Mon amant de la Coloniale [English translation]

he was strong, and so tender

that from our first night

I felt I could not get a grip on myself

and was forever his.

I saw all the women smiling at him,

and I clasped his arm

and I looked at them as if to say

" He is mine, I won't let go of him! "

He was a Colonial Infantry guy.

He had there, from the forehead

down to the chin,

a scar barring his face,

black hair, so pale eyes,

his skin burned by the sun.

I never saw a man like

my Colonial lover ever again.

Sometimes, when he had the fever,

he talked too much and I was scared.

I put my hand on his lips so as

not to hear the secrets of his heart,

for I felt his soul was filled

with tears and blues.

For a long time I though it was about a woman.

When I realized what it was, it was too late.

When I knew who my rival was,

I held him tightly in my arms

so that this bitch of a Colonial Infantry

would leave him alone and not steal him from me.

Though he had said " I'm staying ",

one day he went away

to this country I hate and of which

he often dreamed at night.

He was a Colonial Infantry guy.

He had there, from the forehead

down to the chin,

a scar barring his face,

I won't see ever again his beautiful

pale eyes that are like no others.

He returned to his sun,

my handsome Colonial lover...

• Artist:Édith Piaf