L'institutrice [English translation]

Ms schoolteacher died this morning.

This morning at dawn, in her bathwater.

Some say she passed away.

I say she commited suicide.

She was small and grizzled,

Dressed and nimble like a maid.

Her shelf loads of makeup and homework

no longer protected the story of her life.

The topic of yesterday's history lesson

was the Roman Empire against the barbarians.

She said: "This is the beginning of the end.

The Roman empire will be dead by tomorrow".

She was small and grizzled,

Dressed and nimble like a maid.

Her shelf loads of makeup and homework

no longer protected the story of her life.

Surely maybe that's for the better,

the Roman empire ending up in paradise,

and us down there without an institution,

without a schoolteacher in a bun.

She was small and grizzled,

Dressed and nimble like a maid.

Her shelf loads of makeup and homework

no longer protected the story of her life.

Besides, her life fas far from good.

A girl, a woman, a widow girl.

See what I mean? Maybe you don't

What I mean to say, I won't tell.

She was small and grizzled,

Dressed and nimble like a maid.

Her shelf loads of makeup and homework

no longer protected the story of her life.

• Artist:Dick Annegarn
• Album:Sacré géranium (1974)