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Translation
Tell him no
if he wants to see you one more time
tell him no
if he wishes to talk to you about me
tell him no
you should know well he doesn't love you
tell him no
he would tell you anything
tell him no
to separate us, you and me
tell him no
so as soon as you'll see him
tell him no
and above all, don't believe that by seeing him
maybe you'll learn
that between him and me
there could really be
all that he'll shout on the rooftops
he thinks I don't love you
tell him no
and that you weren't made for me
tell him no
the day this lad will come
tell him no
if you trust in me
tell him no
he'll make you doubt, I believe
tell him no
it's you I love, and none but you
tell him no, tell him no.
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Submitted by 
embryonique on 2010-09-21
embryonique on 2010-09-21Added in reply to request by 
morningbe11
morningbe11 ✕
Françoise Hardy: Top 3
| 1. | Le temps de l'amour |
| 2. | Tous les garçons et les filles |
| 3. | Comment te dire adieu ? |
Idioms from "Dis-lui non"
| 1. | Crier sur les toits |
Comments
embryonique
Sat, 11/12/2010 - 09:53
Hi terrymm, thanks for your comments--looking at it, your suggestions would indeed be better as they sound more natural and conversational. :)
P.S. English is actually my native language. ;) As for French, I am still and always learning, hence the more "literal" translation mentality that might be overcome if my French level were higher.
About translator
Admire your skill, but I imagine you have French as your mother tongue??
'if he wants to see you one more time' looks better in English as 'If he wants to see you again'
'if he wishes to talk to you about me' better as 'if he wants to talk about me' (I'd assume 'you' carried over from the first line - an English writer wouldn't put 'you' in at all)
'you should know well he doesn't love you' looks better as 'you well know he doesn't love you' (a colloquialism, 'well know' as opposed to 'know well' avoids the 'should' and implies that 'you' already know it anyway..)
I think French-English translations extremely difficult - even relatively simple lines like 'Pour nous séparer toi et moi' if transliterated become 'Because us to separate you and me' which although it would mean something to an English speaker, it misses the poetry you'd get with 'to separate us'
I'd love it if you were to have a go at 'Mister', also by Francoise Hardy, but from a much more recent album..