Translation of the song Abraham et papa artist Sylvain Lelièvre
Abraham et papa
Abraham and Daddy
Autrefois Yahvé vint prendre thé
A long time ago, Yahweh came to have a cup of tea
Chez son vieux pote Abraham
With his old chum, Abraham
Il lui dit «Mon vieux, t’as l’air de douter
He said: Look here, man, you seem to doubt me
Je dois éprouver ton âme
Your soul I shall put to the test
Si tu crois en moi, si j’ai ton soutien
If you believe in me, if you think I’m the best
En un mot, si t’as la foi
In a word, if you’ve got faith
Ton petit vaurien de fils qui fout rien
That no-good son of yours, that lazy little bum
Tu l’immoleras pour moi»
You will sacrifice to me.
Toi t’aurais jamais fait ça, papa
You would never have done something like that, Daddy
Non t’aurais jamais, jamais fait ça
No, you never ever would have done something like that
Faut dire qu’Abraham approchait alors
Let it be said that, back then, Abraham
Plus ou moins cent quarante ans
Was close to one hundred and forty
Qu’il fût quelque peu fêlé sur les bords
That he’d lost some of his marbles along the way
C’est bien possible et pourtant
Would be quite conceivable, and yet
Il partit dès l’aube du lendemain
He started early the next morning
Emmenant son fils avec lui
Taking his son with him
Et sans dire un mot il prit le chemin
Without saying a word
Dont Yahvé l’avait instruit
To the place Yahweh had told him
Toi t’aurais jamais fait ça, papa
You would never have done something like that, Daddy
Non t’aurais jamais, jamais fait ça
No, you never ever would have done something like that
Pourquoi tant de bois?» demande Isaac
Why so much wood? asked Isaac
(Tel était le nom du fils)
(For such was the name of the son)
Son père lui répond sans le moindre trac
His father answered without batting an eye
«On va faire un sacrifice»
We’re gonna make an offering
«Épatant! dit l’autre, mais où est l’agneau?
Cool! said the kid, but where is the ewe?
«Sans mouton, pas de méchoui»
For no ewe means no barbecue
Mais soudain le vieux brandit son couteau
But suddenly the old man raised his knife high
Soudain le fils a compris
And suddenly, the son got his answer
Toi t’aurais jamais fait ça, papa
You would never have done something like that, Daddy
Non t’aurais jamais, jamais fait ça
No, you never ever would have done something like that
On connaît la suite: l’Ange est arrivé
The rest is well-known: the Angel came down
Stoppant le bras du prophète
Right in the nick of time
Faut croire que la chose amusa Yahvé
Apparently, Yahweh thought it a riot
Puisqu’un jour il l’a refaite
Cause he pulled the same trick again
Des siècles plus tard, sous un autre nom
Centuries later, under another name
Il envoie son propre fils
This time, he sent his own son
Crever sur la croix, mais pas d’ange, non
To croak on the cross, but this time, no Angel came around
Pour le soustraire au supplice
To save him for this torture
Toi t’aurais jamais fait ça, papa
You would never have done something like that, Daddy
Non t’aurais jamais, jamais fait ça
No, you never ever would have done something like that
Toi t’aurais jamais fait ça, papa
You would never have done something like that, Daddy
Non t’aurais jamais, jamais fait ça, papa!
No, you never ever would have done something like that, Daddy!