Saturne

Brassens said this song, which he acknowledged as written for his partner Joha, was one of his favourites. It deals with a major theme of classical poetry: that “youth is a thing that cannot last” but while accepting this, Brassens believes that the joys of youth need not end so prematurely. He celebrates instead the charms of the mature woman and the comforts of love that can be enjoyed in the Indian Summer of life. When he wrote this poem, Brassens was about 42 years old and his Puppchen had turned fifty.

Il est morne, il est taciturne, Il préside aux choses du temps Il porte un joli nom "Saturne"(1) Mais c'est un dieu fort inquiétant. Il porte un joli nom "Saturne" Mais c'est un dieu fort inquiétant. En allant son chemin morose, Pour se désennuyer un peu, Il joue à bousculer les roses, (2) Le temps tue le temps comme il peut.(1) Il joue à bousculer les roses, Le temps tue le temps comme il peut. Cette saison, c'est toi ma belle, Qui as fait les frais de son jeu Toi qui as payé la gabelle,(3) Un grain de sel dans tes cheveux. Toi qui a payé la gabelle, Un grain de sel dans tes cheveux. C'est pas vilain les fleurs d'automne, Et tous les poètes l'ont dit Je te regarde et je te donne Mon billet (4) qu’ils n'ont pas menti. Je te regarde et je te donne Mon billet qu'ils n'ont pas menti. Viens encore, viens ma favorite(5), Descendons ensemble au jardin Viens effeuiller la marguerite (6) De l'été de la Saint Martin.(7) Viens effeuiller la marguerite De l'été de la Saint Martin. Je sais par coeur toutes tes grâces Et, pour me les faire oublier, Il faudra que Saturne en fasse Des tours d'horloge et de sablier !(8) Et la petite pisseuse d'en face (9) Peut bien aller se rhabiller.(10)

He is dour, he is taciturn, He rules over matters of time He bears a pretty name « Saturn » But he is a most disquieting god, He bears a pretty name « Saturn » But he is a most disquieting god. Pursuing his gloom laden path, To relieve his boredom a bit, He plays at knocking down roses. Time kills time as he is able. He plays at knocking down roses, Time kills time as he is able. At this time, tis you, my fair one Who have borne the brunt of his sport You who paid his penalty with A fleck of silver in your hair. You who paid his penalty with A fleck of silver in your hair.  Autumn flowers lack not beauty And poets’ve all said the same I look at you and stake my word That they were not telling a lie I look at you and stake my word That they were not telling a lie. Come once more, my favourite (5) lets Go down to the garden together Come count off our love with petals Of chrysanths, this Indian Summer. Come count off our love with petals Of chrysanths this Indian summer. I know by heart all your graces And to force me to forget them Saturn would need to make endless Turns of the clock and the hourglass And the little cheeky girl opposite Might as well give up and clear off

TRANSLATION NOTES

(1) Saturne – He is the God of time, who in legend eats up his children, just as time eventually destroys us all.  Later we read: Le temps tue le temps comme il peut- Saturn, as the god of time, is sometimes depicted with an hourglass in one hand and a scythe in the other.

(2) Les roses – As in English poetry- “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may….”, roses symbolise the beauty of young women.

(3) La gabelle was a detested tax on salt levied by the monarchy before the Revolution. Brassens makes it the tax paid with age to Saturn and its mark is the salt white of the first grey hair. I find this image somewhat over-contrived, although the French who have the expression: “poivre et sel” to describe greying hair might accept it more readily.

(4) Je te donne mon billet (or more common -je te fiche mon billet) means: I am ready to put my money on it.

(5) Ma favorite. We are told that Brassens referred to Joha as “his favourite” as well as his “püppchen ”. As the meaning of “favourite” is a person preferred above others this does not preclude a liking for others, which could lead to a circumstance considered in the last verse of this poem(6) Effeuiller la marguerite is to play the lovers’ game of plucking the petals saying: “She loves me. She loves me not”.

(7) La marguerite de l'été de la Saint Martin is the chrysanthemum, a flower of the late months of the year. The feast of Saint Martin on the 11th of November is associated with a spell of mild weather and is what we call an Indian Summer. To the poet this symbolises youth reborn.

(8) Des tours d'horloge et de sablier : The fingers of the clock will have to go round and round and the hour glass will need to turned upside down endlessly, because he will never forget the beauty of his mistress.

(9) Et la petite pisseuse d'en face. The word that Brassens chooses to describe the young girl gives the English speaking listener or reader a sharp shock. As we have the same word for “pisser” i.e. “to piss”, we can understand that he is contemptuously dismissing her as a girl who wets her knickers, which would seem to us no higher than schoolchild abuse. However French bloggers, whose comments are posted below, tell us that the word is not so objectionable in French. Looking in the French- English Robert dictionary, a meaning given is “a (female) brat”, but the word is starred to warn of its impolite usage.
Three degrees of interpretation are suggested for Brassens’ choice of this word:
i) The most practical and down to earth is that Joha was aware that his eye had been wandering to an attractive young neighbour, arousing Joha’s passionate jealousy which was an outstanding feature of her character. Brassens therefore had to express his strong distaste towards the girl.
ii) The explanation put forward by those who have an absolute conviction in Brassens’ devotion to the one love of his life, is that Brassens had no interest in the girl but was using her to contrast the richer benefits that his mature partner brought to him.
iii) The most idealistic interpretation is that there was no other female involved, but that the pisseuse is a personification of the inadequacies of raw youth.

The proponents of the last explanation would claim that the lofty tone of the poem is maintained to the end, while the proponents of the first delight in the dramatic contrast of the trivial language of the last two lines with the lofty tone of the rest.

10) Elle peut bien aller se rhabiller – She might as well clear off/ buzz off/ beggar off. The colloquial expression of contempt continues the idea that she (or “it”-i.e. youth) has no relevance to their lives.

MY ORIGINAL MISUNDERSTANDING OVER THE FINAL VERSE

When I first posted this song, I was working on a performance where Brassens omitted the final verse and I jumped to the conclusion that it was deliberate censorship on his part of lines which recorded a personal row between him and his sweetheart and which contained personal invective. I realised how wrong I was when I read a tribute that he made to Joha near the end of his life. In it he spoke of half a dozen of the songs that he had been inspired by his love for his Püppchen. Inevitably, Saturne was in the list, but the words he quoted were from the last verse of the song, which obviously meant a lot to him. He wrote:
.......... et «Saturne»
Je sais par coeur toutes tes grâces
Et pour me les faire oublier
Il faudra que Saturne en fasse
Des tours d'horloge, de sablier.




A comment from a french blogger:
I received this comment from a French blogger on the 25th March 2009, and was very grateful to be reminded how beautiful the French find this song. Unfortunately I accidentally deleted the message while making my most recent post. This is ungracious on my part and so I am copying it here:
K said...
Je viens tout juste de tomber sur votre blog en cherchant Saturne... c'est une si belle chanson! :) ...même malgré les deux dernières lignes! :

Je suis toujours agréablement surpris de trouver de l'anglais autour de mes chansonniers français préférés.

Bravo pour votre blog; j'y reviendrai assurément!

Merci K. Un message encourageant me fait du bien.

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