Brave Margot Lyrics in English by Georges Brassens
Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Brave Margot by Georges Brassens from French to English.
Margoton, la jeune bergère
Margoton, the young shepherdess
Trouvant dans l'herbe un petit chat
Finding in the grass a little cat
Qui venait de perdre sa mère, l'adopta
Who had just lost its mother, adopted it
Elle entrouvre sa collerette
She opens her collar slightly
Et le couche contre son sein
And lays it against her breast
C'était tout c'qu'elle avait, pauvrette
That was all she had, poor thing
Comme coussin
As a cushion
Le chat, la prenant pour sa mère
The cat, taking her for its mother
Se mit à téter tout de go
Started to suckle right away
Émue, Margot le laissa faire
Moved, Margot let it do
Brave Margot
Brave Margot
Un croquant, passant à la ronde
A peasant, passing by
Trouvant le tableau peu commun
Finding the scene unusual
S'en alla le dire à tout l'monde
Went to tell everyone
Et, le lendemain
And, the next day
Quand Margot dégrafait son corsage
When Margot unbuttoned her bodice
Pour donner la gougoutte à son chat
To give the little drink to her cat
Tous les gars, tous les gars du village
All the guys, all the guys from the village
Étaient là, la la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la la
Étaient là, la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la
Et Margot qu'était simple et très sage
And Margot, who was simple and very wise
Présumait qu'c'était pour voir son chat
Presumed it was to see her cat
Q'tous les gars, q'tous les gars du village
That all the guys, that all the guys from the village
Étaient là, la la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la la
Étaient là, la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la
L'maître d'école et ses potaches
The schoolmaster and his students
Le maire, le bedeau, le bougnat
The mayor, the beadle, the coalman
Négligeaient carrément leur tâche
Completely neglected their tasks
Pour voir ça
To see that
Le facteur, d'ordinaire si preste
The postman, usually so quick
Pour voir ça, ne distribuait plus
To see that, no longer delivered
Les lettres que personne, au reste
The letters that no one, besides
N'aurait lues
Would have read
Pour voir ça, Dieu le leur pardonne
To see that, God forgive them
Les enfants de choeur, au milieu
The altar boys, in the middle
Du saint sacrifice, abandonnent, le saint lieu
Of the holy sacrifice, abandoned the holy place
Les gendarmes, même les gendarmes
The gendarmes, even the gendarmes
Qui sont par nature si ballots
Who are by nature so clumsy
Se laissaient toucher
Were touched
Par les charmes du joli tableau
By the charms of the pretty scene
Quand Margot dégrafait son corsage
When Margot unbuttoned her bodice
Pour donner la gougoutte à son chat
To give the little drink to her cat
Tous les gars, tous les gars du village
All the guys, all the guys from the village
Étaient là, la la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la la
Étaient là, la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la
Et Margot qu'était simple et très sage
And Margot, who was simple and very wise
Présumait qu'c'était pour voir son chat
Presumed it was to see her cat
Q'tous les gars, q'tous les gars du village
That all the guys, that all the guys from the village
Étaient là, la la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la la
Étaient là, la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la
Mais les autres femmes de la commune
But the other women of the commune
Privées d'leurs époux, d'leurs galants
Deprived of their husbands, their lovers
Accumulèrent la rancune, patiemment
Patiently accumulated resentment
Puis un jour, ivres de colère
Then one day, drunk with anger
Elles s'armèrent de bâtons
They armed themselves with sticks
Et, farouches, elles immolèrent le chaton
And, fierce, they sacrificed the kitten
La bergère, après bien des larmes
The shepherdess, after many tears
Pour s'consoler, prit un mari
To console herself, took a husband
Et ne dévoila plus ses charmes que pour lui
And revealed her charms only for him
Le temps passa sur les mémoires
Time passed over memories
On oublia l'événement
The event was forgotten
Seuls des vieux racontent encore
Only old folks still tell
À leurs p'tits enfants
To their little children
Quand Margot dégrafait son corsage
When Margot unbuttoned her bodice
Pour donner la gougoutte à son chat
To give the little drink to her cat
Tous les gars, tous les gars du village
All the guys, all the guys from the village
Étaient là, la la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la la
Étaient là, la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la
Et Margot qu'était simple et très sage
And Margot, who was simple and very wise
Présumait qu'c'était pour voir son chat
Presumed it was to see her cat
Q'tous les gars, q'tous les gars du village
That all the guys, that all the guys from the village
Étaient là, la la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la la
Étaient là, la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la
Étaient là, la la la la la la la
Were there, la la la la la la la
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"Brave Margot" by Georges Brassens tells the charming yet bittersweet story of a young shepherdess named Margot who adopts an orphaned kitten, finding solace in their bond. As she tenderly cares for the kitten, her simple act of nurturing draws the attention of the entire village, leading to a humorous spectacle where men abandon their daily tasks to witness Margot's maternal display. However, the innocent scene stirs jealousy among the local women, culminating in a tragic turn of events when they take out their frustrations on the kitten. Ultimately, Margot finds solace in marriage, and the village gradually forgets the incident, leaving only the old to recount the tale of the shepherdess and her beloved cat. Through this narrative, Brassens explores themes of innocence, community dynamics, and the fleeting nature of attention and affection.
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