Battling Joe Lyrics in English Yves Montand
Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Battling Joe by Yves Montand from French to English.
These English lyric translations are not yet verified.
Dans un village noir de charbon, dans les cheminées et les corons
In a coal-black village, in the chimneys and settlements
Tout petit il battait ses copains, il était fier de ses deux poings
When he was very young, he beat his friends, he was proud of his two fists
Presque autant que son père le mineur qui disait 'Ça fera un boxeur'
Almost as much as his father the miner who said 'That'll make a boxer'
Le jour de son premier combat fallait un nom, l'en avait pas
The day of his first fight needed a name, he didn't have one
Comme la mode était à l'anglais, il s'appela 'Battling Joe'
As the fashion was English, he was called 'Battling Joe'
Battling Joe, c'était un peu démesuré
Battling Joe was a bit excessive
Pour un gosse aux épaules étroites
For a kid with narrow shoulders
Mais qui avait une méchante droite
But who had a wicked right
Battling Joe, il gagna son premier combat
Battling Joe, he won his first fight
Et le soir même avec papa, il prenait le train pour Paris
And that same evening with Dad, he took the train to Paris
Où un boxeur ça vaut son prix, Battling Joe
Where a boxer is worth his money, Battling Joe
Il croyait bien en faisant ce truc-là, être plus libre mais voilà
He really believed in doing this thing, to be more free but there you go
Qui dit boxeur dit manager, le sien avait une poigne de fer
Who says boxer says manager, his had an iron fist
Ce était un gars très régulier qui pour justifier la moitié
He was a very regular guy who to justify half
Des bourses de tous ses combats, lui fit mener une vie de forçat
Scholarships from all his fights, made him lead a life of convict
'On n'est pas là pour rigoler' qu'il disait à Battling Joe
'We're not here to laugh' he told Battling Joe
Battling Joe devint un boxeur redouté
Battling Joe became a feared boxer
Battling faisait des grosse recettes, Battling devint une grosse vedette
Battling made big money, Battling became a big star
Battling Joe, les dames disaient tout près du ring
Battling Joe, the ladies said right by the ring
'Il est délicieux ce Battling' et elles admiraient son moral
'This Battling is delicious' and they admired his morale
Sans penser que les coups ça fait mal, Battling Joe
Without thinking that the blows hurt, Battling Joe
Battling devint un grand champion jusqu'au triste soir où un gnon
Battling became a great champion until the sad evening when a gnon
Lui embrouilla soudain les yeux, le manager dit 'C'est pas sérieux!
Suddenly his eyes blurred, the manager said 'It's not serious!
Tu de viens feignant, fait ton métier, boxe ça rime pas avec pitié'
You come lazy, do your job, boxing doesn't rhyme with pity'
La foule eut peut être tort ce soir-là de siffler la fin du combat
The crowd was perhaps wrong that evening to whistle the end of the fight
Malgré les lampes et leurs éclairs
Despite the lamps and their flashes
Battling Joe hé Joe ne voyait plus clair
Battling Joe hey Joe couldn't see clearly
Battling Joe, c'est un nom maintenant oublié
Battling Joe, it's a name now forgotten
Une triste silhouette qui penche, appuyée sur une canne blanche
A sad silhouette leaning over, leaning on a white cane
Battling Joe a tout perdu en un seul soir
Battling Joe lost everything in one night
Ses yeux son titre et son espoir, mais il sait comme consolation
His eyes his title and his hope, but he knows as consolation
Que son manager a d'autres champions, Battling Joe
That his manager has other champions, Battling Joe
Lyrics and Translations Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Did you like these lyrics?
Did you know?
In addition to reading lyric translations, you can now learn French with music and lyrics from your favorite artists.
No more boring lessons. You can now learn with engaging and culturally relevant lyrics from the best artists.
Learn French with lessons based on similar songs!
Apple and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc.
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.