Que fais-tu là, Petula? [English translation]

My ancestor Mortimer, Mortimer Peabody,

who warred on the English side for a hundred years

is a fierce ghost who does not forgive me

for choosing to wed a French husband.

And Mortimer, every night in anger, shouts at me:

What do you do there, Petula? What do you do there?

What do you do there, Petula, far from England?

What do you do there, Petula? I don't understand.

What do you do there, Petula? Come back to England.

Remember Piccadilly and Christmas pudding.

Remember Tipperary—return to the Queen.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

What do you do there, Petula, in the enemy camp?

I died at Fontenoy—you betrayed us.

My ancestor Mortimer, Mortimer Peabody,

lost another war against the French.

He grew so accustomed to the Parisian sky

that he does not want to leave it, even for one night.

When I go off to London today, Mortimer shouts at me:

What do you do there, Petula? What do you do there?

Take me back, Petula, to the Folies Bergères.

What do you do there, Petula, so far from Paris?

Les Parisiennes, Petula—very good for me!

Their ghosts are so pretty, I want to return

to haunt the Champs Élysées every night.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

It's very extraordinary, this English ghost,

who ended up being naturalized.