Si

Zaz

traduction en anglais

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anglais

Si

If

If I were a friend of the good Lord,

If I knew any prayers,

If I had blue blood

Or the gift of deleting and reworking it all;

If I were a queen or a sorceress,

A princess, a fairy or a great captain

Of a noble regiment;

If I had the stride of a giant...

I'd add a little paradise to poverty,

Lead all tears into a river,

And deserts would bloom where even hope had fled.

I'd sow utopias, bowing would be forbidden,

We would never turn away again.

If I had great wealth,

The talent, strength or charms

Of the masters and the mighty --

If I had the keys to their hearts,

If I knew how to take up the firearms

Of a titanic army,

I'd kindle the flames

Of children's extinguished dreams,

I'd brighten heartache with color

And I'd create Edens

For the luckless, the hopeless and the less-than-nothings.

But all I have is a tattered heart,

Two twig-like, outstretched hands

And a voice which the morning-wind dispels...

But if our naked hands all join,

If our millions of hearts come together

And our voices unite,

What winters could withstand that?

We shall construct, amid these cinders,

A world of strength, a land of kindred souls...

Little by little, grain by grain,

Drop by drop and heart by heart.

Little by little, grain by grain,

Drop by drop and heart to heart.

Song details

Translation details

MoriokaBoy

submitted on 11 nov 2016 - 23:58

Give a shoutout to MoriokaBoy

Commentaires de l’auteur·e :

New video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4DTYmmTsyQ

Commentaires 5

MoriokaBoy A

12 nov 2016, 22:58

Thanks so much for your comments, @petit élève! I find the lyrics to this song so poetic... I had to try for a similarly poetic English version!

"Hundreds of thousands" is correct English ... it literally means what it says (in other words, no less than 200,000). But thanks so much for clarifying the idiom "des milles et des cents". I'll change that up.

ECR71

12 Jan 2023, 21:50

@MoriokaBoy,
As a French native and veteran French/Spanish teacher in the US, I wanted to tell you that your translation is the loveliest of all 6 versions offered on this website, in my humble but sincere opinion.

Especially these lines:

I'd (re)KINDLE the flames (if I might add my personal touch here)
Of children's extinguished dreams,
I'd BRIGHTEN heartache with color
And I'd create Edens
For the luckLESS, the hopeLESS and the LESS-than-nothings.

And a voice which the morning-wind DISPELS...

We SHALL construct, amid these cinders,
A world of strength, a land of KINDRED SOULS...

Thank you for providing,to my students and myself, this shining example of the art of translation.

@ecr71

PS: from an Asian perspective, I don't feel that "bowing" works. Others have suggested "kneeling". It is the idea of stooping, or bending to another's arbitrary will, but none of these terms SOUND adequate. Any other suggestions?

MoriokaBoy A

9 oct 2023, 03:51

Thank you very much, ECR71, for your (too) kind comments on my translation! This inspiring song deserves to be known and appreciated as widely as possible. :)

Dr_Igor

9 oct 2023, 04:27

ECR71 a écrit :

PS: from an Asian perspective, I don't feel that "bowing" works. Others have suggested "kneeling". It is the idea of stooping, or bending to another's arbitrary will, but none of these terms SOUND adequate. Any other suggestions?

How about any synonym of submission:
yielding - surrendering - capitulation - resignation - giving in

To be honest my French is almost nonexistent so I don't have a good feel for "plier"' s spectrum of meanings ( though I have translated quite a few French songs, mostly to Russian but some to English as well:
https://lyricstranslate.com/en/ma-jeunesse-fout-lcamp-my-youths-slipping...
https://lyricstranslate.com/en/ma-gueule-my-face.html-0
https://lyricstranslate.com/en/par-amour-loves-sake.html )

MoriokaBoy A

15 oct 2023, 12:07

Upon further reflection (and after another visit with my Larousse), I think I could have chosen a better word for "plier".

The connotation of "bowing" I had in mind was the meaning conveyed in the idiom "bowing and scraping". Merriam-Webster defines that idiom as "treat[ing] someone who is powerful or wealthy in an extremely respectful way especially in order to get approval, friendship, etc." In other words, I didn't mean "bowing" as in the Japanese greeting (although, as my Japanese spouse has taught me, Japanese have various types of
bows, ranging from casual acknowledgement of a friend's arrival to a much deeper bow, intended to show respect for one's superiors or request forgiveness).

Thanks to Dr_Igor, I looked again for better words, some of which he suggested. For the sense in which the songwriter seems to be using "plier", I kind of like Dr_Igor's (and Larousse's) suggestion of the words "céder" ("give in"), "reculer" ("retreat") and "capituler" ("capitulate"). "I'd sow utopias, giving in would be forbidden" or "I'd sow utopias, capitulation would be forbidden". I think I like "giving in" better; it is more casual, and doesn't smack of military defeat as "capitulation" does.