Vive le Français!

Due to my recent financial freedom and time spent on the internet over a brief spot of the flu, I've had the opportunity to check out some new music. A couple of tracks stood out because of the langue de chant.

First, a fantastic track from one of my favorite singer/songwriters, Damien Rice. This track can be found on the "B-sides" disc that comes with the recently relased deluxe edition of "O", which I bought to atone for my piracy of same (I like to consider this "borrowing" until I either buy the disc or throw it away).

The track is called "The Professor & La Fille Danse", and it's not really French track, but it has a French ending:

Well I don't know if I'm wrong
'Cause she's only just gone
Here's to another relationship
Bombed by excellent breed of gamete disease
I'm sure when I'm older I'll know what that means
Cried when she should and she laughed when she could
Here's to the man with his face in the mud
And an overcast play just taken away
From the lover's in love at the centre of stage yeah
Loving is fine if you have plenty of time
For walking on stilts at the edge of your mind
Loving is good if your dick's made of wood
And the dick left inside only half understood her
What makes her come and what makes her stay?
What make the animal run, run away yeah
What makes him stall, what makes him stand
And what shakes the elephant now
And what makes a man?
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know
No I don't know you any more
No, no, no, no...

I don't know if I'm wrong
'Cause shes only just gone
Why the fuck is this day taking so long
I was a lover of time and once she was mine
I was a lover indeed, I was covered in weed
Cried when she should and she laughed when she could
Well closer to god is the one who's in love
And I walk away cause I can
Too many options may kill a man
Loving is fine if it's not in your mind
But I've fucked it up now, too many times
Loving is good if it's not understood
Yeah, but I'm the professor
And feel that I should know
What makes her come and what makes her stay?
What make the animal run, run away and
What makes him tick apart from him prick
And the lonelier side of the jealousy stick
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know
No I don't know, I don't know, I don't know
No I don't know, I don't know, I don't know
Hell I don't know you any more
No, no, no no...

Well I don't know if I'm wrong
'Cause she's only just gone
Here's to another relationship
Bombed by my excellent breed of gamete disease
I finished it off with some French wine and cheese

La fille danse
Quand elle joue avec moi
Et je pense que je l'aime des fois
Le silence, n'ose pas dis-donc
Quand on est ensemble
Mettre les mots
Sur la petite dodo

The French translates to (my translation):

"The girl danses
When she plays with me
And I think I love her sometimes
Silence, not daring to draw attention
When one is together
Put the words
To sweet sleep"

Very poetic.

This one's not so poetic. It's a B-side from my current favorite band, Placebo. Placebo's lead singer, the delectably androgynous Brian Molko (has that name EVER been mentioned without that adjective?) is fluent in French and quite often sings in that language (my god you should see the original video for "Protège Moi"!!!!) but here appeared to deliberately offend. Come to think of it, the video for "Protège Moi" was meant to stir controversy, and maybe that's what Brian was trying to do here. Damien Rice played the inept lover in the above, and here Brian Molko plays the one detached from love:

Embrasse - moi, mets ton doigt dans mon cul,
Embrasse - moi, mets ton doigt dans mon cul,
Une présence ambigüe,
Une présence inconnue,
Jusqu'a ce que j'en peux plus
(x3)

This is sung over a pretty decent bossa nova interestingly accompanied by telephone dialing tones (adding to the impersonalness of the lyric).

I'll let you do the translation for that one. (Listen)