Damien’s favourite song

[Magnus]

As many of you probably already know Jaques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas" is one of Damien'sfavourite tunes (if not the favourite). I don't understand French so I was happy when I found out that the song has been translated into English which a lot of artists are singing. I don't know if the translation does the original lyrics justice, but it sure is a lot easier for me to understand. I thought perhaps some of you also might have problems with French so I decided to post the translated lyrics here.

"If You Go Away" lyrics

IF YOU GO AWAY ON THIS SUMMER DAY
THEN YOU MIGHT AS WELL TAKE THE SUN AWAY;
ALL THE BIRDS THAT FLEW IN THE SUMMER SKY,
WHEN OUR LOVE WAS NEW AND OUR HEARTS WERE HIGH;
WHEN THE DAY WAS YOUNG AND THE NIGHT WAS LONG,
AND THE MOON STOOD STILL FOR THE NIGHTBIRD`S SONG.

IF YOU GO AWAY, IF YOU GO AWAY,
IF YOU GO AWAY, IF YOU GO AWAY.

BUT IF YOU STAY, I`LL MAKE YOU A DAY,
LIKE NO DAY HAS BEEN, OR WILL BE AGAIN;
WE`LL SAIL THE SUN, WE`LL RIDE THE RAIN,
WE`LL TALK TO THE TREES AND WORSHIP THE WIND.
THEN IF YOU GO, I`LL UNDERSTAND,
LEAVE ME JUST ENOUGH LOVE TO FILL UP MY HAND.

IF YOU GO AWAY, IF YOU GO AWAY,
IF YOU GO AWAY, IF YOU GO AWAY.

IF YOU GO AWAY, AS I KNOW YOU WILL,
YOU MUST TELL THE WORLD TO STOP TURNING TILL
YOU RETURN AGAIN, IF YOU EVER DO,
FOR WHAT GOOD IS LOVE WITHOUT LOVING YOU;
CAN I TELL YOU NOW, AS YOU TURN TO GO,
I`LL BE DYING SLOWLY TILL THE NEXT HELLO.

IF YOU GO AWAY, IF YOU GO AWAY,
IF YOU GO AWAY, IF YOU GO AWAY.

BUT IF YOU STAY, I`LL MAKE YOU A NIGHT,
LIKE NO NIGHT HAS BEEN, OR WILL BE AGAIN;
I`LL SAIL ON YOUR SMILE, I`LL RIDE ON YOUR TOUCH,
I`LL TALK TO YOUR EYES, THAT I LOVE SO MUCH.
BUT IF YOU GO, GO, I WON`T CRY,
THOUGH THE GOOD IS GONE FROM THE WORD `GOODBYE.`

IF YOU GO AWAY, IF YOU GO AWAY,
IF YOU GO AWAY, IF YOU GO AWAY.

IF YOU GO AWAY, AS I KNOW YOU MUST,
THERE`LL BE NOTHING LEFT IN THE WORLD TO TRUST;
JUST AN EMPTY ROOM, FULL OF EMPTY SPACE,
LIKE THE EMPTY LOOK I SEE ON YOUR FACE,
I`D HAVE BEEN THE SHADOW OF YOUR SHADOW
IF I THOUGHT IT MIGHT HAVE KEPT ME BY YOUR SIDE.

IF YOU GO AWAY, IF YOU GO AWAY,
IF YOU GO AWAY, PLEASE DON`T GO AWAY.


"Ne Me Quitte Pas" lyrics </PRE>Ne me quitte pas
Il faut oublier
Tout peut s'oublier
Qui s'enfuit deja
Oublier le temps
Des malentendus
Et le temps perdu
A savoir comment
Oublier ces heures
Qui tuaient parfois
A coups de pourquoi
Le coeur du bonheur
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Moi je t'offrirai
Des perles de pluie
Venues de pays
Où il ne pleut pas
Je creuserai la terre
Jusqu'apres ma mort
Pour couvrir ton corps
D'or et de lumière
Je ferai un domaine
Où l'amour sera roi
Où l'amour sera loi
Où tu seras reine
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Ne me quitte pas
Je t'inventerai
Des mots insensés
Que tu comprendras
Je te parlerai
De ces amants là
Qui ont vu deux fois
Leurs coeurs s'embraser
Je te racont'rai
L'histoire de ce roi
Mort de n'avoir pas
Pu te rencontrer
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

On a vu souvent
Rejaillir le feu
De l'ancien volcan
Qu'on croyait trop vieux
Il est paraît-il
Des terres brûlées
Donnant plus de blé
Qu'un meilleur avril
Et quand vient le soir
Pour qu'un ciel flamboie
Le rouge et le noir
Ne s'épousent-ils pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Ne me quitte pas
Je ne vais plus pleurer
Je ne vais plus parler
Je me cacherai là
À te regarder
Danser et sourire
Et à t'écouter
Chanter et puis rire
Laisse-moi devenir
L'ombre de ton ombre
L'ombre de ta main
L'ombre de ton chien
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas</PRE></PRE>

[Mojo_Pin1980]

Are you sure it's the same song?[img]smileys/smiley2.gif[/img]The translation doesn't sound anything like the original...

[hazey]

There ARE quite different translations of that song circling around the net. I used to have French back in high school and can say with fair certainty that at least as far as the title goes the literal translation would be 'Don't leave me' -which I personally find more powerful- rather than 'If You Go Away'.


Here'sjustone more of the many various takes on Ne Me Quitte Pas, for comparison's sake.






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<TD colSpan=2 rowSpan=3 width=421>ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Don't leave me
We must forget
All we can forget all we did till now
Let's forget the cost of the breath
We've spent saying words unmeant
And the times we've lost hours that must destroy
Never knowing why everything must die at the heart of joy
Don't leave me don't leave me
Don't leave me don't leave me

I'll bring back to you the pearls of rain
From a distant domain where rain never fell
And though I grow old I'll keep mining the ground
To deck you around in gold and light
I'll build you a domain where love's everything
Where love is king and you are queen
Don't leave me don't leave me
Don't leave me don't leave me

Don't leave me
For you I'll invent
Words and what they meant only you will know
Tales of lovers who fell apart and then fell in love again
There's a story too that I can confide
Of that king who died from not meeting you
Don't leave me don't leave me
Don't leave me don't leave me

And often it's true that flames spill anew
From ancient volcano's we thought were too old
When all's said and done scorched fields of defeat
Could give us more wheat than the fine April sun
And when evening is nigh with flames overhead
The black and the red aren't they joined in the sky
Don't leave me don't leave me
Don't leave me don't leave me

Don't leave me
I will cry no more
I will talk no more hide myself
To look at you and see you dance and smile
And hear you sing and laugh
Let me be for you the shadow of your shadow
The shadow of your hand the shadow of your dog
Don't leave me don't leave me
Don't leave me don't leave me</TD>
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[Magnus]

I had a feeling they were not the exact same words. It is however supposed to be the same song. SinceI posted this topic I've found another translation. I don't think this one is as famous as the "If you Go Away," but it is supposedly more related to the original lyric:



"Don't Leave Me" lyrics



Don’t leave me now
We must just forget
All we can forget
All we did till now
Let’s forget the cost
Of the breath we’ve spent
Saying words unmeant
And the times we’ve lost
Hours that must destroy
Never knowing why
Everything must die
At the heart of joy
Don’t leave me now
Don’t leave me now
Don’t leave me now


I’ll bring back to you
The clear pearls of rain
From a distant domain
Where rain never fell
And though I grow old
I’ll keep mining the ground
To deck you around
In sunlight and gold
I’ll build you a desmene
Where love’s everything
Where love is the king
And you are the queen
Don’t leave me now
Don’t leave me now
Don’t leave me now


Don’t leave me now
For you I’ll invent
Words and what they meant
Only you will know
Tales of lovers who
Fell apart and then
Fell in love again
Since their hearts stayed true
There’s a story too
That I can confide
Of that king who died
From not meeting you
Don’t leave me now
Don’t leave me now
Don’t leave me now


And often it’s true
That flames spill anew
From ancient volcanos
We thought were too old
When all’s said and done
Scorched fields of defeat
Could give us more wheat
Than the fine April sun
And when evening is nigh
With flames overhead
The black and the red
Aren’t they joined in the sky?
Don’t leave me now
Don’t leave me now
Don’t leave me now


Don’t leave me now
I will cry no more
I will talk no more
Hide myself somehow
And I’ll see your smile
And I’ll see you dance
And I’ll hear you sing
Hear your laughter ring
Let me be for you
The shadow of your shadow
The shadow of your hand
The dog at your command
Don’t leave me now
Don’t leave me now
Don’t leave me now


This translation is by Des De Moor. The translation of "Ne Me Quitte Pas" into "If You Go Away" is by Rod McKuen.I found the lyrics to "Don't Leave Me"here. Here is a footnote from the same site:


"This is one of Jacques Brel's most famous songs, and one of the great songs of the 20th century. It's also his best-known outside the French-speaking world, in an English version by Rod McKuen called 'If You Go Away'. This, unfortunately, bears little relation to the poignancy and desperation of Brel's original lyric in which the narrator is not speculating about the possibility of their partner leaving in order to bring the importance of their emotions into sharper relief, but is literally begging the other person to stay while they stand with suitcases packed on the doorstep!"

[Magnus]

I didn't see your post there Hazey. EFwent downand I posted as soon as it came back up, without checking the thread for updates. [img]smileys/smiley29.gif[/img]

[Miss Pink]

damn ef and its goin crazy...

[hazey]

Yep, that's the one that resembles the original more closely.


Sorry 'bout that LOUSY copy and paste job above, btw. I don't know the first thing about html.

[Miss Pink]

edit ur post maybe?

[hazey]

I was gonna, but then the site indeed went a little berserk for a while. [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]

[Magnus]

Originally Posted by hazey

Yep, that's the one that resembles the original more closely.

Thanks! [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]

[DamosFavEyes]

how do we know this is damien's favorite song??

[Magnus]

He has talked about this in a couple of interviews. One was with Tom Dunne of Today FM, another was the one where Damien wasguestDJ of Morning Becomes Eclectic.

[DamosFavEyes]

alrighty then!!

[SisterMidnight]

Thanks for that, Magnus! [img]smileys/smiley4.gif[/img]You always find and post the most interesting Damien tidbits. And whatever interview it was I saw, Damien read it French with such passion and endearment... I would say it probably is his favorite song. (yeah, I thought the site was wacky earlier- how long was it down?)

[Magnus]

Thank you, SisterMidnight! [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]According to the log I would say it was down for about9 minutes. Hazey's and my posts were published 6:48pm and 6:57pm respectively.