Lily Lyrics in English Pierre Perret
Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Lily by Pierre Perret from French to English.
These English lyric translations are not yet verified.
On la trouvait plutôt jolie, Lily
We thought she was rather pretty, Lily
Elle arrivait des Somalies Lily
She came from Somalia Lily
Dans un bateau plein d'émigrés
In a boat full of emigrants
Qui venaient tous de leur plein gré
Who all came of their own free will
Vider les poubelles à Paris
Empty the trash in Paris
Elle croyait qu'on était égaux Lily
She thought we were equal Lily
Au pays de Voltaire et d'Hugo Lily
In the land of Voltaire and Hugo Lily
Mais pour Debussy en revanche
But for Debussy on the other hand
Il faut deux noires pour une blanche
It takes two black notes for one white note
Ça fait un sacré distinguo
It makes quite a distinction
Elle aimait tant la liberté Lily
She loved freedom so much Lily
Elle rêvait de fraternité Lily
She dreamed of sisterhood Lily
Un hôtelier rue Secrétan
A hotelier on rue Secrétan
Lui a précisé en arrivant
He told him when he arrived
Qu'on ne recevait que des Blancs
That we only received white people
Elle a déchargé des cageots Lily
She unloaded Lily crates
Elle s'est tapé les sales boulots Lily
She did the dirty work Lily
Elle crie pour vendre des choux-fleurs
She shouts to sell cauliflowers
Dans la rue ses frères de couleur
In the street his brothers of color
L'accompagnent au marteau-piqueur
Accompany him with the jackhammer
Et quand on l'appelait Blanche-Neige Lily
And when we called her Snow White Lily
Elle se laissait plus prendre au piège Lily
She was no longer letting herself be trapped Lily
Elle trouvait ça très amusant
She found it very amusing
Même s'il fallait serrer les dents
Even if you had to grit your teeth
Ils auraient été trop contents
They would have been so happy
Elle aima un beau blond frisé Lily
She loved a beautiful curly blond Lily
Qui était tout prêt à l'épouser Lily
Who was ready to marry him Lily
Mais la belle-famille lui dit nous
But the in-laws tell him we
Ne sommes pas racistes pour deux sous
Let's not be racist for two cents
Mais on veut pas de ça chez nous
But we don't want that in our house
Elle a essayé l'Amérique Lily
She Tried America Lily
Ce grand pays démocratique Lily
This great democratic country Lily
Elle aurait pas cru sans le voir
She wouldn't have believed it without seeing it
Que la couleur du désespoir
Than the color of despair
Là-bas aussi ce fût le noir
It was dark there too
Mais dans un meeting à Memphis Lily
But in a meeting in Memphis Lily
Elle a vu Angela Davis Lily
She saw Angela Davis Lily
Qui lui dit viens ma petite sœur
Who said to him come my little sister
En s'unissant on a moins peur
By uniting we are less afraid
Des loups qui guettent le trappeur
Wolves lying in wait for the trapper
Et c'est pour conjurer sa peur Lily
And it's to ward off her fear Lily
Qu'elle lève aussi un poing rageur Lily
Let her also raise an angry fist Lily
Au milieu de tous ces gugus
In the middle of all these gugus
Qui foutent le feu aux autobus
Who set buses on fire
Interdits aux gens de couleur
Prohibited to people of color
Mais dans ton combat quotidien Lily
But in your daily fight Lily
Tu connaîtras un type bien Lily
You will know a good guy Lily
Et l'enfant qui naîtra un jour
And the child who will one day be born
Aura la couleur de l'amour
Will have the color of love
Contre laquelle on ne peut rien
Against which we can do nothing
On la trouvait plutôt jolie, Lily
We thought she was rather pretty, Lily
Elle arrivait des Somalies Lily
She came from Somalia Lily
Dans un bateau plein d'émigrés
In a boat full of emigrants
Qui venaient tous de leur plein gré
Who all came of their own free will
Vider les poubelles à Paris
Empty the trash in Paris
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