Dans l'eau de la claire fontaine

This is a light-hearted song about a young girl swimming naked in a country spring. "A la claire fontaine" is one of the multitude of traditional French songs that Brassens knew so well and which gave him such great pleasure. However he limits himself to the first verse:
A la claire fontaine
M'en allant promener
J'ai trouve l'eau si belle
Que je m'y suis baigne.

All the rest of the song is Brassens' gentle fantasy.

I think the delicate illustration painted by Marie-France RIVIERE perfectly conveys the idyll.

Dans l'eau de la claire fontaine (i) Elle se baignait toute nue Une saute de vent soudaine Jeta ses habits dans les nues (ii) En détresse, elle me fit signe Pour la vêtir, d'aller chercher Des monceaux de feuilles de vigne Fleurs de lis ou fleurs d'oranger Avec des pétales de roses Un bout de corsage lui fis La belle n'était pas bien grosse Une seule rose a suffi Avec le pampre de la vigne Un bout de cotillon lui fis Mais la belle était si petite Qu'une seule feuille a suffi Elle me tendit ses bras, ses lèvres Comme pour me remercier Je les pris avec tant de fièvre Qu'ell' fut toute déshabillée Le jeu dut plaire à l'ingénue Car, à la fontaine souvent Ell' s'alla baigner toute nue En priant Dieu qu'il fit du vent Qu'il fit du vent...

In the clear pool of a forest spring She was bathing all in the nude A sudden change of wind direction Threw her clothes up into the sky. In distress, she signalled to me To fetch. in order to clothe her, Piles of vine leaves and of flowers Fleurs de lis or orange blossom. With the help of petals of roses A bit of a top I made her. The fair maid was not very big One single rose proved adequate. With the help of a branch of vine A bit of a skirt I made her But the fair maid was so dainty One single leaf proved adequate. She offered me her arms, her lips As if to show her thanks to me. So feverishly did I accept That she was all undressed again. The game must’ve pleased the innocent For she went often to the spring And used to bathe all in the nude, Praying God that the wind might blow The wind might blow

TRANSLATION NOTES

(i) Fontaine – as well as meaning fountain, it also means a water spring (The most common word to translate spring is - une source)
(ii) Les nues – means the clouds, the skies. It is more literary than “les nuages”



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L'orage - Brassens song with translation

A sad love song.  Brassens tells how a violent thunderstorm thrust into his arms a young wife with whom he experienced a passion that has left an indelible imprint in his heart.. .

Parlez-moi de la pluie et non pas du beau temps, Le beau temps me dégoûte et m' fait grincer les dents, Le bel azur me met en rage, Car le plus grand amour qui m' fut donné sur terre Je l' dois au mauvais temps, je l' dois à Jupiter, (1) Il me tomba d'un ciel d'orage. Par un soir de novembre, à cheval sur les toits, Un vrai tonnerr' de Brest(2), avec des cris d' putois, (3) Allumait ses feux d'artifice. Bondissant de sa couche en costume de nuit, Ma voisine affolée vint cogner à mon huis(4) En réclamant mes bons offices. « Je suis seule et j'ai peur, ouvrez-moi, par pitié, Mon époux vient d' partir faire son dur métier, Pauvre malheureux mercenaire(5), Contraint d' coucher dehors quand il fait mauvais temps, Pour la bonne raison qu'il est représentant D'un' maison de paratonnerres. » En bénissant le nom de Benjamin Franklin,(6) Je l'ai mise en lieu sûr entre mes bras câlins,(7) Et puis l'amour a fait le reste ! Toi qui sèmes des paratonnerre' à foison, Que n'en as-tu planté sur ta propre maison ? Erreur on ne peut plus funeste... Quand Jupiter alla se faire entendre ailleurs, La belle, ayant enfin conjuré sa frayeur Et recouvré tout son courage, Rentra dans ses foyers fair' sécher son mari En m' donnant rendez-vous les jours d'intempérie, Rendez-vous au prochain orage. À partir de ce jour j' n'ai plus baissé les yeux, J'ai consacré mon temps à contempler les cieux, À regarder passer les nues, À guetter les stratus, à lorgner les nimbus, À faire les yeux doux au moindre cumulus, Mais elle n'est pas revenue. Son bonhomm' de mari avait tant fait d'affaires, Tant vendu ce soir-là de petits bouts de fer, Qu'il était dev'nu millionnaire Et l'avait emmenée vers les cieux toujours bleus, Des pays imbécile' où jamais il ne pleut, Où l'on ne sait rien du tonnerre. Dieu fass' que ma complainte aille, tambour battant, (8) Lui parler de la pluie, lui parler du gros temps Auxquels on a t'nu tête ensemble, Lui conter qu'un certain coup de foudre assassin Dans le mill' de mon coeur a laissé le dessin (9) D'un' petit' fleur qui lui ressemble...(10) Georges Brassens (1960 - Le mécréant,)

Talk to me of the rain and not of fine weather, Fine weather turns me off and sets my teeth on edge. Splendid azure skies drive me wild, For the greatest love which was granted me on earth I owe to bad weather, I owe to Jupiter. Love fell down from a stormy sky. With a november ev’ning, straddling the rooftops A dreadful thunderbolt, with deafening caterwauls, Set off its firework display. Leaping up from her bed in her night attire The lady next door came banging on my portal Crying for my good offices. “I’m alone and frightened, open please, for pity’s sake My husband has just left on the hard job he has, How the poor man makes his money Having to sleep outdoors when the weather is bad For the good reason that he works as a sales rep With a lightning conductor firm. Blessing the renowned name of Benjamin Franklin I put her in a safe place snuggled in my arms And then it was love did the rest! You who scatter conductors round in abundance Why did you not stick one of them on your own home? The most fatal mistake to make…. When Jupiter went to make himself heard elsewhere, The beautiful woman, released from her fear And with all her courage regained Went back to her own hearth to get her husband dried. Fixing me a date for all thundery weather A date arranged for the next storm. From that day on, I never more let my eyes drop I devoted my time to observing the skies, To watching the clouds going by, Gazing at the stratus, peering at the nimbus Casting fond eyes on the least bit of cumulus But she hasn’t come back again. Her good husband had secured so much business Sold so many little iron parts on that night That he’d become a millionaire And had taken her away to skies always blue Idiotic countries where never does it rain Where nothing is known of thunder. May God grant that my lament goes forth loud and clear To speak to her of rain, to speak of foul weather That we faced up to together To tell her that a certain deadly thunderbolt Hit its target in my heart leaving the trace Of a small flower that is like her…

TRANSLATION NOTES

1.      Jupiter- The ancient God, Jupiter is often depicted holding thunderbolts in his hands.

2.      tonnerr' de Brest – this is in fact a nautical expletive e.g.-“Shiver my timbers”.  It is not an expletive here of course, but conveys an alarming clap of thunder.

3.      Putois – un putois is a pole cat. « Crier comme un putois” means to emit deafening shrieks.

4.      mon huis – « huis » is an old word for door and survives in the expression à huis clos = in camera / behind closed doors.  The word huissier is still used meaning official doorman.

5.      Mercenaire means mercenary.  Un ouvrier mercenaire is a contract worker.  I think the main idea here is of earning a living.

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6.      Benjamin Franklin- physicist (1706 – 1790) invented the lightning conductor.

7.      Câlin means affectionate also cuddly.   Faire un câlin à qu’n means  to give somebody a cuddle.

 

8.      Tambour battant – means briskly- (Collins-Robert). In France a drum was used to draw public attention just as the town crier’s bell was in Britain. 

9.      Laissé le dessin. Thunderbolts, we are told, can leave behind a plant-like imprint on the skin.

10.   The final line of the song is reminiscent of the final verse of "Une Jolie Fleur" where he says that the girl’s betrayal had left him with a heart incapable of love for any other woman.  As a result, some commentators add l’Orage to the list of songs about his teenage mistress Jo.  However the biography of the lady in this song seems completely different.

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Les Copains d'Abord

Les Copains d'Abord is dedicated to the close friends who joined Brassens on boating trips off the South coast of France in a boat called “Les copains d'abord”. The song was written for a film, Les copains (1964), directed by Yves Robert. One of the striking features of Brassens’ life was the enduring friendships that he forged, evident also in his other songs.

The original video of les Copains that I posted, since deleted on U-Tube, continued with "Ballade des dames du temps jadis".  this I have now put on a separate post.  If you are looking for Brassens' song based on Villon's poem please click the new link: Ballade des dames du temps jadis2

LES COPAINS D'ABORD

LES COPAINS D'ABORD Non ce n'était pas le Radeau De la Méduse(1) ce bateau, Qu'on se le dise au fond des ports Dise au fond des ports, Il naviguait en pèr' peinard(2) Sur la grand-mare des canards(3) Et s'app'lait Les Copains d'Abord Les Copains d'Abord. (4) Ses fluctuat nec mergitur (5) C'était pas d'la littérature,(6) N'en déplaise aux jeteurs de sort,(7) Aux jeteurs de sort, Son capitaine et ses mat'lots N'étaient pas des enfants d'salauds, Mais des amis franco de port, (8) Des copains d'abord. C'étaient pas des amis de luxe, Des petits Castor et Pollux(9), Des gens de Sodome et Gomorrhe(10), Sodome et Gomorrhe, C'étaient pas des amis choisis Par Montaigne et La Boétie(11), Sur le ventre ils se tapaient fort, (12) Les copains d'abord. C'étaient pas des anges non plus, L'Évangile, ils l'avaient pas lu, Mais ils s'aimaient tout's voil's dehors,(13) Toutes voil's dehors, Jean, Pierre, Paul(14) et compagnie, C'était leur seule litanie Leur credo, leur confiteor, Aux copains d'abord. Au moindre coup de Trafalgar(15), C'est l'amitié qui prenait l'quart, C'est ell' qui leur montrait le nord, Leur montrait le nord, Et quand ils étaient en détresse, Qu'leurs bras lancaient des s.o.s., On aurait dit des sémaphores,(16) Les copains d'abord. Au rendez-vous des bons copains, Y'avait pas souvent de lapins(17), Quand l'un d'entre eux manquait à bord, C'est qu'il était mort, Oui, mais jamais, au grand jamais, Son trou dans l'eau n'se refermait(18), Cent ans après, coquin de sort! (19) Il manquait encor. Des bateaux j'en ai pris beaucoup, Mais le seul qui ait tenu le coup, Qui n'ait jamais viré de bord,(20) -mais viré de bord, Naviguait en père peinard Sur la grand-mare des canards Et s'app'lait Les Copains d'Abord Les Copains d'Abord.

No, it was’nt the least like the raft From the wrecked Medusa, this boat As they might claim down in the ports Might claim down in the ports It sailed like a placid old man On th’ duckpond of the open sea And was called: “Les Copains d'Abord” The pals first on board. Its “Fluctuat nec mergitur” Is no mere literary phrase No matter what doom-mongers say What doom-mongers say, Its ship captain and its sailors Were in no way sons of bitches But they were friends welcomed by all, The pals first on board. They were not friends, kind of de luxe, Little Castors and Polluxes Men from Sodom and Gomorr’ Sodom and Gomorr’ They were not such friends as chosen By Montaigne and La Boétie They enjoyed much knockabout fun The pals first on board. They were not angels either The Holy Word they had not read But love was all around, sails set Love with sails all set John, Peter, Paul and company It was their only litany Their creed, their confession To pals first on board. At th’ faintest Trafalgar shot heard It was friendship that took the helm Friendship gave to them their bearings Gave them their bearings And whenever in such distress That their arms launched their S.O.S You would have thought them semaphores The pals first on board. When the good pals met together Not often had some-one dropped out. When one of them was not on board ‘Twas that he was dead Yes, but never, never ever Did death close its seas over him Hundred years after, what the deuce! He was just as missed still. Boats, I’ve been on a lot of them But the only one quite up to scratch Which never lost its direction Lost its direction Sailed like a placid old man On the duck pond of open sea And was called: “Les Copains d'Abord” The pals first on board.

TRANSLATION NOTES

1)      Some malicious observers in the harbours they passed must have suggested that the unprepossessing boat of Brassens with its motley company resembled the survivors of the wreck of the Medusa on their raft as painted by Géricault.

2)      Un père Peinard.  There are several different and sometimes conflicting notions of Père Peinard.  One that would fit here would be of an older man, relaxed about the world, who takes life as it comes.

3)      La grand-mare des canards. There are different interpetations given to this. “La mare aux canards” means duck pond, but in popular slang it is an understatement for the sea.  As I have lived in the Montpellier region, my picture is of L’étang de Thau, a big coastal salt lake.

4)      When spoken or sung this phrase sounds like “copains de bord” which means shipmates and would convey the theme of the song.  The literal meaning of “les copains d’abord” i.e. “pals come first” would also apply and there would seem to be this dual meaning to the name that Brassens chose for his boat and to the song’s title.  In the song: ”A l’ombre des maris”  Brassens shows that he relates the phrase “Les femmes d’abord” to the cry on a sinking ship: “Women go first!”

5)      Fluctuat nec mergitur means "She is tossed by the waves, but is not sunk". This phrase is the motto under of the city coat of arms of Paris, whose emblem is a ship floating on a rough sea

6)      C'était pas d'la littérature -  Robert tells us that « Tout cela, c’est de la littérature » means  « That is of trifling importance ».

7)      Un jeteur de sort = a wizard says Collins Robert, but the important idea here is of some-one who can predict the future - most usually forecasting doom.

8)      franco de port, is an expression which means that the cost of transport is prepaid by the sender.  Brassens is making a play on words with “port” going with boat  and perhaps “franco” referring to the adjective “franc”- straightforward and open.  Perhaps impossible to translate!

9)      Castor and Pollux in classical mythology, were twin brothers, or rather half-brothers.  Castor was the son of Leda and Tyndareus, Pollux the son of Leda and Zeus. Castor excelled as a horseman and Pollux as a boxer. They were great warriors and were noted for their devotion to each other.

10)   Sodome et Gomorrhe. Perhaps the previous reference to a famous friendship in ancient literature, where such friendships were sometimes sexually ambivalent makes it necessary for Brassens to make clear that homosexuality was not the basis of their friendship.

11)   Étienne de La Boétie (1530–1563), Wikipedia tells us he was a French judge, writer, and "a founder of modern political philosophy in France." He "has been best remembered as the great and close friend of the eminent essayist Michel de Montaigne (1533 – 1592),  , in one of history's most notable friendships. Montaigne described their friendship as a true marriage of souls and he was shattered by La Boétie’s early death.

12)   Sur le ventre ils se tapaient fort-  A French dictionary explains « se taper » as follows : taper (se) taper -  faire (se), consommer ;  se farcir, faire (avec difficulté) ; faire (une corvée), supporter ; faire (corvée) ; consommer (sexuel) ; subir qqchose, vivre qqchose ; boire.  It warns that the usage can be vulgar and gives as an example :
Hier soir au Novotel il s'est tapé une fille – Last night at the Novotel he shagged a girl

“Taper” means to beat/ to hit and Reverso dictionary concentrates on this saying: that “se taper dessus” means to knock each other about, and “se taper sur le ventre” while meaning “to thump someone in the stomach” also has an idiomatic use of “being very close”.  In the comments below, we see different ideas from French speakers.  It seems to be an expression which changes with the context and each person has a different idea of the context!

13)   tout's voil's dehors,.  This is another veiled confirmation that this group of men were not involved in homosexuality.  There is an expression ”marcher à voile et à vapeur” which means to be bi-sexual.   According to Brassens, the pals “marchent toutes voiles dehors”.

14)   Jean, Pierre, Paul. These names sound like references to the bible but refer to his close friends. Pierre, for example Pierre Onténiente was his almost lifelong friend -see “Auprès de mon arbre”

15)   Un coup de Trafalgar means a treacherously unforeseen disaster, (reflecting the French view of Nelson’s destruction of the French fleet in 1805)

16)   sémaphores – The comic image of the panicking friends as semaphores is perhaps particularly vivid to the French. France built the first comprehensive semaphore system during the 1790s for military and government communications. The network included 555 stations and stretched over 4,800 kilometres. Its stations used apparatus such as towers with pivoting blades, shutters, or paddles, or hand-held flags.  Apparently this refers to an actual event.  On one outing the boat got into difficulty and it finished up with all the company on deck, waving frantically for help. Brassens is teasing them about this indignity, which he, of course, shared.

17)   “Poser un lapin” means to fail to keep an appointment

18)   Faire un trou dans l’eau” 'Jamais son trou dans l'eau ne se refermait' means that the dead was never forgotten. It refers to a burial at sea. (Thanks to an anonymous French blogger who corrected me.)

19)   coquin de sort! – Collins-Robert tells me that this exclamation translates into English by “the devil / the deuce” – not oaths in common use.

20)   Virer de bord means to tack/ to change tack, which is necessary in the art of sailing.  As tacking involves changing direction to pick up the wind, Brassens is probably extending the term to mean going off course.  This he and his pals would never do, being constant and steadfast.

The continuing international appeal of Brassens' songs

Les Bandits, a young American jazz group, on the New York cabaret circuit, include the songs of Brassens in their repertoire. I admire the vivacity of their performance.

Please click here toreturn to the alphabetical list of my Brassens selection

Ballade des dames du temps jadis

I have now made a translation of Villon's  complete poem and have put it on a separate post. To read it please click the following link: Ballade des dames du temps jadis2

In the original video that I posted of "Les Copains" Brassens went on to sing the first verse only of the song

On this new post, you will find a recording of the full song by Brassens with good visuals.

Also I have made a translation into English with my translation notes.

Also I have posted the historical background notes that I found I needed for my translation

Les amours d'antan -His own loves of yesteryear were not at all highborn ladies

Brassens had earlier composed a song, “Ballade des dames du temps jadis”*, based on a famous poem by François Villon, (c. 1431-c. 1463), which spoke of great figures of ancient legend and myth and also of more recent French history who had come to personify a romantic vision of grandeur now forever lost. In this song, Brassens describes his personal down to earth experiences of love and beauty, ironically enjoying the absence any sense of glory and social status in the exuberant promiscuity of his life without pretension.

* To see my translation of Brassens' song based on Villon's poem, please click on this following link:
"Ballade des dames du temps jadis"

Moi, mes amours d'antan c'était de la grisette(1) Margot, la blanchecaille(2), et Fanchon, la cousette... Pas la moindre noblesse, excusez-moi du peu,(3) C'étaient, me direz-vous, des grâces roturières, Des nymphes de ruisseau, des Vénus de barrière(4)... Mon Prince, on a les dam's du temps jadis qu'on peut... Car le coeur à vingt ans se pose où l'oeil se pose, Le premier cotillon venu vous en impose, La plus humble bergère est un morceau de roi. Ça manquait de marquise, on connut la soubrette, Faute de fleur de lys on eut la pâquerette, Au printemps Cupidon fait flèche de tout bois... On rencontrait la belle aux Puces(5), le dimanche : "Je te plais, tu me plais..." et c'était dans la manche, Et les grands sentiments n'étaient pas de rigueur. "Je te plais, tu me plais... viens donc beau militaire..." Dans un train de banlieue on partait pour Cythère(6), On n'était pas tenu mêm' d'apporter son coeur... Mimi, de prime abord, payait guère de mine, Chez son fourreur sans doute on ignorait l'hermine, Son habit sortait point de l'atelier d'un dieu... (7) Mais quand, par-dessus le Moulin de la Galette(8), Elle jetait pour vous sa parure simplette, C'est Psyché tout entièr' qui vous sautait aux yeux. (9) Au second rendez-vous y' avait parfois personne, Elle avait fait faux bond, la petite amazone(10), Mais l'on ne courait pas se pendre pour autant... La marguerite commencée avec Suzette, On finissait de l'effeuiller(11) avec Lisette Et l'amour y trouvait quand même son content.(12) C'étaient, me direz-vous, des grâces roturières, Des nymphes de ruisseau, des Vénus de barrière... Mais c'étaient mes amours, excusez-moi du peu, Des Manon, des Mimi, des Suzon, des Musette, Margot, la blanchecaille, et Fanchon, la cousette.. Mon Prince, on a les dam's du temps jadis qu'on peut... Les trompettes de la   Renommée 1961

My own loves of yore were  just ordinary girls   Margot, the laundress and Fanchon the young seamstress Not genteel in the least , forgive me falling short They were, you will say, graces from plebian backgrounds, Nymphs from the town's gutters,  Venuses from its slums......  Sire,  you get ladies of yore, that you're able to. For, at twenty, the heart  lands where the eye lands first, The first petticoat to come by wins you over The humblest shepherdess is a touch royal Lacking a marchioness, one knew the serving maid Lacking a fleur de lys one still had the daisy In springtime Cupid turns all wood into   arrows. One would meet the fair maid at the Sunday market « You like me, I like you… » and it was in the bag And grand sentiments were not expected of you. « You like me, I like you… come on then my fine fellow. On suburban train we set off for  Love Island There was no need even to bring your heart along. At first Mimi struck you as not much to look at At her fur-shop, no doubt, ermine was unheard of, In no way were her clothes stitched by some divine hand But when, up over the Windmill of the Galette She threw off for you all of her homespun garments It was Psyché in full splendour who bedazzled you.. Upon the second date, sometimes no-one was there She had stood you up completely, the little minx But you didn't run and top  yourself  just for that. The marguerite which you had plucked first with Suzette You would end up stripping its petals  with Lisette And, in that, love found satisfaction all the same. They were, you will say, graces of plebian background, Nymphs from the town's gutters,  Venuses from town slums......  But they're  the ones I loved,  forgive me falling short Manons, Mimis, Musettes and the little Susies,  Margot, the laundress and Fanchon the young seamstress..... Sire,  you get ladies of yore, that you're able to.

TRANSLATION NOTES

1)     Grisette is very well explained in this article on the French Internet    We are told : In the same way as “les gavroches”- Paris street urchins,   “les apaches” – the Parisian tough guys, and the “les marlous”- the pimps, les “grisettes” have a prominent place among  the stock figures of old Paris. From the 17th to the 19th century, the word “grisette” meant a young Parisian working-class girl, who would typically be employed in a lowly trade such as seamstress or street seller of fruit and vegetables. Their name came from the colour of their clothing, which was of a cheap grey material.  Very often in the literature of this period, the grisette is represented as a young woman with low morals. Balzac, Alexandre Dumas, Alfred de Musset and many others depicted them regularly in their writings.  There is a statue at the corner of boulevard Jules Ferry and the rue de Faubourg du Temple which represents represents a grisette in the Paris scene of 1830 and shows a girl selling roses.  The statue (below), carved in 1911 by Jean Descomps is located in the square Jules Ferry and faces the canal Saint-Martin

2)     la blanchecaille is slang for blanchisseuse

3)     excusez-moi du peu, - ."peu" of course means "little", but the straight translation "forgive me for the little" is obviously unsatisfactory.  Sometimes, however, the word is better translated by an expression of inadequacy: son peu de comprehension- his lack of understanding.

4)     Vénus de barrière- Les barrières de la ville were the town gates and these were the less desirable areas of the town where the poorer people lived and worked, with some of the women hanging around to sell themselves.  One source tells me therefore that “Vénus de barrière” is an old and literary term for “fille de joie”. A"barriere" area is very much like the one where Brassens spent the happiest years of his life in Jeanne's hovel.  The district is described in his song "La Princesse et le croque-notes."

5)     Les Puces - The most famous flea market in Paris is the one at Porte de Clignancourt, officially called Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, but known to everyone as Les Puces

6)     Cythère –the Greek island of Kythera. The island of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.  A famous painting by the famous French artist Watteau is called “Embarquement de Cythère (below). 

7)     Son habit sortait point de l'atelier d'un dieu... The refence to God’s workshop is probably to Hephaestus the Greek god of blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans , sculptors etc.

8)     Jeter par-dessus le Moulin de la Galette. This image contains 2 elements :

a.     The image of a place to find pleasure in Paris, which recalls Renoir’s painting of “Le Bal Du Moulin De La Galette”

b.     An image of sexual abandon because « jeter son bonnet par-dessus le moulin» means to do a flamboyant action in defiance of convention, particularly on the part of a woman.

Renoir’s picture of Parisians enjoying themselves

9)     C'est Psyché tout entièr' qui vous sautait aux yeux –In greek mythology. Psyche is a girl of great beauty, who was loved by Eros.  The statue of their kiss is very famous.  Goethe in a famous poem said that he needed to touch the body of a woman to understand the beauty of the ancient statue.

10)  Amazone,   Two meanings of this word are (i)Femme qui monte à cheval : (ii)Femme à l'âme ou aux allures virile.  As Brassens is talking about jumping, the horse reference would seem apt.

11)  “Effeuiller la marguerite”.  Wikipedia explains this very well:  He loves me, he loves me not or She loves me, she loves me not (originally effeuiller la marguerite in French) is a game of French origin in which one person seeks to determine whether the object of their affection returns that affection or not.  A person playing the game alternately speaks the phrases "He (or she) loves me," and "He loves me not," while picking one petal off a flower (usually a daisy) for each phrase. The phrase they speak on picking off the last petal supposedly represents the truth between the object of their affection loving them or not    is to play “She loves me- she loves me not”.

12)  trouvait quand même son content- The French noun « content » is found in « avoir son content de = to have one’s fill of.  Otherwise the English noun “content” is translated by “contentement” in French.

Please clickhere to return to the full alphabetical list of my Georges Brassens selection

I like this Russian version of the song by Alexandre Avanessov  He sings so closely to Brassens' style and illustrates his video with nostalgic pictures representing girl-friends of times now long past.-

Grisettes: The journalist and author Christopher Dickey makes an interesting categorisation of the women in Paris offering love.

In the Paris of 1861 whole classes of women were available—the cocottes, the lorettes, the grisettes—whose characteristics were well known to connoisseurs, even impecunious painters and poets. Some of the women were the mistresses of aristocrats and the rising rich of the bourgeoisie who could keep them in luxury, some were the mistresses of several men at a time, who might know perfectly well, but not always happily, that their paramours were the central figures in a small community of lovers. And then there were those women who worked in menial jobs, most famously as laundresses, but who also shared their favors for a few sous, hoping to climb the ladder toward greater comfort, like Émile Zola’s Nana, whatever the ultimate cost. Those were the “grisettes,” and there is even a statue dedicated to them above the Canal Saint Martin.

Post revised 12/02/2015 D.Y.