In a street set ablaze by the sun,
I was fifteen and dreamt of cinema.
It smelt of jasmine, chili and honey.
Paris seemed so far away, yet I already thought of it.
My father rehearsed "Parsifal" on its violin,
Mom sang along, slightly out of tune.
In a corner my younger brother called me his star.
When he said that I could hear your cheering.
And then one evening, I saw my name shining,
six blazing neon letters burning my heart,
and I knew this evening that I had been right
to remain honest1 and trust you.
A music hall haunted by Garland2's voice,
a few friends who came to root for me,
and a lump in my throat facing this no man's land.
It's not much, and yet it means a lot when you're terrified3
And then I step on the stage, the same old black hole,
my dress that suddenly gets in my way.
I don't need memory to tell you this story,
some memories you just can't forget.
Can you imagine? One evening, I saw my name shine,
New York like a bazing fire,
my heart of neon.
And I knew this evening that I had been right
to remain honest and trust you.
Even if I'm moved when, far away from here,
I hear people humming my tunes,
it's when you holler as I sing "Gigi"
that I can at last say to myself: "I'm home".
And though life sometimes takes me away from you,
from journey to journey, from tours to galas,
I can confess that, for more than twenty years know,
each time we meet I feel deep inside that
it's the first hope, the very first evening.
It's the first time.
yes, it's the first time...
1. "never to cheat"2. I don't really know who she refers to. Judy Garland? Red Garland?3. "made of fear"