabac,

passing him his tobacco pouch,

Blague à tabac.

tobacco pouch.

Je ne sais pas s'il eut raison,

I don't know whether he was right,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

D'agir d'une telle façon,

to act in such a manner,

Telle façon.

such a manner.

Mais je sais qu'un enfant perdu,

But I do know that a child in trouble,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

A de la corde de pendu,

has some luck1

De pendu,

some luck,

A de la chance quand il a,

has some luck when he has,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

Un père de ce tonneau-là,

a father of that nature2,

Ce tonneau-là.

that nature.

Et si les chrétiens du pays,

And if the local christians,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

Jugent que cet homme a failli,

determine that this man has fallen short,

Homme a failli.

has fallen short,

Ça laisse à penser que, pour eux,

that leads one to think that, for them,

Sans vergogne,

shamelessly,

L'Evangile, c'est de l'hébreu,

the Gospel, it's some Hebrew3

C'est de l'hébreu.

it's some Hebrew.