Pocahontas [English translation]

We’ve already spoken our first words, laughed for the first time,

Taken our first steps, raced for the first time, had our first grazed knees,

Taken our first family picture, had our first nightmares,

Spent our first nights full awake, and had our first late-night temptations,

We still have the memories and the times we played dominoes,

Toys that make too much music and the way-too-early mornings,

The shortened working days, 4:30 pm at the latest

And the walks in the park, whenever they felt like it,

We continue to marvel at the drawing of a cosmonaut

Or a little play-dough man with one arm bigger than the other

We still want to film those unbelievable moments

That are lost forever as soon as the film starts rolling,

We had our very first hospital trips, with our worries, our first fears

The first big fights, and the first punishments given against our will

The first dumb gifts with their name on their mug

The naps, half asleep on the couch while watching Pocahontas

We wait, in no hurry for the first homework,

For that first time we freak out over an exam, or the time when soon we’ll have butterflies in our tummies

The first reports for fools when they’re having fun

The first bad grades, for the roots of the hypotenuse

We are still a little bit afraid of the 40 pound backpack

With the spiral notebooks, dividers, a pencil case overflowing with pens

And then there will be the first phone, go to our first get-together, and our first parties

Experience our first breakups, that first awkward date,

It will be the time of all the first times

The first hangovers, the first nights that no one will want to talk about,

We will watch them doing their thing with a little sadness

Knowing that we will only be spectators of their life

There will be the first time they pass their driving class

Which will enable them to leave as far and as quick as possible, and then will follow

Their first apartment with their good looking Pocahontas

They will come back to empty their room, I can’t even imagine,

I hope we will still have that essential feeling

That we’ve prepared them well to face this huge mess

With a joy that no words can describe,

To see them being brave and mature in their life choices

We’ll be left with a house with one or two empty rooms,

Back to the old days of when we were a young couple, gone our title of “expert parents”

We will only be able to look forward to the future, with appreciation for the past

Take a lot of pictures of tomorrow, to fill out the pages from yesterday,

And then the unoccupied rooms will be messed up once again,

By new generations of grazed toys,

The cycle will do its merciless and fateful job

And we will find some modern toys that will always make too much music

Among new screams we will think to ourselves “we did it!”

Like a new coat that protects us

This surreal comfort, this springboard, this crutch

This run-of-the-mill miracle, we made a family

And, plopped down next to my grandkids in front of the TV,

I can see myself taking a nap,

Just make sure you’ve put on Pocahontas

• Artist:Grand Corps Malade