La mer à boire [English translation]

[Refrain:]

At the time when drinking the whole sea

could be done without paying

I tried everything to believe it

and I drank everything without trying.

At the age of unripe apples

we’re ready to do anything

but this is an age that doesn’t last

more than a dream or a belief

Drinking the sea is an achievement

which never was that important;

many have drunk before me

and much faster than one can think.

Myself, I drank often

without any thirst at all, I swear,

but just to go against the current

or to clean my mouth

I've been visiting this drinkable sea,

the scenery is exquisite,

it was almost hard to believe,

I thought I was on conquered land;

the many faces of my youth

were gaily frolicking,

I found out some weaknesses

and almost all of my torments

It is a strange and beautiful sea

to tell the truth, and of all the promises

I was given some beautiful ones

came to pass;

’cause everything ends on this earth

one morning, since it's unraveled

that bit remaining a mystery

it’s very easy to work around

Drinking the sea is of another age.

you know it won’t come back anymore.

we’ve lost the many faces

buried in a paradise lost;

memory goes out so fast

and the secrets of our twenty year old times

are drowned in this drinkable sea

how can I still be happy?

(refrain)

[Chorus:]

She lives, this drunken sea,

at the back of the memory,

from storm to storm

it recedes to the head

• Artist:Charles Aznavour