Lily [English translation]

LILY

She looked rather cute, Lily

She came from Somalia, Lily

In a ship full of immigrants

Who all came willingly

To collect garbage in Paris.

She thought we were all equal, Lily,

In Voltaire and Hugo's country, Lily,

Yet in our musical language

A white note is worth 2 blacks,

That's quite a difference.

She loved liberty so much, Lily,

She dreamed of fraternity, Lily,

A hotel owner Rue Secrétan

Explained in no uncertain terms

That only whites were welcome there

She unloaded crates, Lily,

She held all sorts of dirty jobs, Lily,

She yells out to sell cauliflowers

While in the street her coloured brothers

Accompany her on their jackhammers.

And when they called her Snow White, Lily,

She did not fall for the old trick, Lily,

She went along the “funny” joke,

Though she had to grit her teeth,

So as not to give them the satisfaction.

She met a handsome blond guy, Lily,

Who would gladly have married her, Lily,

But the in-laws-to-be declared:

“Though we are anything but racist

We can’t accept this sort of thing".

She had a go in America, Lily,

That emblematic democracy, Lily,

She couldn’t believe her eyes

When she found out that even there

Black was the colour of despair

But in a meeting in Memphis, Lily,

She met Angela Davis, Lily,

Who said "come, little sister

Together we are less frightened.

Of the wolves circling the trapper".

So it is to ward off her fear, Lily,

That she too raises an angry fist, Lily,

Among all these crackpots

Who set alight those busses

Prohibited to coloured people

Still, amidst you daily struggle, Lily,

You will meet a good man, Lily,

And the child who will be born someday

Will be the colour of love

That no one can question

She looked rather cute, Lily

She came from Somalia, Lily

In a ship full of immigrants

Who all came willingly

To collect garbage in Paris.

• Artist:Pierre Perret
• Album:Lily (1977)