Dernier bal [English translation]

This is a big room

A ballroom

Rather like a game of draughts

At the gateway

Take care

There are lots of men and women

And right in front

Astonishing

An instrumental ensemble

Which is going to play

Going to make us dance

Going to lead the ball

The last ball!

The last ball!

There’s room, Your Excellency

But just be patient

The last ball!

General amnesty

For all that’s been done wrong

So leave at the cloakroom

Your uniform caps and your fancy ways

This isn’t a costume parade

No more scandal here

This is the last ball

Step this way!

And first, all the ladies

I’d like a round of applause for them

Step this way!

You’ll be found places

Right in front of the mirrors

A wrinkle, a lover

A smile, a pang

All can be erased

We have the place to ourselves

For the last ball

~ ~ ~

Marie Madeleine

In woollen stockings

You can come in without a gown

Sit down here

You will see

Men you’ve known before

Don’t make that face

It’s a party

Step on to this great black draughtboard

All can be erased

With a kiss on both cheeks

There will be no more fuss

Step this way!

Gentlemen in military dress

The greengrocers from my street

Step this way!

And you, handsome Julien

Cap in your hand

Beaten down bit by bit

Every day of your life

By carrying trunks

Like a workhorse

It’s your last ball.

Just mix!

No more cliques, no more sides

No more great or small

Just mix!

Broken ranks of infantry

Those who sold the fortress

And you, old friend, Marcel

Policeman in Brussels

Ask for the programme

Total amnesty

It’s the last ball

There are chairs to sit on

And beer to drink

Step this way!

There’s room for all

Come in and do the rounds

The raucous, the tight-lipped

The foul-mouthed, the timid

The starvelings

The jailbirds

The wild-goose-merchants

~ ~ ~

At the gateway

Take care

We mustn’t have a bar:

A president

A couple of thugs

Sit down all, it’s fine

Wherever you look

Flurries of activity

And women out of fans

Unless it is

Cross-dressed in squabbles

Wreakers of havoc

Come right into the dance

And let the ball commence

Step this way!

Demigods and gurus

Here all is forgotten

Poor kings in balloons

Lawyers in plush

From the capital:

Total amnesty

It’s the last ball!

It’s the end of the past

The right time to dance

Everyone’s come inside

The doors have been closed

Condemned to dance

For an eternity

But, Lady in Black

Who’s invited us all

Naturally you want

The ball to be opened

You’re taking my arm

Ooh, what’s that feeling inside

What’s that feeling inside?

• Artist:Pierre Bachelet
• Album:La Scène (1991)