Sans Exigences Lyrics in English Jacques Brel
Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Sans Exigences by Jacques Brel from French to English.
Je n'étais plus que son amant
I was only her lover
Je vivais bien de temps en temps
I lived well from time to time
Mais peu à peu de moins en moins
But little by little, less and less
Je blasphémais ma dernière chance
I blasphemed my last chance
Au fil de son indifférence
Through her indifference
J'en voulais faire mon seul témoin
I wanted to make her my only witness
Mais j'ai dû manquer d'impudence
But I must have lacked impudence
Car me voyant sans exigence
Because seeing me without demands
Elle me croyait sans besoin
She thought I had no needs
Je protégeais ses moindres pas
I protected her every step
Je passais mais ne pesais pas
I was there but didn't weigh much
Je me trouvais bien de la chance
I considered myself lucky
À vivre à deux ma solitude
To live my loneliness together
Puis je devins son habitude
Then I became her habit
Je devins celui qui revient
I became the one who returns
Lorsqu'elle revenait de partance
When she came back from her journeys
Et me voyant sans exigence
And seeing me without demands
Elle me croyait sans besoin
She thought I had no needs
L'eau chaude n'a jamais mordu
Hot water never bites
Mais on ne peut que s'y baigner
But one can only bathe in it
Et elle ne peut de plus en plus
And she can only more and more
Que refroidir et reprocher
Cool down and reproach
Qu'on ne soit pas assez au soleil
That we are not in the sun enough
L'eau chaude à l'eau chaude est pareille
Hot water is like hot water
Elle confond faiblesse et patience
She confuses weakness and patience
Et me voyant sans exigence
And seeing me without demands
Elle me voulait sans merveille
She wanted me without wonder
De mal à seul, j'eus mal à deux
From pain alone, I had pain together
J'en suis venu à prier Dieu
I came to pray to God
Mais on sait bien qu'il est trop vieux
But we know he is too old
Et qu'il n'est plus maître de rien
And no longer in control of anything
Il eût fallu que j'arrogance
I should have had arrogance
Alors que tremblant d'indulgence
While trembling with indulgence
Mon cœur n'osât lever la main
My heart dared not raise its hand
Et me voyant sans exigence
And seeing me without demands
Elle me croyait sans besoin
She thought I had no needs
Elle est partie comme s'en vont
She left like those birds
Ces oiseaux-là dont on découvre
Whose leaps we discover
Après avoir aimé leurs bonds
After loving them
Que le jour où leurs ailes s'ouvrent
That the day their wings open
Ils s'ennuyaient entre nos mains
They were bored in our hands
Elle est partie comme en vacances
She left as if on vacation
Depuis le ciel est un peu lourd
Since then, the sky has been a bit heavy
Et je me meurs d'indifférence
And I am dying of indifference
Et elle croit se couvrir d'amour
And she thinks she is covered in love
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Lyrics © WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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