Translation: Souris, encore...

I haven't posted here in a while. Here's why:

Baby Bird was born December 22 and it's been a wild ride. I actually had a list of songs I wanted to translate, but I knew they'd be put on the back burner for a while, probably until she turns seven. 

Then just a few nights ago I was browsing the news section of the Booska-P app during one of those "baby is still sleeping but I'm waking up every two hours" moments and noticed that Akhenaton had released a new video. I am a huge fan of his accent and his laid back flow so of course I had to go listen to it. The song is dedicated to his daughter and there I was at 3 am crying all kinds of sentimental tears. I sent it to A. with the promise that I would translate it the next day, and I did, but it's taken a bit of time to post it here. And it seems I'm the first to translate it to English :)

So here is this song, dedicated to my baby bird. :) 

Souris, encore... - Akhenaton
Smile again...

Si tu regardes dans le miroir, ne sois pas sévère
Cherche dans les tiroirs ce qui sublime ces lèvres
Dis rien du style "J'traîne pas avec ces laides
J'suis trop bien pour elles et moi j'vais être célèbre"
Allez viens faire un tour dans le monde
Y a tant de choses à voir, loin des phares, des couv' de la mode
Loin d'ces clichés qui racontent
Qui t'es con si t'es blonde et moche si t'es noir
If you look in the mirror, don't be so hard on yourself
And look through the drawers for something to perfect your lips
Don't say things like "I won't hang out with those ugly girls
I'm too good for them, I'm gonna be famous one day"
Go travel the world
There's so many things to see, far from the lights and covers of fashion magazines
Far from these cliches that say
That you're stupid if you're blonde and ugly if you're black

Y a une vie, ce n'est pas la télé
Ce n'est pas à 16 ans qu'on accouche et qu'on pleure à maman pour garder l'bébé
Indépendante, tu sais ce que c'est
Ta life c'est la tienne et pas un mec ne va la guider
J'ai cette angoisse, c'est la crise, l'ère du temps a comme solution
Le strip-tease: quel superbe avenir!
Puis c'est loin de tes dessins
T'est pas une fille de la nuit qui porte un blaze américain
There's life outside the TV
And it's not found at 16, pregnant, begging mom to watch the baby
You're independent, you know what's what
Your life is your own, and no guy is going to guide you
I'm deeply anxious, it's a crisis, these days it seems the way out
Is stripping - what a superb future!
But it's so far from your plans
You're not a lady of the night using some fake foreign name

Vois celui qui va te ravir
Ne laisse personne te dire "ce gars-là sera l'amour de ta vie"
Le fric ne protège pas de l'insipide
Un mec c'est un mec et un mec c'est pas une infinite
Si tu promènes en ville, ne cache pas ces beaux cheveux
Pour que ces p'tits branleurs te laissent tranquille
Comme disait le poète en somme:
"Sois femme, ma fille, car la femme et l'avenir de l'homme"
Find a guy who delights you
Don't let anyone else tell you "that dude, he'll be the love of your life"
Cash won't protect you from utter boredom
A guy's a guy, and a guy's not a visa
If you go out in the city, don't hide your lovely hair
Just so those jerks might leave you alone
As the poet said,
"Be a woman, my daughter, for woman is the future of Man"

Souris encore, n'aie crainte
Aussi forte que l'amour que j'te porte
Regarde-moi avec des yeux d'biche
Reste loin d'eux, leur haine est si grande
Car les femmes leurs font peur
Du coup ils les appellent "bitch"
Rest auprès de moi, une journée
Album photo, cette page non j'veux pas la tourner
Souris encore, Dieu que t'es belle
Il a sûrement dû oublier tes ailes
Smile again, the love I have for you
Should be stronger than your fear
Look at me with those wide eyes
Stay away from them, they have so much hate in them
Because women scare them, so they call them "bitch"
Stay near me, one day,
A photo album - no, I don't want to turn this page
Smile again, God you're beautiful
Surely He forgot to give you wings

Souris-moi encore
Non ne change pas
Reste auprès de moi
Smile for me again
No, don't change
Stay near me

Je t'en prie, ne m'fais pas la tête
Quand je dis "Ne sors pas s'te-plaît"
Il va pas s'envoler, je sais, ce petit gars te plaît
On veut respirer à ton âge
Tu es ma lune douce sûrement pas un oiseau en cage
Mais j'dois t'protéger, t'éviter les coups
C'est pour ça que certains jours j'ai l'air si relou
Alors tu dis que j'ai pas l'auréole, t'as raison
Mais je m'en fous d'avoir le mauvais rôle
I ask you, don't make faces when I say "please don't go out"
He's not going to soar, I know, this little guy you like
At your age, you gotta breathe
You are my shining star, surely not a caged bird
But I have to protect you, to deflect the punches
That's why some days I seem so irritating
Then, you tell me that I don't have a halo either ... you're right
But I don't give a damn, I'll be the bad guy

Hey le petit copain, quoi d'neuf?
Je vais te faire une entrevue style Jack Byrnes
C'que tu gagnes? Peu importe, sois correct
Pas d'bluff, pas d'bol, la famille est nombreuse
Tu vas oublier pétard et Gin Fizz
Et passer vite de bad boy à militant d'Greenpeace
Inutile de la couvrir de cadeaux
Emmene-la voir combien le monde est beau
Combien c'est important qu'on discute
On perd tant de temps dans les petites disputes
Ma fille garde raison, croque cette vie
Comme une pomme de saison
Tu seras toujours prêt où le vent te porte
J'espère que t'auras une petite place pour ton vieux père dans ton appart à New York
Comme disait le poète en somme:
"Sois femme ma fille car la femme est l'avenir de l'homme"
Hey little man, what's up?
I'm gonna interview you Jack Byrnes style
What do you earn? Doesn't matter; you better behave
I'm not bluffing, you're out of luck, she's got lots of family
You will forget about joints and Gin Fizz
And go quickly from bad boy to Greenpeace activist
It's useless to shower her with gifts
Show her how beautiful the world is
How important it is to communicate
We lose so much time in little fights
My daughter, keep your wits about you, bite into life
Like an apple in season
You'll always be ready to go where the wind takes you
I hope that you'll have a little room for your old dad in your New York apartment
As the poet said,
"Be a woman, my daughter, for woman is the future of Man"

Souris encore, n'aie crainte
Aussi forte que l'amour que j'te porte
Regarde-moi avec des yeux d'biche
Reste loin d'eux, leur haine est si grande
Car les femmes leurs font peur
Du coup ils les appellent "bitch"
Rest auprès de moi, une journée
Album photo, cette page non j'veux pas la tourner
Souris encore, Dieu que t'es belle
Il a sûrement dû oublier tes ailes
Smile again, the love I have for you
Should be stronger than your fear
Look at me with those wide eyes
Stay away from them, they have so much hate in them
Because women scare them, so they call them "bitch"
Stay near me, one day,
A photo album - no, I don't want to turn this page
Smile again, God you're beautiful
Surely He forgot to give you wings

Souris-moi encore
Non ne change pas
Reste auprès de moi
Smile for me again
No, don't change
Stay near me

Translation: Maître Gims - J'me tire

Leave it to my non-French-speaking husband to find me the next song I like enough to bother translating! He plugged in his phone the other night when coming back from the lab and played this for me and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since then.

Like all my translations, I tried my best to keep the spirit of the song alive, even if I veered away from a word-for-word translation at parts... hip-hop is sometimes difficult because of slang and allusions and I tried to keep that in as much as I was able (especially with my rusty French).

(The name Meugui at the end of the song is his name - Gims - in verlan which is French slang that flips the syllables of words.)

J'me tire
I'm out

J'me tire, me demande pas pourquoi j'suis parti sans motif
Parfois je sens mon cœur qui s'endurcit
C'est triste à dire mais plus rien n'm'attriste
Laisse-moi partir loin d'ici
Pour garder l'sourire, je me disais qu'y'a pire
Si c'est comme ça, bah fuck la vie d'artiste
Je sais qu'ça fait cliché d'dire qu'on est pris pour cible
Mais j'veux l'dire juste pour la rime

I'm out
Don't ask me why I just left like that
Sometimes I feel my heart hardening
It's sad to say but nothing makes me sad anymore
Let me go far away from here
To keep smiling, I tell myself it could be worse
But if it's like this, well then fuck the artist's life
I know it's cliche to say they want me clapped in chrome
But I've gotta say it for the sake of this song

J'me tire dans un endroit où j'serai pas l'suspect
Après j'vais changer d'nom comme Cassius Clay
Un endroit où j'aurai plus besoin d'prendre le mic'
Un endroit où tout l'monde s'en tape de ma life

I'm leaving for a place they'll never find me
Then I'll change my name like Cassius Clay
To a place where I will never need a mic
To a place where no one cares about my life

Si j'reste, les gens me fuiront sûrement comme la peste
Vos interviews m'ont donné trop d'maux d'tête
La vérité c'est que j'm'auto-déteste
Faut qu'j'préserve tout c'qu'il me reste
Et tous ces gens qui voudraient prendre mon tél'
Allez leur dire que j'suis pas leur modèle
Merci à ceux qui disent "Meu-gui on t'aime
Malgré ta couleur ébène"

If I stay, one day they'll avoid me like the plague
Your interviews have given me too many headaches
The truth is, I hate myself
I've got to preserve what's left of me
And all these people who want my number
Tell them I'm not their role model
Thanks to those who said "Meugui, we love you
Even though you're black" 

J'suis parti sans mentir, sans me dire
"Qu'est-ce que j'vais devenir ?"
Stop ! Ne réfléchis plus, Meu-gui
Stop ! Ne réfléchis plus, vas-y !
Parti sans mentir, sans me dire
"Qu'est ce que j'vais devenir ?"
Stop ! Ne réfléchis plus, Meu-gui
Stop ! Ne réfléchis plus, vas-y !

I've left, without lying, didn't ask myself
What will become of me?
Stop, don't think more about it Meugui
Stop, don't think, just go!
Left without lying, didn't ask myself
What will become of me?
Stop, don't think more about it Meugui
Stop, don't think, just go!

My article in Cricbuzz!

When I went to London in high school, the hotel helpfully provided a 'basics of cricket' leaflet for its foreign guests. I looked at it, thought it was too confusing, and didn't bother learning anything about it at all.

Then I moved to India, where it was certainly necessary to learn the basics.

But I never thought I'd get an article published in a well-known online cricket news site!

Read it here:

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-series/cricket-news/71373/south-africas-exit-brought-breakup-level-sadness

Thanks to G. Rajaraman for forcing me to put my thoughts into written word form :)