Les poupées zarbies [English translation]

You've got to be a size 01at the very most.

Which means fighting like a man

Who are we? What are we?

The ideal figure never stays the same for long

It comes and goes on the catwalk

Rich as can be, as thin as a rake

And it comes undone oh la la la, we are the bizarr-bie dolls2

Fragile beauty oh la la la, we are the bizarr-bie dolls

Stick thin oh la la la, a doll who says no to life

Bizarr-bie dolls oh la la la oh la la la

At first it was just for fun

Every kilo lost was a battle won

It got more complicated

Just how do you make it stop

when you’re vomiting up the whole world?

You don’t make the cut, you can’t keep it up3

Don’t play with that doll over there

Don’t play with that doll over there

Don’t play with that doll over there

Don’t play with that doll over there

We are the bizarr-bie dolls

Don’t play with that doll over there

Oh la la la, we are the bizarr-bie dolls

With that doll over there

Oh la la la, a doll who says no to life

Bizarr-bie dolls oh la la la oh la la la

And it comes undone oh la la la, we are the bizarr-bie dolls

Fragile beauty oh la la la, we are the bizarr-bie dolls

Stick thin oh la la la, a doll who says no to life

Bizarr-bie dolls oh la la la oh la la la

1. The French 34 size is equivalent to a US size 0. However, it is still sometimes referred to as « taille zéro » in France.2. (I'm putting this footnote here, as I couldn't place one next to the title and it's the first instance of the song's title being mentioned) The reason I chose the term 'Bizarr-bie Dolls' was because the talented Zazie uses a play on words which rhymes in French, "zarbi" being a colloquial term for "bizarre". This does not rhyme in English, but as the 'zar' is close to 'bizarre', I decided on maintaining the original meaning as best I could; I felt "Bizarre Dolls" would sacrifice the pun.3. This is a pun which combines weight-gain and stardom, as "faire le poids" has a double meaning: "Making up the weight" and "Being good enough", as it were. Rather than have two different interpretations of the meaning with the same verb, I kept both in the latter sense, although I was very keen on making the pun's presence clear.

• Artist:Zazie
• Album:Za7ie : Recyclage