Nov 13, 2008

Jacques Brel - Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don't Leave Me)




French Lyrics:

English Translation:

Ne me quitte pas
Il faut oublier
Tout peut s'oublier
Qui s'enfuit deja
Oublier le temps
Des malentendus
Et le temps perdu
A savoir comment
Oublier ces heures
Qui tuaient parfois
A coups de pourquoi
Le coeur du bonheur
Ne me quitte pas..

Moi je t'offrirai
Des perles de pluie
Venues de pays
Où il ne pleut pas
Je creuserai la terre
Jusqu'apres ma mort
Pour couvrir ton corps
D'or et de lumière
Je ferai un domaine
Où l'amour sera roi
Où l'amour sera loi
Où tu seras reine
Ne me quitte pas..

Ne me quitte pas
Je t'inventerai
Des mots insensés
Que tu comprendras
Je te parlerai
De ces amants là
Qui ont vu deux fois
Leurs coeurs s'embraser
Je te racont'rai
L'histoire de ce roi
Mort de n'avoir pas
Pu te rencontrer
Ne me quitte pas..

On a vu souvent
Rejaillir le feu
De l'ancien volcan
Qu'on croyait trop vieux
Il est paraît-il
Des terres brûlées
Donnant plus de blé
Qu'un meilleur avril
Et quand vient le soir
Pour qu'un ciel flamboie
Le rouge et le noir
Ne s'épousent-ils pas
Ne me quitte pas..

Ne me quitte pas
Je ne vais plus pleurer
Je ne vais plus parler
Je me cacherai là
À te regarder
Danser et sourire
Et à t'écouter
Chanter et puis rire
Laisse-moi devenir
L'ombre de ton ombre
L'ombre de ta main
L'ombre de ton chien
Ne me quitte pas..

Don't leave me...
We must just forget
Yes, we can forget
All that’s flown beyond
Let’s forget the time
The misunderstands
And the wasted time
To find out how
To forget these hours
Which sometimes kill
The blows of why,
A heart full of joy.
Don't leave me..

I offer you
Pearls of rain
Coming from the lands
Where it never rains
I will cross the world
Till after my death
To cover your bosom
With gold and light
I will make a kingdom
where love will be king
Where love will be the law
Where you will be queen
Don't leave me...

Don't leave me...
I will invent for you
The insane words
That you’ll understand
And I will tell you
Of these lovers who
Were seen twice
With their hearts in blaze
I will say in detail
The story of this king
Dead, from having not
Encountered you.
Don't leave me...

One often recalls
Flames light anew
From an old volcano
Thought to be too old.
It appears that
The scorched fields
Can give more corn
Than the best of springs.
And when evening comes
In this blazing sky
The red and the night
Marry nevermore.
Don't leave me...

Don't leave me..
I will cry no more
I will talk no more
Will hide somehow
Just to look at you
Dance and smile
And to hear you
Sing and then laugh
Let me be for you
The shadow of your shadow
The shadow of your hand
The shadow of your dog
Don't leave me...

Ne me quitte pas (Don't Leave Me - 1959), is Brel's most famous torch song,
in which he uses exquisite imagery to press his suit with a girl who has already left him,
descending in the end into abject desperation as he struggles to maintain a link,
any link at all, with the object of his love...

Nikos Deja Vu

3 comments:

  1. Live performance in Olympia France - 1961

    ReplyDelete
  2. I translated the song, look above..

    PS: This song it's a response to: Nikos Deja Vu - Lara Fabian - Je suis Malade

    ReplyDelete
  3. beautiful song very romantic and full of emotion :p

    ReplyDelete