L'avenir Est Un Long Passé Lyrics in English by Manau
Below, I translated the lyrics of the song L'avenir Est Un Long Passé by Manau from French to English.
Verse 1
Une pupille noire entourée de blanc
A black pupil surrounded by white
Le visage fatigué braqué sur un lieutenant
The tired face focused on a lieutenant
L´ordre sera donné dans quelques instants
The order will be given in a few moments
Deuxième assaut de la journée et Marcel attend
Second assault of the day and Marcel is waiting
Il a placé au bout de son fusil une baïonnette
He placed a bayonet at the end of his rifle
Pour lutter contre une mitraillette de calibre 12.7
To combat a 12.7 caliber machine gun
Près de sa tranchée, placés à 20 ou 30 mètres
Near its trench, placed 20 or 30 meters away
La guerre des bouchers, nous sommes en 1917
The butchers' war, we are in 1917
Tant de journée qu´il est là!
He's been here for so many days!
Verse 1
A voir tomber des âmes
To see souls fall
Tant de journées déjà passées sur le chemin des dames
So many days already spent on the ladies' path
Marcel sent que la fin a sonné
Marcel feels that the end has come
Au fond de sa tranchée, ses mains se sont mises à trembler
At the bottom of his trench, his hands began to tremble
L´odeur de la mort se fait sentir
The smell of death is felt
Il n´y aura pas de corps à corps, il sent qu´il va bientôt mourir
There will be no melee, he feels he will die soon
Comment un homme peut-il accepter d´aller au combat?
How can a man agree to go into battle?
Et quand il sent au fond de lui qu´il ne reviendra pas
And when he feels deep inside that he won't come back
L´homme est-il un animal?
Is man an animal?
Comme à cette époque le mal est déjà caporal
As at that time evil is already corporal
La main du lieutenant doucement vers le ciel s´est levée
The lieutenant's hand was raised gently towards the sky
La suite
The following
L´avenir est un long passé
Future is a long past
L´avenir est un long passé
Future is a long past
Long passé, long passé, long passé
Long past, long past, long past
Une pupille noire entourée de blanc
A black pupil surrounded by white
Le visage ciré, son regard est terrifiant
His face waxed, his look is terrifying
Placés à quelques pas de là, des allemands
Placed a few steps away, Germans
1944 Jean-Marc est un résistant
1944 Jean-Marc is a resistance fighter
Il a eu pour mission de faire sauter un chemin de fer
His mission was to blow up a railway
Lui qui n´est pas homme d´action est devenu maître de guerre
He who is not a man of action has become a master of war
Après le cyclone qui frappa sa mère et son père d´une étoile jaune
After the cyclone that hit his mother and father with a yellow star
Idée venue droit de l´enfer
Idea straight from hell
Tant d´années passées à prendre la fuite
So many years spent running away
Tant de journées consacrées à lutter contre l´antisémite
So many days dedicated to fighting anti-Semites
Jean-Marc sait qu´il n´a plus de recours
Jean-Marc knows that he no longer has recourse
Le câble qu´il a placé pour faire sauter le train est bien trop court
The cable he placed to blow up the train is far too short
La mort se fait sentir, mais il n´a pas de remords, comment le définir?
Death is felt, but he has no remorse, how can we define it?
C´est la nature de l´homme qui l´a poussé à être comme ça
It's the nature of man that pushed him to be like that
Se sacrifier pour une idée, je crois qu´on ne résiste pas
Sacrifice yourself for an idea, I think you can't resist
Le mal est maintenant général
The evil is now general
De toutes les forces armées occultes de la mauvaise époque
Of all the occult armed forces of the bad times
De l´Allemagne
Of Germany
Au loin le train s´approche et l´on peut distinguer sa fumée
In the distance the train approaches and we can distinguish its smoke
La suite
The following
L´avenir est un long passé
Future is a long past
L´avenir est un long passé
Future is a long past
Long passé, long passé, long passé
Long past, long past, long past
Une pupille noire entourée de blanc
A black pupil surrounded by white
C´est ce que je peux voir devant la glace à présent
This is what I can see in front of the mirror now
Je viens de me lever, il y a quelques instants
I just got up a few moments ago
C´est difficile à dire au fond ce que je ressens
It's hard to say deep down what I feel
Après la nuit que j´ai passé, dur à été mon réveil
After the night I spent, it was hard to wake up
A tout ce que j´ai pu penser avant de trouver le sommeil
Everything I could think of before falling asleep
A toutes ces idées qui m´ont causé que des problèmes
To all these ideas that caused me only problems
La réalité et toutes ces images de haine
Reality and all these images of hatred
Tant d´années passées à essayer d´oublier
So many years spent trying to forget
Tant de journées cumulées et doucement il s´est installé
So many days accumulated and slowly he settled in
Je me suis posé ce matin la question
I asked myself this morning the question
Est ce que tout recommence, avons-nous perdu la raison
Is it all starting again, have we lost our minds
Car j´ai vu le mal qui doucement s´installe sans aucune morale
Because I saw the evil that slowly takes hold without any morality
Passer à la télé pour lui est devenu normal
Being on TV has become normal for him
Comme à chaque fois avec un nouveau nom
Like every time with a new name
Après le nom d´Hitler, j´ai entendu le nom du front
After the name of Hitler, I heard the name of the front
Et si l´avenir est un long passé
And if the future is a long past
Je vous demande maintenant ce que vous en pensez?
I ask you now what do you think?
Comme Marcel et Jean-Marc ma vie est-elle tracée?
Like Marcel and Jean-Marc, is my life mapped out?
La suite, l´avenir est-il un long passé?
The rest, is the future a long past?
Je vous demande ce que vous en pensez
I ask you what you think
Verrai-je un jour le mal à l´Elysée
Will I one day see evil at the Elysée
La France est-elle en train de s´enliser
Is France getting bogged down?
L´avenir est-il un long passé?
Is the future a long past?
Did you like this lyrics translation?
"L'avenir Est Un Long Passé" by Manau is a poignant song that delves into the themes of war, sacrifice, and reflection on human nature. Through the stories of Marcel in 1917 and Jean-Marc in 1944, the lyrics paint a vivid picture of the struggles faced by individuals caught in the turmoil of conflict. The song questions the nature of man's willingness to engage in combat and sacrifice for ideals, while also pondering the cyclical nature of history and the potential for repeating past mistakes. The haunting refrain of "L'avenir est un long passé" serves as a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of past, present, and future, prompting listeners to contemplate the impact of their actions and decisions on the course of history.
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