Les deux oncles [English translation]

It was uncle Martin, it was uncle Gaston

One loved the Tommies, the other loved the Teutons1

Each one, for their friends, both of them are dead

Me, who didn't love anyone, well! I'm still alive

Now, dears uncles 2, that times have past

That your war widows have finally married

That have been restored in the Verdun sky

The tarnished stars of Marshal Pétain

Now that your controversies fell silent

That we have had a good time sharing the ropes of hangmen

Now that John Bull3 boycotts us, now

That the German quarrels are over

That your daughters and sons go hand in hand

Make love together and tomorrow's Europe

That they care about your battles nearly as much

As ourselves cared about the Hundred Year's Wars

We can confess you this, now, dears uncles

You the friend of the Tommies, you the friend of the Teutons

That, with your truthes, your untruthes

Everybody's like : "the hell with this" unanimously

With your epurations, with your collaborations

Your abominations and your desolations

With your sauerkraut dishes and your cups of tea4

Everybody's like : "the hell with this" unanimously

In spite of your memories that we commemorate

Of the flames we rekindle at the War Memorial

With the defeated, the vanquished, the others and with you

Forgive my words, nobody gives a damn

Life, like the man said, has come into its own again

They don't shade very much anymore, your two crosses

And, little by little, here you have become

Minus the Triumphal Arch, unknown soldiers

Now, I'm sure of it, dears unfortunate uncles

You, the friend of the Tommies, you, the friend of the Teutons

If you had lived, if you were here

You would be the ones singing this song

Singing, and sharing drink to your healths

It's such a madness to lose life for some ideas

Ideas, like this, that comes and that take

Three little rides, three little deads, and then go away

That no idea on earth is worthy of a death

That we must leave this role to the ones that don't have any

That take, straight away, the enemy as he turns out

It's like some mash for the cats and for the dogs5

That instead of taking aim at some vague enemy

It's better wait a moment for him to turn into a friend

It's better to turn seven times your gun grip in your hand6

It's always better to postpone a volley of shot until tomorrow

That the only generals that we should follow

Are the generals of the little tin soldiers

This way, you would sing both of you, following

Malbrough who goes to war7 in the land of children

Oh you, you who today take the key of skies8

You, lucky jolly fellows who, this evening, will see God

When you meet my two uncles, over there

Give them from me these "forget-me-not"

These two myosotys bloomed in my garden

A little forget me not for my uncle Martin

A little vergiss mein nicht9 for my uncle Gaston

Poor friend of the Tommies, poor friend of the Teutons...

1. I'm not sure this word is very used in English; maybe "Krauts" or "Jerries" is more appropriate.2. Brassens uses here the word "Tonton", that is the affectionate word for "Uncle". I would say that "Tonton" is to "Uncle" what "Daddy" is to "Father"3. personification of Great Britain; in France it often has a pejorative connotation.4. According to French stereotypes, this is how the world's like : Germans eat sauerkraut at every meal, and Britishes can't live without their tea.5. I'm not sure the sense of these two last lines is still clear once translated : kill an enemy without any reasons, it's worthless and dirty6. Here Brassens plays with a purely French expression "il vaut mieux tourner sept fois sa langue dans sa bouche (avant de parler)" ("it's better to turn seven times your tongue in your mouth"), that means "it's better to think (before you speak), it's better to carve every word (before you let it fall)". So here the sense is "it's better to do some serious thinking before you shoot someone"7. It refers to a very popular French song, or rather a rhyme "Malbrough s'en va t'en guerre", that is for exemple sung by the kids in the school playgrounds or by the drunkards in the bars. It describes the sad story of a Mr. Malbrough that got his gun and finally died in war. Apparently it dates from 18th century and "Malbrough" would actually be John Churchill, first duke of Marloborough, injured in a battle against the French. Here are the lyrics of "Marlbrough s'en va t'en guerre" : http://lyricstranslate.com/en/le-po%C3%A8me-harmonique-malbrough-sen-va-... 8. In French "prendre la clé des champs" (take the key of the fields) means "to run away, to head for the hills". So here Brassens means " to run away from life, to let oneself die"9. "Vergiss mein nicht" = "Forget me not" in German. In German, just like in English and in French, it refers to the myosotis flower and at the same time means "don't forget me". If only translations could always be as simple as that!