Les Hommes [English translation]

They get born one morning and, what a bliss1,

utter their first cry, the cry they'll utter all their life.

Innocence makes them so beautiful, and so does hope,

and so does youth. It's so sad to see how confident they are.

Then they understand better with every passing day

that life is just living without ever seeing the light of day,

that life is just living from day to day

and life is just shivering, an endless shivering2

They talk about future, fortunes, lands,

women to conquer, they talk about setting off.

And then they takl about love like you would of a dream

that you would have from day to day, day after day

And then comes love, and that's when you love one another

and you dream of being kings and queens.

We happen to dream of being invincible together,

when the only thing left to do3 is waiting and sharing

And so they walk together, like poor convicts

And so they dream tired dreams together

And so they walk together, for you can't escape old age

then they grow old together, for you can't escape death.

They die in the morning, no, it's not an evening

The die a morning, eaten away by their memories

and for eternity they utter a last cry,

for down there breathing is like an agony.

As nothingness is suddenly replaced by infinity

As silence at last brings us back to life

As (they) are at last freed from penance,

the new birth springs out of imperfection.4

1. I suppose it should read "comble de bonheur" ([what an] epitome of happiness). Saez still knows how to write proper French, despite the apparent dereliction of duty of his muse2. "à/au" as a conjunction is something Saez used far too often. It can mean about any relationship you can think of between two items. Used with care it can sound poetic, but it soon devolves into a cheap trick3. Even though he seems to sing "il n'est plus qu'attendre", I suppose he means "il n'est plus qu'à attendre" as a variant of "il n'y a plus (pour lui) qu'à attendre"4. Mmmm... If you say so, Damien...

• Artist:Damien Saez
• Album:God Blesse - Katagena