L'Homme à la moto [English translation]

He wore motorbike pants and boots,

A black leather blazer with an eagle on the back.

His motorbike went like a cannonball

Spreading terror in the entire region.

He never combed his hair, he never washed himself,

Sludge filled his fingernails but on his biceps he had,

A tattoo featuring a blue heart on pale skin,

And inside it one could read "Mother I Love you".

He had a girlfriend, Marie-Lou was her name,

They all took pity on her, a child of her age...

Because everyone knew well how much he loved

His bitch of a motorbike above all things.

He wore motorbike pants and boots,

A black leather blazer with an eagle on the back

His motorbike went like a cannonball

Spreading terror in the entire region

Marie-Lou, the poor girl, implored him and begged him

"Say, do not go tonight, I will cry if you leave".

But the words were lost, her tears also

In the noise of the machine and of the exhaust pipe.

He lept like a demon with flames in his eyes,

At the crossing it was like thundering fire

Against a steamtrain that sped towards the South.

And when they came to sift out the debris,

They found his motorbike pants and his boots

His black leather blazer with an eagle on the back

But nothing left of this motorbike and nothing left of this demon

Who once spread terror in the entire region!

• Artist:Édith Piaf