David Sylvian - The Greatest Living Englishman - translation of the lyrics into French




The Greatest Living Englishman
Le plus grand Anglais vivant
Here we are then, here we are
Voilà, nous voilà
Notes from a suicide
Notes d'un suicide
And he will never ever be
Et il ne sera jamais, jamais
The greatest living Englishman
Le plus grand Anglais vivant
It's such a melancholy blue
C'est un bleu si mélancolique
Or a grey of no significance
Ou un gris sans importance
Plastic coated surfaces
Des surfaces recouvertes de plastique
A space to place his suitcase
Un espace pour placer sa valise
As he's bussed from A to B
Alors qu'il est transporté de A à B
But it's such a melancholy blue
Mais c'est un bleu si mélancolique
The curtains round the bed are drawn
Les rideaux autour du lit sont tirés
Broadcast voices from the ward
Des voix de diffusion depuis la salle
The humming of machines are heard
Le bourdonnement des machines se fait entendre
But there are distances between
Mais il y a des distances entre
Yes, there are distances between
Oui, il y a des distances entre
His aspirations visited him nightly
Ses aspirations lui rendaient visite la nuit
And amounted to so little
Et ne représentaient plus grand-chose
Too much self in his writing
Trop de moi-même dans mes écrits
Now he will never ever be
Maintenant, il ne sera jamais, jamais
The greatest living Englishman
Le plus grand Anglais vivant
The engine shifts into second gear
Le moteur passe en deuxième vitesse
They're all aboard accounted for
Ils sont tous à bord et comptés
It's a journey he must make alone
C'est un voyage qu'il doit faire seul
The black sheep boy is leaving home
Le garçon mouton noir quitte le foyer
It's been rehearsed a thousand times or more
Cela a été répété mille fois ou plus
He's well prepared of that he's sure
Il est bien préparé, il en est sûr
But still it's such a melancholy blue
Mais c'est toujours un bleu si mélancolique
He's erased a page of history
Il a effacé une page d'histoire
Much as he'd intended to
Comme il l'avait prévu
He wouldn't speak or show you he was happy
Il ne parlerait pas ni ne te montrerait qu'il était heureux
Though you'd meet him with your eyes
Bien que tu le rencontres avec tes yeux
There was a wall that always stood between you
Il y avait un mur qui se dressait toujours entre vous
He'd shut himself outside
Il s'était enfermé dehors
And the love that he engendered
Et l'amour qu'il a engendré
Would never be enough
Ne serait jamais suffisant
For him to feel alive
Pour qu'il se sente vivant
Warm and tender
Chaud et tendre
He'd shut himself outside
Il s'était enfermé dehors
Not a fake nor a sham
Pas un faux ni une imposture
But dug in deep and fighting
Mais enfoncé profondément et en train de se battre
The world could not embrace a man
Le monde ne pouvait pas embrasser un homme
With so much self in his writing
Avec autant de moi-même dans ses écrits
Well he was never gonna be
Eh bien, il n'allait jamais être
The greatest living Englishman
Le plus grand Anglais vivant
He had ideas above his station
Il avait des idées au-dessus de son rang
Minor virtues go unmentioned
Les vertus mineures ne sont pas mentionnées
Little England you fit like a straightjacket
La petite Angleterre te va comme une camisole de force
Hemmed by the genius of others
Bordée par le génie des autres
He said "to conquer the world is not to leave a trace
Il a dit "conquérir le monde, ce n'est pas laisser de trace
Remove even the shadow of the memory of your face"
Enlever même l'ombre du souvenir de votre visage"
A grey of no significance
Un gris sans importance





Writer(s): David Sylvian

David Sylvian - Do You Know Me Now? – The Samadhisound Box Set
Album
Do You Know Me Now? – The Samadhisound Box Set
date of release
24-08-2023

1 Blemish
2 Serotonin - Burnt Friedman Remix
3 Money For All - Version
4 Get The Hell Out - Burnt Friedman Remix
5 When Monday Comes Around
6 Do You Know Me Now?
7 Where's Your Gravity?
8 When Loud Weather Buffeted Naoshima
9 Small Metal Gods
10 The Rabbit Skinner
11 Random Acts Of Senseless Violence
12 The Greatest Living Englishman
13 125 Spheres
14 Snow White In Appalachia
15 Emily Dickinson
16 The Department Of Dead Letters
17 Manafon
18 Small Metal Gods
19 Died In the Wool
20 I Should Not Dare
21 Random Acts Of Senseless Violence
22 A Certain Slant of Light (For M. K.)
23 Anomaly At Taw Head
24 Snow White In Appalachia
25 Emily Dickinson
26 The Greatest Living Englishman (Coda)
27 Anomaly At Taw Head (A Haunting)
28 Manafon
29 The Last Days of December
30 When We Return You Won’t Recognise Us
31 Birds Sing For Their Lives
32 There's A Light That Enters Houses With No Other House In Sight
33 Wonderful World - Burnt Friedman Remix
34 Get The Hell Out
35 The Good Son
36 The Only Daughter
37 The Heart Knows Better
38 She Is Not
39 Late Night Shopping
40 How Little We Need To Be Happy
41 A Fire In The Forest
42 The Only Daughter (remixed by Ryoji Ikeda)
43 Blemish - Remixed By Burnt Friedman
44 The Heart Knows Better - Remixed By Sweet Billy Pilgrim
45 A Fire In The Forest (remixed by Readymade FC)
46 The Good Son (remixed by Yoshihiro Hanno)
47 Late Night Shopping (remixed by Burnt Friedman)
48 How Little We Need To Be Happy - Remixed By Tatsuhiko Asano
49 The Only Daughter (remixed by Jan Bang and Erik Honore)
50 Blemish - Remixed By Akira Rabelais
51 Wonderful World
52 Darkest Birds
53 The Banality of Evil
54 Atom and Cell
55 A History of Holes
56 Snow Borne Sorrow
57 The Day the Earth Stole Heaven
58 Serotonin
59 The Librarian
60 World Citizen (Long Version)
61 World Citizen - I Won't Be Disappointed (Long Version)
62 World Citizen (Ryoji Ikeda Remix)
63 Money For All
64 The Banality Of Evil - Burnt Friedman Remix

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