Translation of the song Cet enfant-là artist Barbara
Cet enfant-là
Oh, that young child
Cet enfant-là,
Oh, that young child,
Cet enfant-là,
Oh, that young child,
Te ressemble, te ressemble,
Looks like you, looks like you.
Il a de toi,
He draws from you
Je ne sais quoi,
I don't know what,
Le sourire,
His sweet smile,
Ou peut-être,
Or perhaps,
Quand il marche,
When he walks,
Ta démarche,
Your same gait,
Il hésite et s'avance,
Hesitates and walks on.
Cet enfant-là,
He resembles
Te ressemble,
You, O, that child
Et j'en tremble,
And I tremble...
Cet enfant-là,
For, that young child,
Tu t'en souviens,
You remember,
Tu le voulais,
You wanted him,
Tu m'en parlais,
You talked of him,
Et merveille des merveilles,
And Wonder of wonders,
Je riais de t'entendre,
I laughed when you spoke.
Tu me disais,
You would tell me,
Comme je voudrais,
How I wish he
Qu'il te ressemble,
Were your semblance,
Te ressemble,
Your semblance,
Moi je voulais,
But I wanted
Que cet enfant,
That young child
Te ressemble,
To be like you,
Tu voulais qu'un jour, il soit avocat ou bien médecin,
You wanted him to be, one day, a lawyer or a doctor.
Nous nous disputions déjà l'avenir,
We disagreed about the future
D'un enfant qui n'était pas encore là,
Of a child who was not born yet.
Moi, je voulais qu'il soit berger, jardinier,
I wanted him to be a shephard, a gardener
Ou bien musicien,
Or a musician.
Je l'imaginais déjà, tout petit,
I figured him already, all young,
Un immense piano au bout de ses doigts,
A huge piano before his fingers.
Il aura des poissons d'or, des jardins de sable,
He will have some goldfish, and also sand-gardens
Et de grands voiliers blancs,
And big white sailing-ships
Des oiseaux de feu, des îles enchantées,
And some firebirds , enchanted islands,
Des étoiles filantes au fond de ses yeux,
And shooting-stars in the deep of his eyes.
Il ne connaîtra que l'ogre gentil,
He'll only know but the gentle ogre
Qui, jamais, n'a dévoré les enfants,
Who has never eaten any children,
Mon enfant dieu, mon enfant prince, mon enfant roi,
My godly child, my princely child, my kingly child
Mon enfant merveilleux, mon enfant rien qu'à moi,
My marvellous child,
Nous lui tournions des manèges sous la neige,
O my child, only mine,
Nous lui bâtissions des châteaux en Norvège, en Norvège,
We'd run merry-go-rounds for him in the snow.
Mais cet enfant-là,
We'd build for him castles in Norway, in Norway,
Cet enfant-là,
But that young child
Lui ressemble,
Looks like her,
Il a d'elle,
Has from her
Je ne sais quoi,
I don't know what,
Le sourire,
Her sweet smile
Ou peut-être,
Or perhaps,
Quand elle marche,
When he walks
Sa démarche,
Her same gait
Et sa grâce,
And her grace,
Ma disgrâce,
my disgrace.
Cet enfant-là,
That young child has
N'a rien de moi,
Nothing from me,
Mais vous ressemble,
Looks like you two
Cet enfant-là,
Now, that young child,
Cet enfant-là,
Now, that young child,
Te regarde,
Looks at you,
Me regarde,
Looks at me,
Il s'étonne,
And wonders
Il s'inquiète,
And worries
Et timide, il s'avance,
And shyly, he walks on,
Cet enfant-là,
Yes, that young child,
Me tend les bras,
Opens his arms
Et je l'aime,
And I love him,
Cet enfant-là,
That child that has
N'a rien de moi, mais te ressemble,
Nothing from me, but looks like you,
Ressemble, ressemble...
Looks like you, like you...