Les patriotes [English translation]

Our disabled people, the other side of their coin1

It isn't being in no state to chase the girls, good heavens, no2,

But no longer being able to return to the battlefield.

The olive branch is not our emblem, no!

What, above all, our blind people deplore,

It's not being in no state to look down blouses3, good heavens no,

But no longer being able to gaze at the French flag4.

The blue line of the Vosges5will always be our skyline.

And our deaf people, if they are gloomy,

It's not through being in no state to hear the sirens' songs, good heavens, no

But through no longer being able to listen to the procession of the regimental band,

The echoes of the drums, the trumpets and the bugles.

And our dumb people, what makes them feel uneasy,

It's not being in no state to whisper sweet nothings to the girls, good heavens, no,

But no longer being able to take up the Marseillaise in chorus again.

Military songs are the only ones we strike up.

What embitters the tempers of our men with no right arm6

Is not being in no state to pinch girls' bottoms, good heavens, no,

But no longer being able to give a military salute.

Never will two fingers7 be our gesture, never!

Those of us who are maimed, what makes us miserable

Is not being in no state to philander, good heavens, no,

But not being able to take part in an attack.

We dream of Rosalie8, the bayonet, not of Ninon9

What makes those whose family jewels have been amputated feel the lack

Isn't being in no state to make love to their wives, good heavens no,

But no longer being able to screw10 the enemy beauties.

The dove of peace, we cook it in an onion sauce.

And as for our dead, if all their souls feel troubled,

It's not because they can't die of love, good heavens, no,

But because they can't get themselves slain next time11.

Each of them dreams of having his name on a war-memorial.

1. literally: "the reverse side of their medals" but, like the English phrase I've used it's an idiom meaning "the part they don't like about the situation"2. literally: "[sa]cred name of a name". Exactly what it means depends on context, here it's just a very strong emphasiser3. literally: "to rinse their eyes"4. lit: "the tricolour flag"5. the Vosges was the scene of a big battle in 1871, towards the end of the Franco-Prussian war, a war which the French lost resulting in Alsace and Lorraine being incorporated into the German empire; it saw battles again in the first world war and in the second world war, both of which Germany lost so that the disputed territories are now once more in France.6. "manchot" can mean a one-armed man or an armless man, but as these men can still wave two fingers they must be one armed and as they can't salute the missing arm must be their right arm7. literally: "the arm of honour", but it means a very rude gesture8. In 1914 at the time of the battle of the Marne "Rosalie" became French slang for a bayonet, perhaps as a result of a song about "la Rosalie de Mlle Lebel" popularised by the French music-hall artist Théodore Botrel9. a girl's pet name, also used in Brassens' song La Fille à Cent Sous10. sabrer literally means to cut down with a sabre, but also has the slang meaning to fuck when the direct object is a woman. "Screw" in English can have the same slang meaning, and can also mean "cause trouble for" and is the best thing I can think of to have a similar double meaning11. literally: "at the next", ie in the next war, or perhaps the next battle - presumably these are not the dead who died on the battlefield