#le france

[leseigneurdufeu]

Dude I listened to that song and I love it. I really appreciate songs written from the perspective of or about a whole country just... #the state of this world am I right?? (Also Hetalia fan here but shhh)

I understood almost everything but just to be sure that I didn't miss anything from the message, can you post the translation please?

PS you also inspired me to post something

ok so first thing (which honestly is like... normal to be confused if you're not a native speaker) is that the song is not from the perspective of a whole country because it's not La France (the country) but Le France (a ship named after the country).

Basically it was the biggest ship ever build for the 12 years it was in activity. It was the pride of the french fleet (not war fleet, I think it was for passenger transit or something), the apple of their eyes etc. It was a whole symbol.

Giscard d'Estaing, french president, had among his campagin promises that he would keep Le France in good state and in activity. As soon as he became president (well maybe not as soon but you get it) he fucking sold it to a saudian business man who sold it to a norwegian armator (who renamed it the Norway) and then she (the ship) ended up being sold to some ironmonger or whatever (years later, like deacdes later, which was further proof that the France could have kept sailing for decades!)

So, big scandal, big outrage.

The Right Wing goes berserk because they're selling a national symbol, the Left Wing goes berserk because I'm pretty sure there was also something like The France being sold meant a fuckton of jobs disappearing. It probably goes without saying but at the time, to piss off the right and left wings at the same time, for the same reason was kind of a feat.

So anyway here's the text, (the translation), and [explanations of context or explanations of translation].

Quand je pense à  la vieille anglaise Qu'on appelait le "Queen Mary", Echouée si loin de ses falaises Sur un quai de Californie,

(When I think of the old english lady

Who they called the "Queen Mary" [also a big ship from that time, but english]

Crashed [or shipwrecked, the idea is that it's still above water but not sailing anymore] so far from her cliffs,

In the docks of California...)

Quand je pense à  la vieille anglaise, J'envie les épaves englouties, Longs courriers qui cherchaient un rêve Et n'ont pas revu leur pays.

(When I think of the old english lady,

I envy the sunken wreckages,

Long-distance ships that chased after[or looked after] a dream,

And never saw their countries again)

Ne m'appelez plus jamais "France". La France elle m'a laissé tomber. Ne m'appelez plus jamais "France". C'est ma dernière volonté.

(Don't ever call me France again

France [the country this time] has let me down.

Don't ever call me France again,

It's my last wish [dernière volonté -> idiom corresponding to dying wish too])

J'étais un bateau gigantesque

Capable de croiser mille ans. J'étais un géant, j'étais presque Presqu'aussi fort que l'océan.

(I was a gigantic ship,

Able to sail a thousand years,

I was a giant, I was almost,

Almost as strong as the Ocean)

J'étais un bateau gigantesque. J'emportais des milliers d'amants. J'étais la France. Qu'est-ce qu'il en reste ? Un corps-mort pour des cormorans.

(I was a gigantic ship,

I was sending thousands of lovers.

I was France [the country], what's left of it?

A dead body for cormorants [cormorants and dead body sound almost exactly the same in french: cor(ps are mute) mor(ts are mute) and cormor(ants)])

Ne m'appelez plus jamais "France ". La France elle m'a laissé tomber. Ne m'appelez plus jamais "France". C'est ma dernière volonté.

(Don't ever call me France again,

France [the country this time] has let me down.

Don't ever call me France again,

It's my last wish)

Quand je pense à  la vieille anglaise Qu'on appelait le "Queen Mary", Je ne voudrais pas finir comme elle Sur un quai de Californie.

(When I think of the old english lady,

Who they called the "Queen Mary",

I wouldn't want to end like her,

On a dock in California)

Que le plus grand navire de guerre Ait le courage de me couler, Le cul tourné à  Saint-Nazaire, Pays breton où je suis né.

(May the biggest warship ever

Have the bravery to sink me,

My back [literally my ass but let's keep it correct] turned on Saint-Nazaire,

Breton country where I was born! [Saint-Nazaire, biggest naval pier of France at the time, about to close, costing those jobs I was talking about earlier, in Bretagne (one of the western areas of France) is the place where the France (ship) was build]

Ne m'appelez plus jamais "France". La France elle m'a laissé tomber. Ne m'appelez plus jamais "France". C'est ma dernière volonté.

(Don't ever call me France again,

France has let me down.

Don't ever call me France again,

It's my last wish)

.

Anyway I don't know what else to say but don't hesitate to ask more questions.

[translatologist]

Lunch on Le France

It is July 24, 1963. 

You’re on the ocean liner Le France, the longest passenger ship on the seas, on your way to New York.

It is a little overcast, but seasonably warm, and you’ve just caught a glimpse of Alain Delon on the promenade deck. 

What are you having for lunch?

Credits | Le France: ND44 via Wikimedia Commons / Menu: New York Public Library

[tinyplanetss]

extremely funny btw. gavroche is like wait this adult is telling me i CAN smash streetlamps??? and valjean is like go wild kid. here's five dollars

[livesunique]

Château du Lude,  Le Lude, Pays De La Loire, France

[newt00th]

Le Chansonnier Cordiforme, c. 1470, music manuscript ― facsimile by Vicent García Editores of Valencia, Spain

[eightiesfan]

Alain Delon 1935 - 2024

[destiel-news-channel]

[Image ID: The Destiel confession meme edited so that Dean answers 'France's left wing parties are projected to win the election while the far-right is projected to only come in third.' to Cas' 'I love you'. /End ID]

source

This is a huge surprise considering the results of the first round!

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

William Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905) Le Guêpier, 1892

[kropotkindersurprise]

September 7, 2024 - Over 100.000 people took to the streets in demonstrations in more than 130 cities and towns across France to protest liberal president Macron, with support from fascist Le Pen, handing the position of Prime Minister to the leader of the right-wing party that came in fourth place in the recent elections. He did this to make sure that the nominal winners of that election, left-wing party NFP (Nouveau Front Populaire) are kept out of France's government. Macron said that the NFP's crazy ideas, such as raising taxes for the rich, are a threat to the national stability of France. As always, liberals will choose to join forces with fascists before ever considering working with socialists. [video]

[protectionsquad24601]

Og clickbait

[leseigneurdufeu]

Le France, by Michel Sardou, is a song about a boat and therefore it's a sea shanty. Debate.

[famousinuniverse]

Restaurant Le Train Bleu Paris, France: Le Train Bleu ("The Blue Train") is a restaurant located in the hall of the Gare de Lyon railway station in Paris, France. It was designated a Monument Historique in 1972. The restaurant was originally created for the Exposition Universelle (1900). Each ornate dining room is themed to represent cities and regions of France and they are decorated with 41 paintings by some of the most popular artists of that time. Wikipedia

[ratmanrulerofrodents]

RAHHHH FRANCE

[allthingseurope]

Pont Alexandre III and Les Invalides. Paris (by David)

[livesunique]

Vaux-le-Vicomte, Maincy, France

[theoldbone]

Goethite, Le Kaymar, Occitanie, France, photo by William Peraud