| Jamais je n’aurais pensé | Never did I imagine, in the shadow’s hush, |
| Tant besoin de lui | So dire a thirst for him would blossom in my days, |
| Je me sens si envoutée | Enchanted, I am driftwood drawn by his tide— |
| Que ma maman me dit: ralentis | My mother’s voice, a distant bell: slow your pace, child, slow. |
| Désir ou amour | Desire or love—who knows the name of this bright ache? |
| Tu le sauras un jour | The hour will come when you discern the difference, |
| J’aime, j’aime | I love, I love— |
| Tes yeux, j’aime ton odeur | Your eyes: twin lanterns on a fog-swathed night, your scent— |
| Tous tes gestes en douceur | Each gesture, velvet-fingered, trailing dew, |
| Lentement dirigés | Slow as honey poured, intentional as dawn— |
| Sensualité | Sensuality— |
| Hou ! Stop un instant | Ah! Pause—let time catch its breath, |
| J’aimerais que ce moment | I would wish this slender moment |
| Fixe pour des tas d’années | To be pressed in amber, lasting more than lifetimes— |
| Ta sensualité | Your sensuality— |
| Il paraît qu’après quelques temps | So they say, after some span, |
| La passion s’affaiblit | Passion wanes, dissolving like old incense, |
| Pas toujours apparemment | Yet not always, so it seems— |
| Et maman m’avait dit: ralentis | And mother warned again: slow your step, be still. |
| Désir ou amour | Desire or love— |
| Tu le sauras un jour | One day, you’ll know its secret name. |
| J’aime, j’aime | I love, I love— |
| Tes yeux, j’aime ton odeur | Your gaze, the trace of you that haunts the air, |
| Tous tes gestes en douceur | Every move you make, a willow bending sweetly, |
| Lentement dirigés | Drawn forth with the patience of a sculptor’s hand— |
| Sensualité | Sensuality— |
| Hou ! Stop un instant | Ah! Let the world halt, just a breath— |
| J’aimerais que ce moment | How I long for this hour to linger, |
| Fixe pour des tas d’années | To harden into years, unyielding to the clock— |
| Ta sensualité | Your sensuality— |
| Je te demande si simplement | I ask you now, and nothing more— |
| Ne fais pas semblant | Let truth alone inhabit us, do not feign— |
| Je t’aimerai encore | I will love you still, |
| Et encore | And anew, |
| Désir ou amour | Desire or love— |
| Tu le sauras un jour | Its truth will someday be revealed to you. |
| J’aime, j’aime | I love, I love— |
| Tes yeux, j’aime ton odeur | Your gaze, your fragrance clinging to the dusk, |
| Tous tes gestes en douceur | All your tender gestures— |
| Lentement dirigés | Guided with the gravity of the moon’s slow pull— |
| Sensualité | Sensuality— |
| Hou ! Stop un instant | Ah! Hush—let this instant deepen, |
| J’aimerais que ce moment | May this moment root itself in time, |
| Fixe pour des tas d’années | Endure as seasons turn— |
| Ta sensualité | Your sensuality— |
| Tes yeux, j’aime ton odeur | Your eyes, your scent—a secret orchard, |
| Tous tes gestes en douceur | Each movement, honeyed, spun from silence, |
| Lentement dirigés | Shaped as rivers carve their beds— |
| Sensualité | Sensuality— |
| Hou ! Stop un instant | Ah! Let all things still— |
| J’aimerais que ce moment | Let this fleeting joy remain, |
| Fixe pour des tas d’années | Hold fast for all the years to come— |
| Ta sensualité | Your sensuality |