La petite marchande de porte clefs [English translation]

[Verse 1]

Her mother wanted to wait and get her to marry

Her father wanted to hang her or drown her

Only one child per household

He wanted a boy, but his bitch of a wife did only half of the work

In the countryside, there is a need for strong working men

Not for an extra mouth to feed, not for a brat only good to cry

It's almost impossible to live in a household of three

An only girl means losing one's family name : it's a shame for a villager

What could he do with such a human trash ?

Smash her head between two rocks ? Burry her next to the dog ?

He went to borrow his neighbour shovel

But his neighbour told him to wait, he told him he could sell her...

And fortune smiled on them

A merchant offered to buy the child to sell her to tourists

They gave her up for around a third of a french minimum wage

The night before her departure, being melancholic, her mother sang...

[Hook]

当我已然不用再掩饰伤痕

躲在空洞房间流着眼泪紧紧关上门

[Translation : When I can't conceal the scars anymore

I hide in an empty room, and behind the closed doors, I cry]

She sang

当我已然不用再掩饰伤痕

躲在空洞房间流着眼泪紧紧关上门

[Verse 2]

Twelve years later, the young girl is quietly sleeping at her host's

Her alarm clock ? It's a dirty kick in the ribs

Her breakfast ? It's steamed bread and water

And then off she goes to the engine rooms to join the others

She never was adopted by rich Westerners

Her owner raised her, kept her under his cloak

Nine in the same place, her room ? A wooden crate

Aged eight, she got her first job !

Some kind of nursery in which football shorts are made

With her hands that took the shape of feet because of too much sewing

With her spine in the shape of a vault

Twenty minutes of lunch break, some rice, a bowl of soup

Talking ban, almost no right to move

She must keep her head down when talking to her chiefs

The noise haunts her to the point she doesn't hear it stopping

To not go crazy, she sings this song in her head...

[Hook]

当我已然不用再掩饰伤痕

躲在空洞房间流着眼泪紧紧关上门

She sang

当我已然不用再掩饰伤痕

躲在空洞房间流着眼泪紧紧关上门

[Verse 3]

Returning to her home town after ten years,

Seeking a family unit, looking for her past

Finally, her master told her who she really was

Just before he went to live the rest of his life in the government jails

His factory had been discreetly dismantled

The press not being allowed to cover the event

In short, most of the villagers had left

Gone far away, to open restaurants or various clothing shops

To meet them, she crossed oceans

Almost died, letting her fate flow with the winds

Without anybody, without money, without an ID

In any case she didn't have a name appart from "The Slanting Beggar"

After catching almost every diseases

She miraculously finds her way to Paris

I was going home after work, after dark

When our glances crossed, she approached me and told me :

[Transition]

"Hmm, excuse me Sir... Keychains, two euros ?"

"No, sorry ! I don't have anything with me ! Have a good night !"

[Hook]

当我已然不用再掩饰伤痕

躲在空洞房间流着眼泪紧紧关上门

And I can still hear her sing

当我已然不用再掩饰伤痕

躲在空洞房间流着眼泪紧紧关上门

She sang

当我已然不用再掩饰伤痕

躲在空洞房间流着眼泪紧紧关上门

She sang

当我已然不用再掩饰伤痕

躲在空洞房间流着眼泪紧紧关上门

• Artist:Orelsan
• Album:Le chant des sirènes