Mistral gagnant [English translation]

To sit on a bench five minutes all both,

And watch people while they are there.

To tell you good times that died or will come back

Squeezing in my hand your lil' fingers.1

Then give feed to some silly pigeons

To give them a kick but for fake.

And hear your laughter make walls crack,

And perfectly knows to heal my wounds.

To tell you a bit about how I was young,

The fabulous candies we stole from merchant;

Licorice bags, fifty cents caramels, and mints,

And the "Mistral-Gagnant".2

To walk into the rain five minutes all both,

And look at life while it's there.

To tell you of Earth in devouring you with eyes,

Tell you about mum but just a minimum.

And jump into the puddles to make her moan,

To ruin our shoes and snigger.

And to hear your laugh like we hear the ocean

Stops and turns around.

And tell you yesteryear caramel3 and "coco-Boers"4

And how real "Roudoudou"5 was recurrent lips cutter,

And serial teeth breaker,

And the "Mistral-Gagnant".

To sit on a bench five minutes all both

To watch the sun go elsewhere.

Talk about good times that died and I don't care.

Telling you bad people aren't us.

What if I'm crazy it's only of your eye

Cause it has advantage being twice.

And hear your laughter that fly also high

That the cries of the birds which away fly.

To tell you finally you have to love life

and love it even if time is a killer,

Without discernment takes children's laughter,

And the "Mistral-Gagnant",

And the "Mistral-Gagnant" ...

1. In this song, the singer Renaud talks to his five years daughter about this time of his own childhood.2. The Mistral-Gagnant* (Winner Wind) was a candy that came in the form of a paper bag containing a sweet, fragrant, and sparkling powder on the tongue. A licorice straw was inserted into this bag. Then we sucked up the powder. This candy was sold in green pouches with sometimes the word "GAGNANT" (Winner) inside. If we found that word, we could exchange the empty packaging for a new bag free.

*Mistral is the name of a strong, cold northwesterly wind that blows through the Rhône valley and southern France into the Mediterranean, mainly in winter.3. "Carambar" (the trademark name used in the French lyrics) is the trademark of soft caramel, originally made from caramel and cocoa, eight centimeters long for a mass of eight grams; in its early days, the Carambar measured 6.3 centimeters for 5.5 grams. Its name is a "portmanteau" made up of "caramel" and "bar".4. "Coco Boer" is a licorice treat, in the form of a powder intended to be added to water for the preparation of a sparkling drink. It was created in 1902 by Jules Courtier, a pharmacist in Pouzin in Ardèche. Its name was chosen in reference to the Boer War* which fueled the conversations of the time.

Production ceased in the 1970s. An attempt to relaunch the product in 1999 wasn't continued because the powder clumped together quite quickly. But since the end of 2012, "Coco Boer" has been marketed again.

* The Boer War is an expression designating two conflicts that took place in South Africa at the end of the 19th century between the British and the inhabitants of the two independent Boer republics.5. The original "Roudoudous" were real shellfish hollowed out and washed, then filled with a kind of crystallized fruit jam. The real seashells then gave way to plastic shells.

• Artist:Renaud