The letter

I received a letter, perhaps one month ago
Mistakenly delivered, the mailman was clumsy
Doused with perfume, carmine lipstick
Perhaps this letter, I shouldn’t have opened

But I am the kind of man who likes to play those games
She may well call me Alphonse or Fred or whatever… It’s up to her

Lovely daisies topping her ‘’i’’s
Handwritten curves, just like in abbeys
A few spelling mistakes, a slight dyslexia
And as a signature, your blond hottie

And I am the kind of man who likes to play those games
I don’t like nuns and I fell in love with her…in love with her

She writes that on Sunday
She will be on the cliff
Where I grasped her by the hips
And should I be tactless enough
Not to take responsibility for my frolics
She ‘ll opt for the impact
Thirty meters below

But I am the kind of man who likes those kinds of stakes
I don’t want her to knock herself out since I fell in love with her… in love her

Thanks to the postmark
Of a town bordering the Channel
I was in the vanguard
That Sunday’s morning
The place was deserted
I’d have to be patient
Suicidals blondies
You won’t find them by the hundreds

And I am the kind of man who likes those kinds of stakes
I want to beat Newton since I fell in love with her… in love with her

She was overhanging the Channel
When I recognized her
I seized her by the sleeve
My naïve young girl
Who wasn’t that much naïve
If I was to believe
The curves shaped
By a tiny inhabitant
Below her navel

And I am the kind of man who likes those kinds of stakes
He may call me daddy if he wishes to...

Renan Luce

Je t'aime, Gainsbourg

Here is a quick translation of Gainsbourg's song. I 've put the litteral meaning between brackets when I had doubts. I translated every single phrase, but I didn't copy all repetitions. Hope you'll understand.

I love you
oh, yes, I love you!
Neither do I
oh, my love...
Irresolute (hesitating) like a wave
I go I go to and fro
Against your waist ('between your hips' litteraly, may be better translated by thighs?)
And I
hold it back-I love you I love you
oh, yes I love you !
Neither do I
oh my love...
You are the wave, I the naked island
You go to and fro
Against my waist (between my hips)
You go to and fro
Against my waist (between my hips)
And I am catching back with you
I love you I love you
Neither do I
oh, my love...
Irresolute (hesitating) like a wave
I go I go to and fro
Against your waist (between your hips)
And I
hold it back
You go to and fro
Against my waist (between my hips)
You go to and fro
Against my waist (between my hips)
And I am catching up with you
...
Physical love is a dead end

(and so forth until the climax, the orgasm):

I go I go to and fro
Against your waist (between your hips)
And I
hold it back...
No! Cum now!

Repenti, de Renan Luce

Here is a quick translation of the song Repenti. My english is not great, but I hope you will understand.



Repentant

Spaghetti and tomato sauce
In Dijon's northern suburbs
I 've made my choice and went for the diplomatic deal
To avoid serving prison time.

I've been hiding out for twenty years
And I never thought I would live that old
The FBI is doing a good job:
Protecting a witness.

Repentant...
I 've betrayed

I might as well have been breaking rocks
In a Texan penitentiary
But instead, I'm getting blind-drunk with beer
In a pub quite not so smart

Every evening, my glass gets filled
And people laugh, and people sully my name
When I tell my glass skycrapers' story
My life in Little Italy

Repentant...
I 've betrayed

Mafioso through and through
I've become the local drunkard
When my uncle's hired men
Look for Tony-the-two-fists

During the first months of my underground life
I thought everything would remain unchanged
That I would be able to recreate the things I missed
From my american Sicilia

I gave a hand to a few acquaintances
To deal with their neighborhood's quarrels
Two or three bodies soaked with gas
Nothing more than domestic "incidents"

Repentant...
I 've betrayed

Mafioso through and through
I've become the local drunkard
When my uncle's hired men
Look for Tony-the-two-fists

When my little neighbours, brothers and sisters
Would show me their school report
I would go and challenge their teachers
And charge them with a few teeth

But today I am too old
I take care of my hydrangea flowers
How strange they grow so much
What the hell could I have buried there?

Repentant...
I 've betrayed

Something is moving in the bushes
I catch sight of a sniper's shadow
On my chest, a red light
I've been waiting for you, I am not scared

Let them lay me down on my death bed
With a hydrangea flower on my heart
I am going to see the Stromboli again
I am going to forget avout the Mafia

Repentant...
I've betrayed

Note:
Dijon is a French town (pop. about 200.000)

A man in a rush

(I am french and my english is not perfect; my translation is probably sometimes awkward. Don't forget to read the comment at the end. It tells you who this 'man in a rush' probably is.)

I'm a glossy model
With sun-like complexion,
Renovated*, a man in a rush
The bullshit I utter
Is the world's destiny

I've got no time to waste I rush
My career 's at stake
I'm a media man
overly political
I live fast, very fast
I'm a universal human comet

I am standing the test of time
I set the standards
I am ubiquitous
I become omniscient
I have flooded the world
Which I know nothing of
Nevermind, I talk about it
Nevermind, I am knowledgeable
Mankind bows down before me
Eight billions potential
Enslaved dimwits
Apart from a few friends of mine
Belonging to my world
You won't imagine
How cheerful they are

Who wants me
And my disagregated brain
Who wants to enter
My network's web

I'm the day-to-day advocate
Of inhumanity,
Overnight profits,
And medias's favors
I am rich, very rich
I 'm in the real estate industry
I can make money
Others will open their wallet

I know the Parisian smart set
And everything else too
My unique relationships
And their wives whom I f....
Rub shoulders with, naturally

The purse strings
Loosen for me
There are no more secrets left
I am the king of all kings

Skyrocketing TV audience ratings
Exploding viewership numbers
What do you figure?
This is my way in life, this is my chance

I just love TV shows
Ain't got no time to watch
But I 'm the one who broadcasts them
We spit food
At those craving eyes
You can see for yourself they 're begging
We 're well aware of their being eager
Of our rottenness
Better than jam
Fed to pigs

Who wants me
And my disagregated brain
Who wants to enter
My network's web

You know I'm :
A man in a rush
A man in a rush
A man in a rush
I'm
A man in a rush
A man in a rush
A man in a rush

I'm the day-to-day advocate
Of inhumanity
And overnight profits too
And medias'favors too
I am rich, very rich
I'm in the real estate industry
I can make money
Others will open their wallet

I am standing the test of time
I've become ubiquitous
I am the gold standard
Always ready to flaunt my knowledge
I live fast, very fast
My career is at stake
I 'm a media man
Overly political

For I am a man in a rush,
A man in a rush
A man in a rush
A man in a rush
A man in a rush
I am a man in a rush
A man in a rush

I'm the day-to-day advocate
Of inhumanity
And overnight profits too
And the medias'favors
I am rich, very rich
I'm in the real estate industry
I can make money
Others will open their wallet

Love Love Love
So it goes in America
Lioubov
Russia, ex-soviet
Amour
In the four corners of France...

The song is an obvious allusion to one of the richest french businessmen who also is the owner of TF1, the first french channel: Francis Bouygues (or maybe his son, Martin, who took over). Their role in french politics is paramount. The Bouygues family has always advocated liberalism.

*Ravalé, in french means 'renovated' (renovate a building). It may be an allusion to the fact that Bouygues is the biggest businessman in the building industry. I first wanted to translate it by 'well groomed' but I changed my mind.

The literal meaning of 'Et des miettes de mon cerveau' is something like: 'And the crumbs of my brain' or 'and the tiny bits of my brain'.