Ulysse – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Ridan

Lyrics & Translation

[French]

[English]

Heureux qui comme Ulysse a fait un beau voyage

Happy is he who like Ulysses has made a beautiful journey

Ou comme cestui-là qui conquit la toison

Or like the one who conquered the fleece

Et puis est retourné plein d'usage et raison

And then returned full of experience and reason

Vivre entre ses parents le reste de son âge

To live among his parents for the rest of his days

Quand reverrai-je hélas de mon petit village

When will I see again, alas, my little village

Fumer la cheminée et en quelle saison (saison)

Smoke from the chimney and in what season (season)

(Reverrai-je le clos?)

(Will I see the close?)

Mais quand reverrai-je de mon petit village

But when will I see again my little village

Fumer la cheminée et en quelle saison

Smoke from the chimney and in what season

Mais quand reverrai-je

But when will I see again

...

...

Mais quand reverrai-je de mon petit village

But when will I see again my little village

Fumer la cheminée et en quelle saison

Smoke from the chimney and in what season

Mais quand reverrai-je

But when will I see again

(Quand reverrai-je)

(When will I see again)

Reverrai-je le clos de ma pauvre maison

Will I see the close of my poor house

Qui m'est une province et beaucoup davantage

Which is a province to me and much more

Plus me plaît le séjour qu'ont bâti mes aïeux

I prefer the dwelling that my ancestors built

Que des palais Romains le front audacieux

Than the bold front of Roman palaces

Plus que le marbre dur me plaît l'ardoise fine

More than the hard marble, I prefer the fine slate

Plus mon Loire Gaulois que le Tibre Latin

More my Gallic Loire than the Latin Tiber

Plus mon petit Liré que le mont Palatin

More my little Liré than the Palatine hill

Et plus que l'air marin, la douceur Angevine

And more than the sea air, the sweetness of Anjou

Mais quand reverrai-je de mon petit village

But when will I see again my little village

Fumer la cheminée et en quelle saison

Smoke from the chimney and in what season

Mais quand reverrai-je

But when will I see again

...

...

Mais quand reverrai-je de mon petit village

But when will I see again my little village

Fumer la cheminée et en quelle saison

Smoke from the chimney and in what season

Mais quand reverrai-je

But when will I see again

(Quand reverrai-je)

(When will I see again)

J'ai traversé les mers à la force de mes bras

I crossed the seas with the strength of my arms

Seul contre les dieux perdu dans les marais

Alone against the gods, lost in the marshes

Retranché dans une cale et mes vieux tympans percés

Huddled in a hold with my old eardrums pierced

Pour ne plus jamais entendre les sirènes et leur voix

To never hear the sirens and their voices again

Nos vies sont une guerre où il ne tient qu'à nous

Our lives are a war where it only depends on us

De nous soucier de nos sorts, de trouver le bon choix

To care about our fates, to find the right choice

De nous méfier de nos pas et de toute cette eau qui dort

To be wary of our steps and all that sleeping water

Qui pollue nos chemins soi-disant pavés d'or

That pollutes our paths supposedly paved with gold

Mais quand reverrai-je de mon petit village

But when will I see again my little village

Fumer la cheminée et en quelle saison

Smoke from the chimney and in what season

Mais quand reverrai-je

But when will I see again

...

...

Mais quand reverrai-je de mon petit village

But when will I see again my little village

Fumer la cheminée et en quelle saison

Smoke from the chimney and in what season

Mais quand reverrai-je

But when will I see again

(Quand reverrai-je)

(When will I see again)

...

...

Mais quand reverrai-je

But when will I see again

...

...

Mais quand reverrai-je

But when will I see again

(Quand reverrai-je)

(When will I see again)

Mais quand reverrai-je

But when will I see again

...

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
conquît /kɔ̃.ki/ C2	verb - to conquer
reverrai /ʁə.vʁeʁɛ/ B1	verb - will see again, will resee
fumer /fy.me/ A2	verb - to smoke
cheminée /ʃə.mɪˈne/ B2	noun - fireplace
saisons /sɛ.zɔ̃/ A2	noun - seasons
habit /a.bi/ B1	noun - habit, custom
voyage /vwa.jaʒ/ A2	noun - journey, trip
âge /aʒ/ A2	noun - age
usage /y.zɑʒ/ B2	noun - use, consumption
raison /ʁɛ.zɔ̃/ C1	noun - reason, sense
fortunes /fɔʁ.tyn/ C2	noun - fortunes, luck
province /pʁɔ.vɛ̃s/ B2	noun - province, region
palais /pa.lɛ/ C1	noun - palaces, large residences

Key Grammar Structures

• Heureux qui comme Ulysse a fait un beau voyage

  ➔ Relative pronouns (qui) and past participle (fait)

  ➔ The phrase starts with "Heureux qui..." meaning "Happy is he who..." where "qui" introduces a relative clause.

• Quand reverrai-je de mon petit village

  ➔ Interrogative structure (Quand...?) and future tense (reverrai)

  ➔ The line asks "When will I see..." using the future tense to express a future action.

• Vivre entre ses parents le reste de son âge

  ➔ Infinitive verb (Vivre) and prepositional phrase (entre ses parents)

  ➔ This line expresses the idea of living with one's parents for the rest of one's life, using the infinitive form of the verb.

• Nos vies sont une guerre où il ne tient qu'à nous

  ➔ Present tense (sont) and relative clause (où il ne tient qu'à nous)

  ➔ This line states that "Our lives are a war..." using the present tense to describe a current state.

• Qui pollue nos chemins soi-disant pavés d'or

  ➔ Relative pronoun (Qui) and adjective (soi-disant)

  ➔ This line uses the relative pronoun "Qui" to introduce a clause describing what pollutes the paths, with "soi-disant" meaning 'so-called'.

• J'ai traversé les mers à la force de mes bras

  ➔ Past tense (J'ai traversé) and prepositional phrase (à la force de)

  ➔ This line describes a past action using the passé composé, indicating that the speaker crossed the seas using their own strength.

• De nous soucier de nos sorts, de trouver le bon choix

  ➔ Infinitive verbs (soucier, trouver) and prepositional phrase (de nos sorts)

  ➔ This line uses infinitive verbs to express actions that need to be taken, indicating a focus on caring for one's fate and making the right choice.