Vie d'Artiste [English translation]

Your cameras are not for me,

Petite has stayed true to herself.

I'm the one who was patronized,

always out in the streets.

Do you remember? The little savage

always among big cats, bright star1

Left to fend for ourselves, pointed at,

but children with such a stength2

Tell me, do you remember? Even without a chance, we go for it

chance favours bravery itself3

So cover your ears when the blasphemy preachers are talking

the nasty kids won't surrender.

Yes, I dared say no

I won't listen to them until they start talking about umanity instead of money

Under the street lights, indeed I dreamed of pulling through

But how could I be cured from the murk when the world basks in it?

So I'm fighting my demons

out of my sordid years

I don't know what an artist's life is

my whole life is off the beaten path4

Going forth into the desert

or posing on top of a dune,

staring at the steep slope

between the pavement and the moon.

Yes, I don't wait for limelight to walk into the light.

My insolence salutes you in the name of the child I was.

(chorus : )

Don't give a damn about artist's life

Petite has stayed true to herself

I'm the one who was patronized,

always out in the streets.

I don't care about order, even if I am its captive like all kids in Babylon5

but not in your categories that break us down, let me think by myself, I don't need no pilot

All your rewards are not for me

I am the one who was condemned to the worst

Black sheep, shriveled dreams,

all your system made me puke

Your dreams of stars are not mine

how could you understand me?

I don't mix up the means and the ends,

and I can see the world shivering

And do you remember our promises?

Do you remember? Has the time blown them away?

Yes, water has flown under the bridge, and who can still touch bottom?

Arbitrary law of men, an illusion far from the heart6

Phoney upholders of the law, men are playing God.

Do you remember? Grown out of a furious youth

Petite, ceaseless runaway, in love with liberty, I don't care about advertising

I am nobody's artist, I am the pen of my soul

Who was there when Petite lived on the pavement?

No one!

Doggy world, I won't return to its kennel

Against the system and I sing rap, yes I represent this confusion

A teenager under the stars, like an epic getaway

It has left marks, and I won't forget men can be such bastards

(chorus)

The Industry is not for me

except for blowing my fuses

what do I do in there?

On the other hand I can't throw the towel now

Torn for a long time, my ideal preserved under the bridges7

The little driver of the media steamroller likes to make fun of the audience

I fled music, no I'm not a article for sale

Without appearing on the wire or TV, they said I could not make it

a sincere artist for sincere people

We have put their scheme upside down

while they said it wouldn't work

Fuck what you say, fuck your conventions, fuck all your barriers

If I break through, it's the people themselves who will bear my music anyway

I earned my spurs in the shadow

I owe nothing to anybody8

I've been around

I've never been ashamed9

I have no elder brothers10

And I had to fight with no one to get there.

I have not betrayed a single conviction,

whatever you say.

If I was selling my heart for a living, I could make an album every year

If I nearly quit the business, it's because I feel cramped here

it's hard to figure how much it weights on me

That's why I write under the light of the stars

(chorus)

1. can mean "(sleep) under the stars" or "beautiful star"2. "d'une force": southern way of saying "very strong(ly)"3. based on "la fortune sourit aux audacieux" (fortune favours the brave)4. "faire du hors piste": skiing ouside the tracks5. as in Rastafarian conception of the civilization6. based on "loin des yeux, loin du coeur" (separation is dangerous for love)7. not very clear to me. Maybe "in the open", "somewhere outside the show business world" ?8. "dégun": southern word for "personne" (nobody)9. "hass": Arab origin. Feeling shame for being in the dire strait10. an allusion to powerful protectors, for the custom of young adults taking care of the youngsters in suburb city blocks

• Artist:Keny Arkana