English translation of French lyrics

April 3, 2008 2:04 PM

English translation of French lyrics: Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour by Os Mutantes

I tried googling for the English translation of the lyrics, but can't find anything. I found the French lyrics at this site. I plugged them into a French-English translation site to see if I could get a rough idea, but the translation was very rough. Is anyone good enough with French to help?

posted by onemorething to writing & language (9 comments total)

Here is my best shot. (probably really rough, I have not used my French in a while and translating poetry is notoriously subjective)

The first joy of the day
is a ribbon of sunlight
That wraps around your hand
and caresses your shoulder.

It is the breeze of the ocean
and the waiting beach
It is the bird that sang
on the branch of the fig tree.

the first sadness of the day
Is a door that closes
a car that drives away
A silence that develops

But you come back fast
and my life gets back on course
The last joy of the day
is the waiting lamp
posted by prk14 at 2:23 PM on April 3, 2008

There are a number of misspellings in the lyrics you link to, which may be part of your problem. My French is rusty but here it goes:

The first joy of the day
The ribbon of sunlight
That unfurls in your hand
And caresses my neck

It's the breath of the sea
And the waiting beach
It's the bird that sings
On the branch of the fig tree

The first sorrow of the day
It's the door that closes
The car in which you go
The silence that remains

But soon enough you return
And my life regains its path
The last joy of the day
It's the awaited light (?)
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 2:25 PM on April 3, 2008

the last verse would be something like :

its the lamp being turned off
posted by domi_p at 2:29 PM on April 3, 2008

The first happiness of the day
Is a ribbon of sun
That wraps itself around your hand
And caresses my shoulder.

It’s the inhale of the sea
And the beach that waits
It’s the bird who sang
On the fig branch.

The first sadness of the day
Is the door that closes
The car that drives away
The silence that settles in
But good, you return quickly
And my life gets back on course
The last happiness of the day
is the light that’s waiting.

I went with some poetic approximations rather than literal translation in some spots, but there are typos in the lyrics you posted and some of my assumptions are:
Figee should be figue
Mere should be mer/sea (at least it makes more sense with the line that follows)
Chagrun should chagrin/sadness
Retorn should be reprendre/resumes
posted by cocoagirl at 2:40 PM on April 3, 2008

The last line is

C'est la lampe qui s'éteint

which means

Is the the lamp going out

or something like that. Sexy ending.

(and it was originally sung by Françoise Hardy)
posted by lucia__is__dada at 2:45 PM on April 3, 2008

I agree with Lucia on the last line.

The misspellings in the original account for the variations in the translations.
posted by JimN2TAW at 3:13 PM on April 3, 2008

Wow - quick results! Thanks!

It's hard to choose the best one since they vary a bit. For example, I don't know whether "breeze of the ocean" or "breath of the sea" is the best - they're both nice. Since I won't understand the French while it's playing, perhaps I can put together my favorite choices for each line? :- )

I definitely agree with Lucia as to the translation and intention of the last line.

Nice song, anyway.
posted by onemorething at 3:25 PM on April 3, 2008

Le Premiere Bonheur du Jour
(The First Joy of the Day)

The first joy of the day
Is a ribbon of sunshine
Unwinding in your hands
Caressing my shoulder

It’s the ocean sighing
And the beach that stretches before me
It’s the bird that sings
From a frozen tree

The first sorrow of the day
Is the front door closing
The car driving away
The silence that visits me

But soon you come home
And life comes back to me
The last joy of the day
Is the lamp lighting your way

That came straight from Luaka Bop's site, where they have translations for some other Mutantes songs as well, hope it helps.
posted by micayetoca at 4:57 PM on April 3, 2008

The Françoise Hardy original.
posted by SageLeVoid at 7:37 PM on April 3, 2008