Mes amis d'autrefois [English translation]

1At sixty per hour2 and stuck on the highway for heavy trucks,

In the days when my pockets were full of time,

Driving a Beetle3 for which, despite my love,

My tricks, and my faith, the end was near,

I long traveled around towns, cities, and cantons,

Carrying my confidence as my bankroll,

With my guitar and my songs as luggage,

Insisting upon only a thirst for life.

There were some lovable shadows I could make out in the dark,

Friends, accomplices on top of that.

I had chosen the road to follow and they gave me hope,

A place at their table, a bed under their roof,

When the only ones who believed in my songs were them and me.

The applause at night helped me in the morning

To look for other studios, other bars.4

They helped me stay calm in the reception areas,

Hearing the deft excuses.

They let me keep my pride in those days,

During auditions, failed proposals.

And if all those doors were going to close in my face,

At night, they would wait for me to take the stage.

There were some lovable shadows I could make out in the dark,

Friends, accomplices on top of that.

I had chosen the road to follow and they gave me hope,

A place at their table, a bed under their roof,

When the only ones who believed in my songs were them and me.

If the wind turned in my favour, if along with that

Lots of things changed along the way,

All the spotlights, all the flashbulbs, could never disturb my vision.

Compliments didn't dispell my doubts,

And if it felt good just to be out of the cold,

I never forgot thoughout the story

That I owe it to you, my friends from the old days,

And you are precious in my memories!

There were some lovable shadows I could make out in the dark,

Friends, accomplices on top of that.

I had chosen the road to follow and they gave me hope,

A place at their table, a bed under their roof,

When the only ones who believed in my songs were them and me.

When the only ones who believed in my songs were them and me.

1. La ponctuation . . . Je vais tout laisser passer en silence. Je vais insérer de la ponctuation à ma guise et me contenter d'un boulot bien (je le souhaite) fait. C'est une chanson assez difficile et il exige toute mon énergie, qui veut dire qu'il n'en reste pas pour me plaindre pour une enième fois de la ponctuation.2. Such a suave way of begging the question of whether these are miles or kilometres per hour, don't you think? If it's kilometres, which it almost certainly is, it's not particularly fast.3. I am going way out on a limb here. "Coccinelle" appears to be a lady bug, according to what I see in both Wikipédia and Wikipedia. The descriptions refer to them as beetles, so I am guessing, since our buddy Fred is German, that he was driving this particular model of Volkswagen. In fact, after just a tiny bit more research, I am now quite convinced I've got this right, despite the fact that the French lyrics didn't help me any since they show the word without an intial capital letter.4. Or night clubs, cafés, etc. He's obviously talking about places to perform.