Translation of the song lyrics Madeleine - Hugues Aufray

Madeleine (original)

Debout sur un bac de misère
Allant au gré de la rivière
Dans la nuit, chante un vieux passeur
Il chante et rit autant qu’il pleure
Madeleine, Madeleine
Demain matin, il se marie
Et le bouquet qu’il a choisi
C’est Madeleine, la pécheresse
Qui l’a cueilli dans sa détresse
Madeleine, Madeleine
Tout le village s’est embarqué
Sur le radeau de la mariée
Les gens se moquent entre leurs dents
En regardant vêtue de blanc
Madeleine, Madeleine
Mais le radeau a chaviré
Il était vraiment trop chargé
Chevaux, amis, femme et carrosse
Tout s’est noyé le jour des noces
De Madeleine, de Madeleine
On a cherché la vérté
Mais elle aussi avait coulé
Il n’est resté qu’un vieux passeur
Pleurant l’amour, perdant l’honneur
Pour Madeleine, pour madeleine
(Merci à nadine pour cettes paroles)

Madeleine (translation)

Standing on a misery bin
Going down the river
In the night sings an old ferryman
He sings and laughs as much as he cries
Magdalene, Magdalene
Tomorrow morning he is getting married
And the bouquet he chose
It's Madeleine, the sinner
Who picked him up in his distress
Magdalene, Magdalene
The whole village got on board
On the bride's raft
People laugh between their teeth
Looking on dressed in white
Magdalene, Magdalene
But the raft capsized
It was really too busy
Horses, friends, wife and carriage
It all drowned on the wedding day
From Madeleine, from Madeleine
We searched for the truth
But she too had sunk
Only an old smuggler remained
Crying for love, losing honor
For Madeleine, for Madeleine
(Thanks to nadine for these lyrics)