They were there young men
Leaving for the war,
Leaving for the war
Straight ahead and regretting,
Straight ahead and regretting
Quite a lot their mistresses
The younger of the three
Regretted his quite a lot,
Regretted his quite a lot
And rightly so:
She's the prettiest
Girl around
The good soldier goes
To meet his captain:
"Hello, my captain
Give me my leave
So I can see Céline
Who just keeps on crying..."
His captain answers
Like a man of war
"Your pretty passport
Go, go see your girl
You'll come anyway"
Then the gentleman goes
To his father's castle
"Hello father, mother
Hello dear parents,
And of course Céline
Whom my heart so dearly loves"
His father answers:
"But your Céline is dead,
But your Céline is dead
She died calling out to you
Her body is underground
And her soul in heaven"
Then the gentleman goes
To cry on her grave:
"Céline, my Céline
Talk, talk to me!
My heart despairs
Of not seeing you anymore..."
Céline answers him:
"My mouth is filled with earth,
My mouth is filled with earth...
Yours is filled with love!
I still cherish the hope
Of seeing you again someday..."
The good soldier goes
To meet his captain
"Hello, my captain!
Here I am again
Since Céline died,
Forever I will serve..."