| Y avait des canards,
| There were ducks,
|
| Un gros et plein de petits,
| One big and full of little ones,
|
| C'(c)tait si beau voir
| It (it) was so beautiful to see
|
| L’aprs-midi.
| Afternoon.
|
| Le lac comme un miroir,
| The lake like a mirror,
|
| Leur glissait sous les plumes,
| Slipped under their feathers,
|
| Il y avait des canards
| There were ducks
|
| Ce jour l, je pr (c)sume.
| That day, I pr (c)sume.
|
| On les a tant guett©,
| They have been watched for so long,
|
| Pench© sur notre rive,
| Leaning over our shore,
|
| Un pied sec, un mouill© On essayait de les suivre
| One dry foot, one wet, we tried to follow them
|
| Cinq heure de l’aprs midi,
| Five o'clock in the afternoon,
|
| Sans faute ils arrivaient,
| Without fail they arrived,
|
| Le gros et les petits,
| The big and the little ones,
|
| Qui le talonnaient.
| Who were following him.
|
| Il y avait des canards,
| There were ducks,
|
| Enfin je ne les ai pas vu,
| Well I haven't seen them,
|
| Mais ce jour l
| But that day
|
| Je vous jure qu’ils sont venus.
| I swear they came.
|
| Ils ont du se pavaner,
| They must have strutted around,
|
| Ils ont du faire les beaux,
| They must have looked pretty,
|
| Filer entre le quai
| Spin between the dock
|
| Et le bateau…
| And the boat...
|
| C'(c)tait un beau samedi,
| It (it) was a beautiful Saturday,
|
| Le chalet (c)tait bond©,
| The cottage (c)was crowded,
|
| Quand cinq heure de l’aprs-midi
| When five o'clock in the afternoon
|
| A Sonn©,
| In Sonn©,
|
| Le temps d’allumer le four,
| Time to turn on the oven,
|
| Destin© aux pizzas,
| Destiny© for pizzas,
|
| Le temps, je vous assure,
| Time, I assure you,
|
| Aussi court que § a!
| As short as § a!
|
| Cinq heure (c)tait pass©,
| Five o'clock (it) had passed,
|
| D’a peine quelques secondes,
| Just a few seconds,
|
| Ca semblait bien se passer
| It seemed to be going well
|
| Pour tout mon monde…
| For all my people...
|
| Je n’ai pas vu les canards,
| I haven't seen the ducks,
|
| Ni le gros, ni les petits,
| Neither the big nor the small,
|
| Flotter sur le miroir
| Float on the mirror
|
| Que me cachaient mes amis
| What my friends were hiding from me
|
| Je n’ai vu qu’un manteau,
| I only saw one coat,
|
| Qui flottait comme une algue,
| Which floated like seaweed,
|
| Un petit manteau bleu pўle,
| A little pale blue coat,
|
| Sur les vagues…
| On the waves...
|
| S"rement que les canards,
| Surely the ducks,
|
| Ont m (c)rit© la chance,
| Have (c)rited me lucky,
|
| De lui dire au revoir,
| To say goodbye to him,
|
| En lui offrant une danse…
| By offering him a dance...
|
| Il y avait des canards,
| There were ducks,
|
| Un gros et plein de petits,
| One big and full of little ones,
|
| Si c'(c)tait pas de ces canards l,
| If it (it) wasn't one of those ducks,
|
| Je vous le dis,
| I tell you,
|
| On pourrai boire tranquille,
| We can drink in peace,
|
| L’ap (c)ro sur le quai,
| The ap (c)ro on the quay,
|
| Et encore voir Mathilde
| And still see Mathilde
|
| S’amuser.
| Enjoy.
|
| Oui, ce sont les canards,
| Yes, it's the ducks,
|
| Qui me l’ont enlev©!
| Who took it away from me!
|
| Avec leur grosse famille,
| With their large family,
|
| Et moi je n’avais qu’une fille…
| And I only had one daughter...
|
| Et moi je n’ai rien fait,
| And I did nothing,
|
| A part ne pas la voir,
| Other than not seeing her,
|
| Et sortir du chalet,
| And come out of the cottage,
|
| Trop tard…
| Too late…
|
| (Thanks to Bridgit for these lyrics) | (Thanks to Bridgit for these lyrics) |