Emmenez-moi [English translation]

Toward the docks where burden and boredom

hunch my back,

Arriving with their stomachs full

of fruit are the ships.

They come from the ends of the earth,

bringing with them

barbaric ideas

of the reflections of blue skies

of mirages.

A spicy scent hangs in the air

of strange lands

and of never-ending summers

where they live practically naked

on the beaches.

But, as for me, who has never, in all my life, known anything,

but the northern sky,

I would like to wash away this grey sky,

simply by changing my direction.

Take me away to the end of the earth

Take me away to the land of miracles

It seems to me that misery

is less torturous under the sun.

In the bars at nightfall,

with the sailors

as we talk of women and of love,

with glass in hand.

I lose all sense of things

And suddenly a thought

captivates me and instills in me

of a marvellous summer

with no work.

Where I see, stretching out its arms,

Love who, like a madman,

runs before me

And I cling

to my dream

When the bars close, the sailors

return to their ships

And I still dream until the early morning

Still awake at the port.

Take me away to the end of the earth

Take me away to lands of marvels

It seems to me that misery

is less torturous under the sun.

A pleasant day in a gorgeous tub

of the hull by the bridge

To leave here, I would work in

A coal bunker

Taking the path which leads

to my childhood dreams

To faraway islands

Where nothing is important

Except to live

Where girls are laid-back and

make your heart delight

While they braid, so I've been told,

Flower chains

Which enchant you.

I would let go of my past there,

With no regrets

Without baggage and with a free heart

As I sing very loudly

Take me away to the end of the earth

Take me away to lands of marvels

It seems to me that misery

is less torturous under the sun.

• Artist:Charles Aznavour
• Album:Entre deux rêves (1967)