Le gorille [English translation]

It's through large gates,

That the females of the district,

Gazed upon a mighty gorilla,

Without worry of what people will say.

Shamelessly, these gossips

Even ogled a specific spot

That, my mother has strictly

Forbidden me to name here

Beware the gorilla!...

Suddenly, the well-enclosed prison

Where the fine animal lived

Opens, we don't know why. I suppose

We hadn't closed the door properly.

The ape, coming out of his cage

Said "It is today that I lose it!"

He was speaking about his virginity,

You've all guessed it, I expect!

Beware the gorilla!...

The boss of the zoo

Cried, frantically: "Good Heavens!

It's stupefying because the gorilla

Has never known a female!"

As soon as the female crew

Knew that the ape was a virgin,

Instead of seizing the opportunity

They shot off on two legs

Beware the gorilla!...

These same ones who, recently

Smouldered at him with a determined eye,

Ran away, proving that they hardly

Had any consistency;

Especially vain was their fear,

As the gorilla is a jolly fellow

Superior to man in the embrace,

Many women will tell you!

Beware the gorilla!...

Everyone is rushing

Out of reach of the horny ape,

Except a feeble old spinster

And a young stolid judge~

Seeing everyone shying away

The primate quickened

His waddle towards the robes

Of the old lady and the magistrate!

Beware the gorilla!...

"So what!" sighed the hundred-year-old,

"That someone could still desire me,

Would be extraordinary,

And, to be honest, unexpected!";

The judge thought, impassively,

"That someone could take me for a monkey,

Is completely impossible..."

What happened next proved him wrong!

Beware the gorilla!...

Imagine that one of you could be,

Like the ape, obliged to

Violate a judge or a very old woman,

Which of the two would you choose?

If the same choice

Falls to me one of these days

It is, I'm convinced, the old lady

Who will be the object of my choice!

Beware the gorilla!

But, unluckily, if the gorilla

In the love games is worth his price,

We know that on the other hand, he excels

Neither in taste, nor in intellect.

Instead of opting for the old woman,

Like anyone else would have,

He grabbed hold of the judge by the ear

And dragged him away into the scrubland!

Beware the gorilla!...

What happened next would be delightful

Unfortunately, I can't

Say it, and that's regretable,

That would have made us laugh a little;

Because in the final moment, the judge

Screamed: "Mummy!", crying a lot,

Like the man whom, that same day,

He had decapitated

Beware the gorilla!...

• Artist:Georges Brassens