Bonjour tristesse [English translation]

As

I am the elegant man

I put on the gloves to drive

In Françoise Sagan's1 extravagant racing cars

In her novels, in her short stories

This lady miss2 mixes

Some pretty frail melancholies

And I sing my ritornello to her glory

Hello

Sadness3

That mad ache4, The leash5

Engagements

of the Heart6

Do you like Brahms7?

See the happiness as it passes

Let's go see what replaces it

At the Bristol Palace8

At the Black Jack, at the Chemin de Fer9, at the passing tricks

Young girls, a little naughty

That older gentlemen tease

At the edge of very pretty swimming pools

In gorgeous Jaguars and Aston Martins10

Hello

Sadness

That mad ache, The leash

The weather is nice

Day and night

The horse had passed out11

Love, it's Chinese12

The ladies and their pretty faces

The gentlemen are also drowning

In the whiskey, the dream, and the walnut alcohol

You have to see what they're going through

How hard love is

Oh it leaves deep wounds

Of which we speak casually

Hello

Sadness

That mad ache, The leash

The eyes

of silk13

Happiness, odd and passing14

As I am the elegant man

I put on the gloves to drive

Hello

Sadness

1. Françoise Sagan (1935-2004), French writer.2. Madame Mademoiselle are the full words3. Hello Sadness is Françoise Sagan's first novel (1954)4. F.Sagan's novel (1965)5. Novel of F.Sagan (1989)6. F.Sagan's novel (1985), also known as A Reluctant Hero in other translations7. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), German : composer, pianist, conductor. It's mainly here the title of F.Sagan's novel (1959)8. Bristol Palace is a 4-star luxury hotel in Italy9. Literally the "Railroad": it's a card game coming from the card game Baccarat, it was exclusively played by aristocratics and became illegal in mid 18th century10. They are luxury racing cars11. F.Sagan's play: Le cheval évanoui (1966)12. French popular saying that means: "a language so different from mine that I can't understand it"13. F.Sagan's short story (1977)14. F.Sagan's play: Bonheur, impair et passe (1964)