Dans le port d’Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui chantent
Les rêves qui les hantent
Au large d’Amsterdam
Dans le port d’Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui dorment
Comme des oriflammes
Le long des berges mornes
Dans le port d’Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui meurent
Pleins de bière et de drames
Aux premières lueurs
Mais dans le port d’Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui naissent
Dans la chaleur épaisse
Des langueurs océanes
Dans le port d’Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui mangent
Sur des nappes trop blanches
Des poissons ruisselants
Ils vous montrent des dents
A croquer la fortune
A décroisser la lune
A bouffer des haubans
Et ça sent la morue
Jusque dans le coeur des frites
Que leurs grosses mains invitent
A revenir en plus
Puis se lèvent en riant
Dans un bruit de tempête
Referment leur braguette
Et sortent en rotant
Dans le port d’Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui dansent
En se frottant la panse
Sur la panse des femmes
Et ils tournent et ils dansent
Comme des soleils crachés
Dans le son déchiré
D’un accordéon rance
Ils se tordent le cou
Pour mieux s’entendre rire
Jusqu’à ce que tout à coup
L’accordéon expire
Alors le geste grave
Alors le regard fier
Ils ramènent leur batave
Jusqu’en pleine lumière
Dans le port d’Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui boivent
Et qui boivent et reboivent
Et qui reboivent encore
Ils boivent à la santé
Des putains d’Amsterdam
De Hambourg ou d’ailleurs
Enfin ils boivent aux dames
Qui leur donnent leur joli corps
Qui leur donnent leur vertu
Pour une pièce en or
Et quand ils ont bien bu
Se plantent le nez au ciel
Se mouchent dans les étoiles
Et ils pissent comme je pleure
Sur les femmes infidèles
Dans le port d’Amsterdam
Dans le port d’Amsterdam.
In the port of Amsterdam
There’s a sailor who sings
Of the dreams that he brings
From the wide open sea
In the port of Amsterdam
There’s a sailor who sleeps
While the riverbank weeps
With the old willow tree
In the port of Amsterdam
There’s a sailor who dies
Full of beer, full of cries
In a drunken down fight
And in the port of Amsterdam
There’s a sailor who’s born
On a muggy hot morn
By the dawn’s early light
In the port of Amsterdam
Where the sailors all meet
There’s a sailor who eats
Only fishheads and tails
He will show you his teeth
That have rotted too soon
That can swallow the moon
That can haul up the sails
And he yells to the cook
With his arms open wide
Bring me more fish
Put it down by my side
Then he wants so to belch
But he’s too full to try
So he gets up and laughs
And he zips up his fly
In the port of Amsterdam
You can see sailors dance
Paunches bursting their pants
Grinding women to paunch
They’ve forgotten the tune
That their whiskey voice croaks
Splitting the night with the
Roar of their jokes
And they turn and they dance
And they laugh and they lust
Till the rancid sound of
The accordion bursts
Then out to the night
With their pride in their pants
With the slut that they tow
Underneath the street lamps
In the port of Amsterdam
There’s a sailor who drinks
And he drinks and he drinks
And he drinks once again
He drinks to the health
Of the whores of Amsterdam
Who have promised their love
To a thousand other men
They’ve bargained their bodies
And their virtue long gone
For a few dirty coins
And when he can’t go on
He plants his nose in the sky
And he wipes it up above
And he pisses like I cry
For an unfaithful love
In the port of Amsterdam
In the port of Amsterdam
Updated on the Ides of March
I’ve added the David Bowie version in parallel as a comparison and tabulated the page for neatness.. I think Bowie did this at about the time he was doing the Baal stuff. This layout should help Mr Mole with his French oral… You’ll see that not everything is a literal translation. That’s how languages work; it’s all in the attempt to convey meaning and feeling between human beings. Precision isn’t necessary here.
However, precision in meaning is necessary and the English translation could be a lot better as it’s somewhat sanitised in feeling compared to the original. A lot of the coarseness has been removed, the innuendo and double-entendres etc
If someone has a better translation, please let me know!
Thanks so much for putting this info together in one place. It saves me so much time as I can use it as a sign post to other places. Brel was such a wonderful artist and you truly are a wonderful person. Thank you. :)
[...] This original post on Jaques Brel has been updated and I’ve stuck the Bowie version up. I’ve improved the layout as it’s getting quite a few hits. It may help French students like Rocket Mole. Tags: Amsterdam, Astounding, Bowie, french students, jaques brel, Lingering Tune, port of amsterdam, Rock, version, Website [...]
[...] is much better than the Bowie lyrics I provided in an earlier post. I guess I’ll have to do it then… It’s still pure art and emotion. Watch out [...]
Did you get any vinyl for Mr Walker? Have you tried the stinky piss record shop in Bridgwater (a.k.a West Quay Records)? His stuff’s so old he’s probably got some mint ones in there.
Rees
No Walker yet, apart from what I have. A couple that really stand out are Mrs Murphy and, oh crap, my mind is shot. Something about a street or terace or something. I never really have the passion to remember song names just their contents. If I remember, I’ll come back and edit
Both Blank City and Radiant Child screened at Berlin Film Fest.Ike Yard's Vladislav Delay remix is underway, after a quick couple of sessions some hypritized beats surfaced and it's sounds quite good with the original track "Nuomo" from 2000 ... feels right so far.We sent off the cover art the other week and will hear an idea for the CD […]
Citizen Media Law Project's recent article "Just Say No to the Sewer: Section 230 No Obstacle to Editing Comments" once again delves into what seems to be the most misunderstood – and at the same time most useful liability shields for website operators. Read more on Section 230's broad grant of immunity has its limits…but not much… […]
I had never been to Washington D.C. Recently my wife had the opportunity to go for work and I figured this was a good opportunity for me to see the sights. She was able to get a couple of days off of work and on her first day she suggested we go on [...] Related posts:Weekend Links – I Want a Volkswagen Bus edition Today, my wife and I drove 7 hours from nea […]
Not Kevin on Dangerous EffectiveCleanse – and Scams Too! Interesting little article here about one 'CPA affiliate network' wanting to differentiate themselves from the scammier players in their industry ...
Not Kevin on Dangerous EffectiveCleanse – and Scams Too! Looks like Dazzle Smile is number two in the charts for most complaints so far (Jan, Feb) in 2010:
http://www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/press/news/2010/03/08/attorney_general_unveils_top_2009_consumer_complaints
Judith Lewis [Hasler] on Colony Holidays and Tubby the Tuba Can't write to my MP who unfortunately died on Boxing Day and there are no moves towards a bye-election yet! ...
Not Kevin on More on Google Profits and Pacific Webworks This is not Ryan Eagle but another affiliate network:
http://www.findaffiliateoffers.com/NDustry-Clix-415.html
Page looks familiar though.
Note the 'offer' start date (31/12/09) ie: ...
Strangely on Duff Google Cash Kit Brandon.
You're young.
You're good looking.
The world's your oyster.
GO FOR IT!
The reason I'm posting these and letting the comment through is because ...
Posted on 21:37, September 17th, 2007 by 
Posted in 
Acute Records
Alistairs Dream (check out the gallery!)
Collective Voice
Crawling Chaos
Denyse Willem
Ikeda
Mailwasher Pro
Project Honey Pot
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
What Really Happened?
WND
Thanks so much for putting this info together in one place. It saves me so much time as I can use it as a sign post to other places. Brel was such a wonderful artist and you truly are a wonderful person. Thank you. :)
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I give a shit Paul. Cheer up and soak up the power….
This refers to Pauls first posting here http://paulrichards7.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/who-gives-a-sht/trackback/ which sounds a bit glum if you ask me
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[...] This original post on Jaques Brel has been updated and I’ve stuck the Bowie version up. I’ve improved the layout as it’s getting quite a few hits. It may help French students like Rocket Mole. Tags: Amsterdam, Astounding, Bowie, french students, jaques brel, Lingering Tune, port of amsterdam, Rock, version, Website [...]
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[...] is much better than the Bowie lyrics I provided in an earlier post. I guess I’ll have to do it then… It’s still pure art and emotion. Watch out [...]
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
If you were up to speed with Brel, you would know that Scott Walker covered a considerable amount of his songs. FYI
me
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
LOL.
I think you’re in lerv Paul.
Did you get any vinyl for Mr Walker? Have you tried the stinky piss record shop in Bridgwater (a.k.a West Quay Records)? His stuff’s so old he’s probably got some mint ones in there.
Rees
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
No Walker yet, apart from what I have. A couple that really stand out are Mrs Murphy and, oh crap, my mind is shot. Something about a street or terace or something. I never really have the passion to remember song names just their contents. If I remember, I’ll come back and edit
Like or Dislike:
0 
0