Padam [English translation]

I often woke up before sunrise, before leaving the hotel

Squeezed into my double-breasted suit

So often, I kept my vicissitude and my vices

My turmoils, my staggers, my depravation

And the horror of a past memory to myself

Chorus:

I waited in vain

For the entire world to acclaim me

For it to declare its love for me

In a top of the range orgy

Padam padam padam padam pam pam

I often thought I was better than everyone else, I made double faults

Double dry gin, double dose, double draught with others' women

More often than the average man did I drink the vultures' blood

I believed in the people around me

Who dream of happiness

But don't give a damn about yours

Chorus

Yes, in the spotlight, I so often dreamt of glitter, long is the path

Leading to bankruptcy in almost every domain

Yes, often, I had dark, grey, magenta, coffee grounds, eau-de-vie thoughts1

The art of living without anyone to love you

Chorus

Padam padam padam padam pam pam

Chorus

1. This is a pun on 'broyer du noir', an expression meaning 'to have dark thoughts', and 'broyer du café', 'to grind coffee beans'.