Quand il était gosse [English translation]

Like a dog champing at a bone

Like a dog champing at a bone

When he was still a kid

All trampled and busted

Like a dog champing at a bone

Like a dog champing at a bone

But years go by

And the only memories left

Are nasty faces

Are nasty faces

He saw caravans passing by

Slanting trees, savannahs

He saw caravans passing by

Slanting trees, savannahs

He saw caravans passing by

Slanting trees, savannahs

Wild animals went to the waterhole

Stealthily, in the dark

At that time the moon was friendly

The earth was softer than bread

At that time the moon was friendly

The earth was softer than...

It was a big picture book

With discordances and landscapes

And between pages ran

Ten thousand brooks and swamps

And between pages ran

Ten thousand brooks

When he was still a kid

All trampled and busted

His religion was rebellion

But the cell was boosted

With a crew cut

Lack of goodwill

Like a dog champing at a bone

Like a dog that champed too much

He saw caravans passing by

Slanting trees

He saw caravans passing by

Slanting trees, savannahs

He saw caravans passing by

Then, like when he was a kid

Forgetting trampling and busting

He keeps fighting

He chops and trims the world

He keeps fighting

He chops the world...

Like a dog champing at a bone

Like a dog champing at a bone

When he was still a kid

All trampled and busted

Like a dog champing at a bone

Like a dog champing at a bone

When he was still a kid

All trampled and busted

At that time the moon was friendly

The earth was softer than bread

At that time the moon was friendly

When he was still a kid

• Artist:Gérard Manset
• Album:Jadis et naguère (1998); Capitaine courageux (2002)