Au port [English translation]

Hey, little girl!

You’re drinking water, now you’re drunk

You’re drowning where you’re standing, although your feet touch the bottom, you’re sinking

In the harbour

Hey, wild little thing!

Don’t swim the breast-stroke, swim the crawl

To make the journey, you would have needed strong shoulders

Big and strong1

But as for him, he’s different

He was born on the seven seas

He’s a mighty captain, a landmark love,

You got lost within…

Hey, little girl! We never leave in pairs

There’s always one that leaves the other to pine away2

In the harbour

Hey, little fool! With your pots of jam,

You’re on the road to ruin, not the road to adventure,

Due north

But as for him, he’s different.

He was born on Mont Blanc,

He’s a mighty mountaineer, a landmark love,

You’ve lost his trail…

Hey, little nun!

Follow the beyond if you happen to find it

Don’t take it back to the cardinal to have him open it for you again

Hey, little grub! I am you and I’m speaking to you

You’re already all grown-up, so get up and come on out of your cargo hold

In the harbour

The heart you once had as a little girl is dead

Hey, little girl! The Arc de Triomphe is on your right

Hey, little girl! God's snoring on your left

Hey, little girl! The pyramids are up ahead

Hey, little girl! The Spirit of Liberty3 is at your back

1. “Avoir du corps” is a term which usually designates “full-bodied” wine. I toyed with the idea of having a physical, adult body, but “big and strong” appealed to me because I felt it mimicked what an adult might say to a child.2. This is of course a double-entendre. As the verb “languir” has both connotations of yearning for somebody and waiting/hanging around, I felt the singer was referring to boats and to lovers at the same time, i.e. “one always leaves the other waiting in port.”3. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_G%C3%A9nie_de_la_Libert%C3%A9