Submitted by Sean Wingert on Tue, 06/21/2011 - 17:15
Couleur Café by Serge Gainsbourg is a wonderful song. However, its current translations into English, as shown by various Google searches (http://lyricstranslate.com/en/couleur-cafe-coffee-color.html and http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100207150610AAEDb40) are decidedly less wonderful, with one of them, hopefully machine translated, rendering "Ta gorge café" as "your throat coffee."
If you've never heard the song or seen the video, here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDOk6nu9udo.
Below is my attempt at a better translation:
French | English |
J’aime ta couleur café | I love your mocha color |
Tes cheveux café | Your mocha hair |
Ta gorge café | Your mocha neck |
J’aime quand pour moi tu danses | I love when you dance for me |
Alors j’entends murmurer | When I hear that murmur |
Tous tes bracelets | Of your bracelets |
Jolis bracelets | Beautiful bracelets |
À tes pieds ils se balancent | They dance around your feet |
| |
Couleur | Color |
Café | Mocha |
Que j’aime ta couleur | I love your mocha |
Café | Color |
| |
C’est quand même fou l’effet | The effect is unbelievable |
L’effet que ça fait | That effect it has on me |
De te voir rouler | To see you move |
Ainsi des yeux et des hanches | Your eyes and hips that way |
Si tu fais comme le café | If you are anything like real coffee |
Rien qu’à m’énerver | Completely unnerving me |
Rien qu’à m’exciter | Totally exciting me |
Ce soir la nuit sera blanche | Tonight will be a sleepless one |
| |
Couleur | Color |
Café | Mocha |
Que j’aime ta couleur | I love your mocha |
Café | Color |
| |
L’amour sans philosopher | Love without philosophizing |
C’est comm’ le café | Is like coffee |
Très vite passé | Finished so quickly |
Mais que veux-tu que j’y fasse | But what should I do about it? |
On en a marr’ de café | We've had our fill of coffee |
Et c’est terminé | And it's over |
Pour tout oublier | To forget it all |
On attend que ça se tasse | We wait for a return to normal |
| |
Couleur | Color |
Café | Mocha |
Que j’aime ta couleur | I love your mocha |
Caf | Color |
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