Un dernier mot d'amour [English translation]

Maybe what I'm writing

is much more than a letter,

rather a message

following a shipwreck.

In the great silence

I'm calling for help,

and so I utter

a last loving word.

You, the impossible1 child,

the impossible dream,

my reason for being,

my love madness

You, through whom I exist

You, the only artist

who could make

my sad Pierrot heart dance

Maybe you'll laugh

as you read my letter,

this cry of distress

written by my tenderness.

I don't care, I love you,

and that's quite enough

to send you anyway

a last loving word.

You, the inscrutable

You, the irreplaceable,

more handsome than the Devil,

more distant than God

You, my bleeding wound2

You, without whom

the joy in my eyes and the fire in my veins

go out3

Maybe you'll laugh

as you read my letter,

this cry of distress

written by my tenderness.

I don't care, I love you,

and that's quite enough

to send you anyway

a last loving word.

1. I've added the pun, hopefully it will compensate for the nice French I couldn't render.

A more literal translation would be "tearaway" or the French "enfant terrible"2. lit. "you through which I bleed"3. sorry about the awkward formatting, but I can't see how to move this "go out" in front

• Artist:Mireille Mathieu
• Album:Une vie d'amour