The boars are loose
I say again: the boars are loose
Small bossy fry congregate in diamond rivers1
(twice)
The roses of Europe are Satan's feast
I say again: the roses of Europe are Satan's feast
...
We are currently working for Europe
We are currently working for Europe
We are currently working for Europe
We are currently working for Europe
and possibly for the world
...
Dear old Europe, dear old continent, domineering whore,
aristocratic and libertarian, middle-class and proletarian
Crimson and dolled up with great centuries and staggering collossuses
See how hunched your shoulders are, no way to brush away
in one fell sweep the old dandruff, yesterday's dead skin and tabula rasa...
Seen from there you might think you see noble rot in stagnant water.
This smell of sulphur still lingers in the air. Filthy old Europe.
The one that between and even during world wars fondled,
for their own good, the bellies of faraway lands and, cock in hand, sprinkled the native cunts with its sperm.
Can we recover from that? We can recover from anything, even endless falls.
We managed to rise, we managed to go down, we can stop
and we can start again...
Europe of enlightement or obscurement ;
hardly a few fireflies in a shadow play.
Hardly a spark in the night, that settles and then gets a grip on itself
And then the new dawn, after the childhood crimes,
the youthful errors, we no loger rip the golden dragonflies' wings off.
...
We are currently working for Europe
and possibly for the world
...
Amnesty, amnesty or else amnesia, what the hell will that matter.
We have to press on anyway, speed up, comrade,
and also let's achieve something, surely that will do some good!
Being materialistic, we cannot possibly be wrong.
Some tangible achievements then, up to overdose, some rationality
till we die, an irrefutable logic but still no meaning whatsoever...
Hey you, princess of History in your forced march,
going through your centuries-old arches we end up lost.
...
Possibly for the world
We are currently working for Europe2
...
We went from your past mysteries, past mysteries,
we went from your past mysteries to technocratic charms...
And so Europe and so Europe and so Europe
Brussels, Schengen, Strasbourg, Maastricht, GDP, GDP, EEC, Euratom, OECD and GATT
Protect us, markets, from this common friend3 of so small a world
Unique eurocurrency, Nasdaq and CAC 404, orgiac, idyllic, do some poetry
Back the culture, produce some shows and entertainment,
as our brothers from over the Atlantic use to say. Gotcha!5 (they're just) former Europeans.
New masters of the world while the Asian dragon dreams and stretches.
It's handsome and powerful, it gently spits fire
while Ernest Antoine Seillère6 steps on the stage and avows us.
He loves us and says:
"Contrary to politicians, we don't yield to street pressure"
and shouts from the crowd can be heard in the distance
The nice overall moves, the glorious parades and the class struggle too
And now seriously, eh baby, seriously, we no longer believe in anything.
We start this buisness from the ground up and that's it, we are not riding Pegasus
that was for bliss, (but) it's over.
Extension, expansion if possible, but no dream as we only are the driving forces7
Dough comes first, baby, and the rest will follow, and the rest will come, that's what they say8.
In believe in this golden age of the world-eaters.
Dear old Europe, your head is hardly aware of your legs, and those often don't understand your arms. How was that supposed to work, already?
How does a body alienated to its body work? We don't know, we don't care
We kiss each other all the same, and rightly so
Filthy old Europe, do you remember brute force, you moody West.
Hot war, cold war, and at last no war at all, out of sheer exhaustion
...
We are currently working for Europe
...
"efficiency schools" gallore and here are the CEOs
Founders of Global Business Dialogue or Electronic commerce
to trample with a giggle all exceptions, starting with the cultural thingie9
Producers and consumer businesses, from producer to consumer
From producer to consummer, and middle men crawling all around
You soul has been worn out on this endless path and on this to and fro and come on let's go10
We should take advantage of it too, why shoudn't we? It will be ok then
There will be enough for everyone, enough for everyone,
we said for everyone, for everyone, for everyone my ass!
How high will you build your fortifications?
How far will you move your new remparts?
Something got stuck in your throat and we want to spit.
But of course, there's nothing to it, please do, Madam,
call upon us because not everything is lost, not the entirety
of your dawn myths is lost, here the sun shines for all and we believe in that.11
...
We are currently working for Europe
and possibly for the world
Something got stuck in your throat and we want to spit.
But of course, there's nothing to it, please do, Madam,
call upon us because not everything is lost, not the entirety
of your dawn myths is lost, here the sun shines for all and we believe in that.
[hey guys, wake up! That's Brigitte Fontaine now]
Syphilis on your faces
I say again: Syphilis on your faces
The sighs of the saint and the cries of the fay
are no longer heard at the bankers' feast
(once)
The hermit's cauldron is full of rubies
I say again: The hermit's cauldron is full of rubies
Old Europe is the madam of little girls pedophelia
(twice)
When the sirens go quiet, the birds of prey bawl
The red and the black of tortures are the flowers of evil
I say again: The red and the black of tortures are the flowers of evil
The day of the Occident is the night of the Orient
(twice)
Le jour de l’Occident est la nuit de l’Orient
I'm not one to wave flags around, but still France is the queen of cheese
Tryphon Tournesol is a zouave12
(six times)
Spilt blood is the fair's giants' cup of tea
(twice)
It's raining cats and dogs on the Concorde
It's raining cats and dogs on the Concorde
The good little girls are Europe's elected representatives
Fuck safety
(twice)
Megalomania kills mocking blackbirds13
If you no longer find anything, look for something else
Peace in Switzerland
I say again: Peace in Switzerland
The blood wedding is setting the horizon on fire
(twice)
Europe's mascara is dripping on the dickeys
(twice)
Life begins now, and now, and now
Europe is a small mortal goddess
(twice)
Art's childhood14 is a sunrise
I say again: Art's childhood is a sunrise
We are currently working for Europe...
1. a hijacking of the saying "small streams create great rivers". lit. "CEOs of small companies make great diamond necklaces"2. the sentence does not make sense in that order3. "ami" means "friend" but "AMI" is the French acronym of "Multilateral Agreement on Investment", an OEDC project cancelled in 1998 after massive protests in France4. French equivalent of the Dow Jones5. "tic et toc" is just an untranslatable childish pun. "et toc !" is somewhat similar to "gotcha!"6. former head of the confederation of French CEOs, famous for his ultraliberal views7. "porter la dynamique" is typical corporate bullshit8. basically an allusion to the way the European Union was built with free trade as its main goal, and sold to the population with promises that social equity should follow as a natural consequence9. The founding treaty of the European Union stated that culture should be an exception to free trade policies10. there is a kind of pun there, but I'm getting sick of explaining his bad puns. That does not change anything to the meaning anyway11. What a pompous bore... I'm on the verge of foaming at the mouth and keeling over...12. Tournesol is a kind of loony and benevolent scientist in Tintin's universe. "zouave" is one of captain Haddock's favourite swear words. The line alludes to a scene in one of the albums. I suppose the idea is "scientists are plain idiots"13. an allusion to this emblematic anarchist song14. the expression means "a child's play" (something very easy)