Ballade des dames du temps jadis [English translation]

Tell me where, tell me in what land

Is Flora, bonny Roman lady?

Where Archippa1, where2 Thais3 fair,

Who was her cousin4? O tell me!

Now where will be Echo5, who babbled

Back at you o'er rivers and ponds,

And whose beauty was more than human?

O where are gone the snows of yore6?

Where is Heloise7 chaste and wise,

For whom unmanned and made a monk

Was Abelard8 in Saint-Denis?

For love of her he suffered so.

In the same way where is the queen

Who gave command that Buridan9

Be bagged and thrown into the Seine?

O where are gone the snows of yore?

What befell the lily-white queen10

Who sang with her voice like a bird’s;

‘Big Feet’ Bertha11, Beatrix12, Allys13,

Arembour14, who ruled o’er Maine;

And the sweet Joan from Lorraine15,

Whom the English burned at Rouen?

Where are they all, Sovereign Lady?

O where are gone the snows of yore?

My Prince, seek not endlessly to know

Where they are now, why time has passed;

But only remember this chorus:

O where are gone the snows of yore?

But only remember this chorus:

O where are gone the snows of yore?

1. Archippa is in fact Alcibiad, one of the disciples of Socrates, famous for his beauty, and by default of first-handed records, no one really knew at the time of Villon if it was a man or a woman. Being greek, his orientations could be confusing.2. The "ne" before Thaïs, is not "né" (born) , but the negative particle "ne" who gave later "ni" (nor). Here, it means "et"(and) or "ou"(or).3. Probably saint Thaïs (4th c.), egyptian courtesan converted to christianism4. meaning her equal in beauty5. A nymph loved by Jupiter for her great beauty.

Upon realizing this, Juno forbid her to appear in front of any soul and sentenced her to repeat the words of travellers passing by.6. "Antan" (yore) at the time of Villon, signified : The year before. Therefore we are here talking about last year's snow.7. Helloïs, or Héloïse, (Paris, 1101 ­ convent of Paraclet, near Nogent-sur-Seine, 1164), niece of canon Fulbert, famous for her love for her tutor Abélard, that she married in secret and gave birth to a son. After their separation, she entered convent. the correspondance in latine of Héloïse and d'Abélard was translated in 1870.8. Pierre Esbaillart or Abélard or Abailard (Le Pallet, 1079 ­ near Chalon-sur-Saône, 1142), philosopher and théologian. The history of his passion for Héloïse, niece of the canon Fulbert, and his emasculation by sellswords paid by Fulbert made him famous. He teached in Paris theology and logic ; his doctrines were condamned by the councils of Soissons (1121) and Sens (1140).9. Around 1300 - after1358, scolastic philosopher, famous for his sophism of the donkey starving because he can't decide between a bale of hay and a bucket of water, both equally tasty.

According to persistant rumors, Buridan was associated to the orgies of Marguerite de Bourgogne and her step-sisters, the three of them being the step-daughters of Philippe IV, the Fair, the iron king.Those debaucheries ended in the Seine for the one-night lovers.

Legend has it Buridan, informed of the funest fate (her majesty putted them in a bag before hurling them into the river), asked to his students to wait for him below the queen's windows, in a row boat full of hay to soften his fall. And that way, he survived drowning...10. Blanche of Castile, mother of saint Louis. Whiteness was considered a sign of purity, by opposition to the brown peasants11. Queen of the Franks, spouse of Pepin the Short, and mother of Charlemagne.12. Character of la Vita Nuova (between 1292-1294) and of the "Divine Comedy" created by Dante from the real Florentine lady Beatrice Portinari (1265-1290). Incarnation of beauty and goodness, muse and guide of the poet.13. Probably "Alix de Savoy", or "Adélaïde of Savoy", queen of France, married Louis VI in 1115.14. Haremburgis, daughter of a count of Maine who lived near the end of the 12th c.15. Joan of Arc, 1412-1431

born in Domrémy (today Domrémy-la-Pucelle in the Vosges, 167 inhabitants, family house of Joan of Arc and museum) in Lorraine.

• Artist:Georges Brassens
• Album:La mauvaie réputation