It was the good weather of Violette
Des Violaine and Violetta
Missy always loved Colette
And Violet loved Vita
The other Violette, Sunday
Deposed, if I remember
For two sous of white violets.
On the gave of Renee Vivien
And Violette's expeditions,
Who had no other purpose
Than to be the kings of sports,
Had their breasts been removed.
Ah, let them be allowed
Touch necks and a curb
The rose or the ring
Gourmet or tuxedo
The shadow or the base
Tuxedo and monocle
The pure under impurity
Monocle and hard collar.
When the sign and it's purple circle
Goes off to Edgar-Quinet boulevard
They came back to their alcove (room/garden)
Purple like the day it was born
Getting drunk illegally,
From the beguines from boarding school.
Whose men are mocked and excited
Or with bloody passion
But, they loved the noise
Or the secret that dissolves,
The warriors hid their weapons very well
And their black tuxedo underneath.
Ah, let them be allowed
Hard collars and a curb
The rose or the ring
Gourmet or tuxedo
The shadow or the base
Tuxedo and monocle
The pure under impurity
Monocle and hard collar.
A day passed and they are jade
Truck drivers, bad dykes
And here they cried for their youth
And the violets of Vivien
Sometimes, I meet one of those wild beasts
Old huntresses, their eyes on lookout
But there is not purple circle
On boulevard Edgar-Quinet.
Do I have laughter or pain?
Me, who still stays behind and refrain,
Behind my freedom, my chains
And my black tuxedo underneath.
Ah, let them be allowed
Hard collars and a curb
The rose or the ring
Gourmet or tuxedo
The shadow or the base
Tuxedo and monocle
The pure under impurity
Monocle and hard collar.