La première fille- The first girl that you loved is the last girl that you will forget

La première fille

Once again Brassens sings about the excitement of first love and its eternal charm. When older people reminisce about their youth, so many of them, sometimes unconsciously, reveal that the first boy/ girl with whom one falls in love somehow gets into a compartment of memory that is indestructible.

The videos of this song that  I have posted in the past have constantly failed.  I hope the select language subtitles on this one will protect me this time!

J'ai tout oublié des campagnes D'Austerlitz et de Waterloo D'Italie, de Prusse et d'Espagne, De Pontoise et de Landerneau Jamais de la vie On ne l'oubliera, La première fill' Qu'on a pris' dans ses bras, La première étrangère À qui l'on a dit "tu" (2) Mon coeur, t'en souviens-tu ?) Comme ell' nous était chère... Qu'ell' soit fille honnête(3) Ou fille de rien,(4) Qu'elle soit pucelle (5) Ou qu'elle soit putain, (5) On se souvient d'elle, On s'en souviendra, D'la première fill' Qu'on a pris' dans ses bras Ils sont partis à tire-d'aile Mes souvenirs de la Suzon, Et ma mémoire est infidèle À Julie, Rosette ou Lison Jamais de la vie On ne l'oubliera, La première fill' Qu'on a pris' dans ses bras, C'était un' bonne affaire  (Mon coeur, t'en souviens-tu ?) J'ai changé ma vertu Contre une primevère... Qu' ce soit en grand' pompe Comme les gens "bien", Ou bien dans la ru', Comm' les pauvre' et les chiens, On se souvient d'elle, On s'en souviendra, D'la première fill' Qu'on a pris' dans ses bras Toi, qui m'as donné le baptême D'amour et de septième ciel, Moi, je te garde et, moi, je t'aime, Dernier cadeau du Pèr' Noël ! Jamais de la vie On ne l'oubliera, La première fill' Qu'on a pris' dans ses bras On a beau fair' le brave, Quand ell' s'est mise nue  (Mon coeur, t'en souviens-tu ?) On n'en menait pas large(8)... Bien d'autres, sans doute, Depuis, sont venues, Oui, mais, entre toutes Celles qu'on a connues, Elle est la dernière Que l'on oubliera, La première fill' Qu'on a pris' dans ses bras,  Georges Brassens (1954 - Les amoureux des bancs publics.)

I’ve forgot’ all about campaigns Of Austerlitz and Waterloo Of Italy, Prussia and Spain Of Pontoise and of Landerneau.(1) Never all life long Will there be forgotten The very first girl Whom you took in your arms The first, new acquaintance, Whom you addressed as “tu” My heart do you remember? How dear she was to us Whether she be a nice girl Or not up to much Whether you’re her first Or she’s had a lot You still remember her You will still remember The very first girl Whom you took in your arms They have flown off at great speed My recollections of Susan And my memory’s been unfaithful To Julie, Rosetta or Liza. Never all life long Will there be forgotten The very first girl Whom you took in your arms It was a very good deal My heart do you remember? I traded my virtue For a primrose flower (6) Whether it be with great show As the « proper » folk do Or down in the back street Like the poor people and the dogs You still remember her You will still remember The very first girl Whom you took in your arms You who gave me the baptism Of love and of the seventh heaven I keep you still, I love you still Last gift from Father Christmas (7) Never all life long Will there be forgotten The very first girl Whom you took in your arms So much for my brave front When she stripped off her clothes (My heart do you remember?) You fell right down in my boots Many others, no doubt Have come along since Yes, but, among all of Those that you have known- She is the very last one Who will be forgotten The very first girl Whom you took in your arms

NOTES

(1) Brassens says that he has forgotten all the military history he learnt at school and to illustrate the point (perhaps unconsciously) he includes in the last line two places that do not seem to have any record of an important battle.

(2) The change from using the “vous” form of you to the « tu » form is made when you assume you have reached a certain stage of familiarity. It can be a sensitive moment. In English, the first tense moment of asking a girl to go out with you luckily does not also involve a question of speech etiquette.

(3) fille honnête – As well as the most usual meaning of honest, “honnête” also has the sense of decent. When speaking of a woman it means virtuous. It seemed an old fashioned adjective, but, in the end, I stuck with it. In the royal court of the 17th century, there was the concept of the “honnête homme” which was the equivalent of acting like a gentleman.

(4) De rien means “worth nothing”. This seemed too harsh in English.

(5) pucelle means virgin and putain means whore, but I wanted to soften these lines, as the harsh moral standards of the 50s, which Brassens deplored, no longer apply.

(6) Brassens uses elsewhere, the primrose, flower of early spring, as a symbol of the young love that replaces lost virginity

(7) The experience of lovemaking marked the end of childhood.

(8) On n'en menait pas large- is an idiom that means "your heart was in your boots".  Other translations given in the dictionary are: to be frightened, to be uneasy, to be in a terrible situation

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