Translation of the song lyrics Syracuse - Henri Salvador

Syracuse (original)

J’aimerais tant voir Syracuse
L'île de Pâques et Kairouan
Et les grands oiseaux qui s’amusent
A glisser l’aile sous le vent
Voir les jardins de Babylone
Et le palais du grand Lama
Rêver des amants de Vérone
Au sommet du Fuji-Yama
Voir le pays du matin calme
Aller pêcher au cormoran
Et m’enivrer de vin de palme
En écoutant chanter le vent
Avant que ma jeunesse s’use
Et que mes printemps soient partis
J’aimerais tant voir Syracuse
Pour m’en souvenir à Paris

Syracuse (translation)

How deeply I yearn to behold Syracuse,
The far Easter Isle and ancient Kairouan,
And the broad-winged birds, in their festival ruse,
Letting wind bear their pinions as banners are drawn,
To wander among Babylon’s gardens in bloom,
And the palace of the Lama, gold-veiled in the dawn,
To dream of Verona’s lovers, adrift in perfume,
Where the snows on Fuji-Yama silently fawn,
To glimpse the realm where morning breaks serene,
And cast my hope with cormorant and stream,
To be lost in palm-wine’s languid, emerald sheen,
While the wind, like a poet, weaves music from dream,
Ere my youth, like old parchment, is brittle and used,
And my springs, sweet and eager, have faded from me,
How deeply I yearn to behold Syracuse—
That your memory, in Paris, may blossom in me