A bat
loved an umbrella
a big black umbrella
cut out at night
by a taste of despair
since everything slid on him.
A bat
loved an umbrella (x2)
She was on auto-pilot (lit. "walking by RADAR")
Sleep had fled from her.
She wanted to drink,
to throw herself down a well
A bat
loved an umbrella
a big black umbrella
cut out at night (x2)
Without giving a care
for this bat
the big black umbrella
left its sleeve.
Under its wings
it took care of a lady of the night*
which Saint Marcel Boulevard
had watered with rain.
Then the great accessory (the umbrella)
set out on a journey
in its pretty, black outfit,
its black outfit of jet**
After bargaining
to make some wicker (?),
A sword-swallower
put it down his throat.
To an acrobat
it served as a balance pole.
A tie salesman
took it to be an associate.
Then he (or it) unfolded
on a perm.
Then he (or it) unfolded
because it was raining in Nantes.
A bat,
lady (unmarried) of the night,
a bat,
loved an umbrella.
She came looking for something forgotten
in an old manor
where she died of boredom
while the umbrella
led, to the Père Lachaise cemetary,
an old chair leg***.
A day of bad weather
A day of bad weather
A strong gust of wind
made it slip and fall (lit. "put its feet in front of it")
It was left for dead
in some gutter.
It was left for dead
face-down in the water (lit. "with its beak in the water")
While seeing its skeleton,
which was extruding bodily waste
in the garbage
and the trashed wares,
"Fate is smiling down upon me!"
exclaimed the bat.
"I thought it was lost --
The sleeve**** has returned!"
Laighing like a whale,
crying like a medeleine,
a bat
loved an umbrella.
They will say "I do"
In the city hall tower
A bat
loved an umbrella.
* Besides being a euphemism for a prostitute, "lady of the night" is a species of flower, scientific name Mirabilis jalapa.
** A particularly dark type of coal sometimes used in jewelery, whence the phrase "jet black."
*** A pun on the name "Lachaise," which means "the chair." Possibly a metaphor for old bad habits.
**** I have no clue how to translate this word. It has a ridiculous number of meanings (sleeve, wind sock, well, fishing net, the English Channel, period/half/quarter (as in sports), loot, handle, clutz).