| Bébé m’a dit teubé ! | Baby declared me a simpleton—crown askew, a jester in court. |
| Tu, tu n’aurais pas dû | You—you should never have dared |
| Tiser tout le cubi | To drain the whole cask’s slow crimson deluge, |
| Tiser tout le cubi | To drain the whole cask’s slow crimson deluge. |
| Dedans c'était du vin | Within—a vineyard’s velvet kept in shadow, |
| À douze pour cent d’alcool | Twelve measures haunted by the ghost of spirits. |
| Il y avait cinq litres | Five liters, I swear, swelled the vessel’s chest, |
| Il y avait cinq litres | Five liters, I swear, swelled the vessel’s chest. |
| Déjà, déjà très vite | Already—already, time buckled and fled, |
| Bébé me met en garde | Baby, my herald of omen, waves her lantern, |
| Neuneu me fais pas honte | Half-wit, she hisses—don’t brand me with shame, |
| Ne, ne me fais pas honte | No, do not sow my garden with disgrace, |
| Et malgré les menaces | And though her words are daggers shimmering, |
| T’façon j’connais personne | Yet—I am an island, no souls in my ledger, |
| Sauf l’autre connard d’en face | Save the lout across the gulf, a scarecrow on his throne. |
| Bébé m’a dit maudit ! | Baby pronounced me accursed—damned with a kissless cross, |
| Tu, tu n’aurais pas dû | You—you should never have dared |
| Ramener ta gueule ici | To haul your battered mask here again, |
| Ramène ta gueule ici | Haul your battered mask here again. |
| Dedans y a du beau monde | In this den, the constellations gather— |
| Et toi t’as les yeux troubles | Yet you—your gaze is the silt of a river after rain, |
| Comme si t’avais deux vies | As if you lived twice, with a penumbra soul, |
| Comme si t’avais deux vies | As if you lived twice, with a penumbra soul. |
| Déjà, déjà très vite | Already—already, the hourglass shudders, |
| Ça tourne dans ma tête | My thoughts become a carousel of blackbirds, |
| Bébé me met à bloc | Baby winds me taut as a clockspring, |
| Bébé me met à bloc | Baby winds me taut as a clockspring. |
| Et malgré les menaces | And though her threats rattle like coins in a purse, |
| T’façon j’connais personne | Yet—I am a stranger, my name a cipher here, |
| Et j’suis rond comme une pomme | And I’m as round and flushed as a cider apple, |
| Et j’suis rond comme une pomme | And I’m as round and flushed as a cider apple. |
| Bébé m’a dit pas beau ! | Baby declared me unlovely—a painting marred by rain, |
| Tu, tu n’aurais pas dû | You—you never should have tempted fate, |
| Les gens se plaignent la coupe est pleine | The crowd complain—their chalice brims with storm, |
| Les gens se plaignent la coupe est pleine | The crowd complain—their chalice brims with storm. |
| J’ai dit remplis la mienne ! | “Then fill mine!” I dared shout to the tempest, |
| Mais Bébé n’a pas ri | But Baby’s lips did not dare the shape of laughter, |
| Elle m’dit que je lui fais d’la peine | She tells me I have written sorrow in her bones, |
| Elle m’dit que je lui fais d’la peine | She tells me I have written sorrow in her bones. |
| T’inquiète, tout doux Baby | Hush now, easy—let the wind forget us, Baby, |
| Y a pas mort d’homme «qu'j'lui dis» | No soul has fallen—so I vow to her shadow. |
| Sa réponse brève est sans appel | Her answer is a blade: cold, irrevocable, |
| Sa réponse brève est sans appel | Her answer is a blade: cold, irrevocable. |
| Ce n’est plus une menace | It is no longer a storm cloud’s bluff, |
| Ici t’amuses personne | Here, joy is a locked coffer—no hands but mine empty. |
| Sauf l’autre beau gosse d’en face | Save the other Adonis across the divide, |
| Sauf l’autre beau gosse d’en face | Save the other Adonis across the divide. |