Le noceur [English translation]

The car rolled on

Through the damp shadows

The man had chosen his terrain

A bell chimed

To announce the night was ending

But for a reveller

It’s too early to go home

The night had been hot

Loaded with booze and white powders

Those guys have everything they want

But him, he’d invented for himself

An extra game

Whatever you do

Never go home alone

It’s not an exact game

It’s rather his desire to please

Kind of like having a good time

That’s why he chose

This ordinary area

To end his night amongst the poor

Him, he’s a party animal, a dandy, a cruiser

The first girl he encounters

He knows he’ll have to be quick

So, he gives her a smile to stop her worrying

Some kind of jazz rises up

As he lowers the window

She didn’t even turn her head

There’s one bar left open

Where a few drunkards hang on

And where nothing shocks the waitress

He leaves his car in front

He’s sure that’ll impress her

But she replied as she pulled away her hand

She said: no sir, no sir 1

Life has made you into a dandy, a cruiser

You come on as if your piloting a freighter, a cruise ship

I don’t like the way you snap your fingers

She said: no sir, no sir

You’ve fallen in with the rich folk, with liars

In your chest I hear a counter ticking

You mustn’t count on me

We don’t have an easy life

Hey, but we have all we need

We’ve put away the gospels

We won’t give it away for free anymore

We see day breaking

It’s like luck abandoning us

Got to leave before it all gets complicated

In this fox hunt 2

After all there’s a time limit

Get home before the streetlights go out

He heads for home

The electric gate

And the gravel driveways between the flowerbeds

Make a little coffee

Put on a bit of music

Forget what that girl said to him just now…

When she spoke of a party animal… a party animal

And then she talked about a dandy, a cruiser

And also about freighter a cruise ship

About people who snap their fingers

She said: no sir, no sir

You’ve fallen in with rich folk, with liars

In your chest I hear a counter ticking

You mustn’t count on me

She said: no sir, no sir

Life has made you into a dandy a cruiser

You think you’re your piloting a freighter, a cruise ship

I don’t like the way you snap your fingers

1. Note pun between "Noceur" and "No Sir"2. “Chasse à courre” is the French term for hunting with hounds (any animal) and “faire la cour” is to woo. So as a fox is slang for a sexy lady, “fox hunt” seems a good fit!

• Artist:Francis Cabrel
• Album:Samedi soir sur la terre