Midnight shows up1 in the sobbing wind.
Everything seems dark in the huge sleeping Paris
It's cold and it's pouring,
enough to make a dog howl2
Now here comes a mongrel up there
Hey buddy, come here, show me your face
Would you happen to have no kennel, just like me,
to find shelter in the rainy evenings?
Poor old dog, you look miserable,
yet you got an honest face,
and I can see sweetness in your eyes
even though you're just an animal
Easy now, you're licking my hand
Go ahead, no harm done
I'm but a poor broad, and you're but a poor mongrel
It's a pleasure to meet you.
You sure don't belong to a rich old bag
You stink a bit and you've got no tag3
You're a beggar just like I am a tramp
we share the same fate4
Don't have a lot of fat on you. Had nothing to eat I bet
I know the feeling. I don't eat every day either
You get beat more often than you get fed
As for me, in order to eat, I sell love
Poor old dog, you really look like
you understand my life of misery.
As you sadly stare at me
I think I see a tear in your eye
Really, we share the same lot
and your life is not worth more than mine
You can curse your fate as much as I curse mine,
and plan to take revenge upon it5.
Tonight there's nobody but us in the street
We see no passer-bys on our way
Yet another night when nobody
will take care of the broad nor the mongrel.
All shivering in the biting wind that blows
come, we'll find shelter under some bridge
And since we are companions in misery
I'll be your pal, we will stick together
Poor old dog, we really are out of luck
and forlorn under the pouring rain
And yet you're a man's best friend
and me, all in all, I'm not that mean
And still, you see, old chap
when my last hour comes
I might well die in the gutter,
and you will be off to the pound.
1. I could not find the argotic meaning of "décrocher" here2. "un temps à ne pas mettre un chien/chat dehors" is a very common expression akin to "it's raining cats and dogs". The idea is that the weather is so terrible you would feel bad to put your dog/cat out into it3. frankly I could not find a definite meaning for "panto". This is just an educated guess4. the expression is "être logé à la même enseigne", meaning "rent a room in the same hostel/building". "garno" stands for "garni", a room with furniture5. that's the meaning of "garder un chien de sa chienne" (raise a dog from the bitch someone gave you). The idea is that you will use the wrong someone did you to "breed" an even stronger revenge