French song translation help

March 5, 2015 6:35 AM

Lately I've been enjoying Grenadine's eponymous album. But my French is non-existent, and I can't find lyrics anywhere. What are these songs about, anyway?

I don't need a complete translation (though that would be amazing); just a short summary would be fine. I'm especially interested in "Bonjour tristesse", "Petits mensonges", and "Amours microscopiques", but I'd like to know about all of them.

posted by jedicus to Media & Arts (5 answers total)

I'm running late but if you google

paroles grenadine [song title]

you'll find the lyrics in French, example: Bonjour Tristesse. More later.
posted by humph at 7:25 AM on March 5, 2015 [2 favorites]

"Petits mensonges" is "Little lies," but if you want to find the lyrics and post them here, I'm sure we can help.
posted by vickyverky at 8:29 AM on March 5, 2015

Previously!
posted by mbrubeck at 8:50 AM on March 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Google Translate handles most of these lyrics pretty well, but if anyone wants to collaborate on some manual translation here's a Google doc link that you can edit.
posted by mbrubeck at 9:01 AM on March 5, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Below is the translation of “Bonjour Tristesse” that we put together in that doc, based on the French lyrics from humph's comment above.

I couldn't find the original lyrics online for the other two songs you mentioned. I started transcribing and translating them, but I haven't gotten very far yet and had trouble getting some of the words. (French is, like, the worst language to transcribe, at least for a beginner like me.) Maybe someone with a better ear will help fill in the missing parts.

Bonjour Tristesse (Hello Sadness)

I am not one of those [women] who return
I don’t come from one of your mirages
I learned, I regret
But me, when I stay
I think twice
Because we can come undone and flee
From the fingertips

I’m not one of those [women] who blow people away with a look
In less than a second and it’s too late
I have learned, I regret
But when I forsake
I think twice
Because those who hurt us sometimes reach out a hand to us
From the fingertips

Hello sadness when you hold us
I send you my heart, the crooked smile
And of course I would rather write to you
Than be in your arms

And the streets are cold when they lead nowhere
The time passes like winter, it’s too late
I wait for you, I regret
My heart, a vise
Tightens, is silent
Rips and hurts since we
Freeze our fingers

I am not one of those [women] who return
I don’t come from a landscape painting
I learn, I regret
But when I come back
I think twice
Because it’s better to be silent than announce
From the fingertips

Hello sadness
when you hold us
I send you my heart,
the crooked smile
And of course I would rather write to you
Farewell sadness
You’ll never hold me again
I leave you my heart,
The crooked smile
But of course I would rather write
Than be with you

posted by mbrubeck at 8:43 AM on March 6, 2015 [1 favorite]