Ta Katie t'a quitté – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Boby Lapointe

Lyrics & Translation

[French]

[English]

Ce soir au bar de la gare

Tonight at the train station bar

Igor hagard est noir

Igor, dazed, is black

Il n'arrête guère de boire

He hardly stops drinking

Car sa Katia, sa jolie Katia

Because his Katia, his pretty Katia

Vient de le quitter

Just left him

Sa Katie l'a quitté

His Katie has left him

Il a fait chou-blanc

He struck out

Ce grand-duc avec ses trucs

This great owl with his tricks

Ses astuces, ses ruses de Russe blanc

His tricks, his ruses of a white Russian

Ma tactique était toc

My tactic was a sham

Dit Igor qui s'endort

Says Igor as he falls asleep

Ivre mort au comptoir du bar

Dead drunk at the bar counter

Un Russe blanc qui est noir

A white Russian who is black

Quel bizarre hasard, se marrent

What a strange coincidence, they laugh

Les fêtards paillards du bar

The partying revelers at the bar

Car encore Igor y dort

Because Igor is still sleeping there

Mais près de son oreille

But near his ear

Merveille, un réveil vermeil

Wonderful, a bright awakening

Lui prodigue des conseils

Gives him advice

Pendant son sommeil

While he sleeps

Tic-tac tic-tac

Tick-tock tick-tock

Ta Katie t'a quitté

Your Katie has left you

Tic-tac tic-tac

Tick-tock tick-tock

Ta Katie t'a quitté

Your Katie has left you

Tic-tac tic-tac

Tick-tock tick-tock

T'es cocu, qu'attends-tu?

You're cuckolded, what are you waiting for?

Cuite-toi, t'es cocu

Get drunk, you're cuckolded

T'as qu'à, t'as qu'à te cuiter

You just have to, you just have to get drunk

Et quitter ton quartier

And leave your neighborhood

Ta Katie t'a quitté

Your Katie has left you

Ta tactique était toc

Your tactic was a sham

Ta tactique était toc

Your tactic was a sham

Ta Katie t'a quitté

Your Katie has left you

Ôte ta toque et troque

Take off your hat and trade

Ton tricot tout crotté

Your dirty sweater

Et ta croûte au couteau

And your crust with a knife

Qu'on t'a tant attaqué

That they attacked you so much

Contre un tacot coté

Against a battered old car

Quatre écus tout comptés

Four coins all counted

Et quitte ton quartier

And leave your neighborhood

Ta Katie t'a quitté

Your Katie has left you

Ta Katie t'a quitté

Your Katie has left you

Ta Katie t'a quitté

Your Katie has left you

Ta Katie t'a quitté

Your Katie has left you

Tout à côté

Right next to

Des catins décaties

The worn-out prostitutes

Taquinaient un cocker coquin

Teased a cheeky cocker spaniel

Et d'étiques coquettes

And some skinny coquettes

Tout en tricotant

While knitting

Caquetaient et discutaient et critiquaient

Chattered and discussed and criticized

Un comte toqué

A quirky count

Qui comptait en tiquant

Who counted while twitching

Tout un tas de tickets de quai

A whole bunch of platform tickets

Quand tout à coup

When suddenly

Tic-tac-tic

Tick-tock-tick

Au matin quel réveil

In the morning, what a wake-up

Matin quel réveille-matin

Morning, what a wake-up call

S'écrie le Russe, blanc de peur

Exclaims the Russian, white with fear

Pour une sonnerie

For a ringing

C'est une belle sonnerie

It's a beautiful ringing

...

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
quitter /kit.te/ A2	verb - to leave or go away from someone or a place
tac /tak/ B1	noun - a click or ticking sound (as in a clock)
coucou /ku.ku/ A2	interjection - hello or call for attention
victime /vik.tim/ B1	noun - a person harmed or affected by an event
conseil /kɔ̃.sɛj/ B2	noun - advice or recommendation
cœur /kœʁ/ B1	noun - heart (organ or emotion)
danse /dɑ̃s/ A2	noun - dance (movement to music)
nuit /nɥi/ A2	noun - night
fête /fɛt/ A2	noun - celebration or party
noir /nwaʁ/ A1	adjective - black in color
grand-duc /gʁɑ̃ dyk/ B2	noun - great owl or a title for high-ranking nobility
haut /o/ A2	adjective - high or tall

Key Grammar Structures

• Il n'arrête guère de boire

  ➔ Negation with 'ne...guère' to express 'hardly' or 'barely'.

  ➔ The phrase "Il n'arrête guère de boire" means "He hardly stops drinking".

• Ma tactique était toc

  ➔ Use of 'était' for past tense to describe a state.

  ➔ The phrase "Ma tactique était toc" means "My tactic was fake".

• Tic-tac tic-tac

  ➔ Onomatopoeia used to represent the sound of a clock.

  ➔ The repetition of "Tic-tac" mimics the ticking of a clock.

• T'es cocu, qu'attends-tu?

  ➔ Informal contraction 't'es' for 'tu es' (you are).

  ➔ The phrase "T'es cocu, qu'attends-tu?" means "You're cheated on, what are you waiting for?".

• Ôte ta toque et troque

  ➔ Imperative form used for giving commands.

  ➔ The phrase "Ôte ta toque et troque" means "Take off your hat and trade".

• Et quitte ton quartier

  ➔ Use of 'quitte' as an imperative form of 'quitter' (to leave).

  ➔ The phrase "Et quitte ton quartier" means "And leave your neighborhood".

• Quand tout à coup

  ➔ Use of 'quand' to introduce a temporal clause.

  ➔ The phrase "Quand tout à coup" means "When all of a sudden".