Thanks to Mr Gibson’s passing reference to Plastic Bertrand (via the Hello Kitty lounge of Taipei airport), I have decided that all song lyrics read better translated from French. The reason? Well, see it occurred to me on seeing the title of M. Bertrand’s “hit” written down for the first time since 1977 that I’d always mistranslated it. Instead of “Ca plein pour moi” (which I’d always guesstimated as roughly “that’s enough for me” or possibly “I’m full of it” [French was never my forte]) it’s actually written “Ca plane pour moi”, which actually means… well it’s apparently open for debate. Anyway, reading the approximate translation of the lyrics just brings the song up to a whole new level for me.
So, I’ve decided that from now on murnie lyrics are going to be translated into French and back again*.
I’ve tried it out on some old favourites. See if you can spot them:
In the country of the housewives, with their full silver plated beefsteak knives. And all slags on the allowance for risk, functioning during their lives.
All the arms and shameless chattering, alarms and observe them disperse. Splash the money cash and obtain brilliant. Monkey d’ spider.
You known as that you seek the significance, thus why come with me? Your windows of the world have need to clean and you want my scraper.
Its head is dug, except a paper fall. Golem’s code in a trap of vacuum. Not a thought obtains in its being reflected skin. Here which comes, he’s the brass boy.
Kermit is an upholder and Fozzy in a costume of ganse now. The flicks porcine its wicks, my resistance breaks, wow! Since I want a leather muppet.
How much fun?
ayeahmur 
A leather muppet?!
Yeah – *ahem* – that’s an accurate translation.
It’s from a song called: “Leather Muppet”
Captain Sensible did a cover of ‘Ca Plane Pour Moi’ in English in 1978 with a band called The Softies. It was originally only released in Holland but later turned up in the UK on various Damned records. His version was called ‘Jet Boy, Jet Girl’, and I think a few liberties were taken with the translation. I’ll see if I can track it down…
Yeah, here are the lyrics. http://www.lyricstime.com/the-damned-jet-boy-jet-girl-lyrics.html
Turns out these may even be the original lyrics after all, as a version using them was released in ’77. It’s perfect stuff for airports, though, with all those jets and planes and stuff. If you alternate them with Eno, you’d have the best airport lounge in the world. Probably.
I only have one thing to say about translation. “The Grasshopper Lies Heavy.”
I remember Jet Boy, Jet Girl, Jim. I think the story goes that two songs were released by different artists with different lyrics over exactly the same backing track in 1977. The English one – Jet Boy, Jet Girl – was the one covered by Captain Sensible, for once living up to his name.
Jack – I have a feeling I know what you’re talking about, but it’s way at the back of my memory and I can’t find it. Any clues?
Jack’s just dicking you around, Neil.
It’s the title of the fictional book featured in The Man In The High Castle by P K Dick (nice one, Jim.) I have a memory of the narrator mentioning translations of the title where the meaning gets changed. (There was also a bit about interstellar ramjet being translated into Japanese and back and then reading as being something to do with male sheep.)
Don’t trust me on this. It was decades ago I read it.
Ah, all is clear. I have a copy, but as usual, have never got round to reading it just yet.