Sur le pont de mon voilier [English translation]

On the deck of my

white-sailed boat

we could dream of stars

if only you fancied

Away from jealous stares,

it's really a beautiful thing

to sail into the unknown,

anywhere, my darling...

Where the whispering breeze

ruffles your hair wildly...1

You would realize how pleasant

being wooed2 is

Only desire plays the role

of the captain

We would bring with us,

in case hunger becomes pressing,3

nothing but treasures of tenderness4

gathered for you,

for as far as love is concerned

wisdom is silliness...

Conniving with

the sweet dreams we seek,

the rudder stands

at our beck and call.

You will realize how pleasant

to worship each other

on the dancing waves

and forget about everything,

be it morality and decency

or even your husband5

At any rate, you're bound to

capsize into my arms

should we get shipwrecked

during the journey.

And to overcome the backwash6,

abandoning the struggle

you'll just have to wrap your arms

around my neck

with this sweetest hope

to die together7

1. lit. "makes your hair go crazy"2. "prétentaine" is only used in the fixed expression "courir la prétentaine", a mild equivalent of "womanizing". The French sounds like "prétentaine" was something you can stand on, so I can only imagine what he means here!3. Used sparringly, moving complements out of sequence adds a nice poetic feel, but it gets rather tiring when overused4. that does not sound particularly edible in French either5. Roooh. Naughty Luis!6. can also mean "(emotional) turmoil" in another context, but really the pun falls flat in French7. technically that means "you will hope to die with yourself". "mourir avec moi" would make more sense, but that would spoil the rhyme...

• Artist:Luis Mariano