We begin with the start of the story...well, the start as originally imagined by Boublil and Schonberg. In the 1980 version, the show has no prologue or chain-gang scenes; it opens on "La journée est finie", which became "At the End of the Day," then, later "Quand un jour est passé" in 1991.
The 1991 version contains the prologue, etc., as we know it, but it's largely the same (except Valjean's prison number is pronounced "twenty-four six hundred one" and not two-four-six-oh-one, as in English).
LES PAUVRES:
Quand un jour est passé, il est passé pour rien. When a day is over, it's over for nothing.
L'homme est aveugle et sourd aux peines de son prochain. Man is blind and deaf to the pains of his neighbor.
Nous les pauvres, on sait d'avance We poor folks know ahead of time
Que demain et les jours qui vont suivre, That tomorrow and the days that follows
Il n'y aura jamais pour nous There won't ever be any differences for us
Qu'une différence: Except this one:
Un jour de moins à vivre! One day less to live!
*Wow. Very similar to our English version, but somehow even more tragic. The final line packs more of a punch when the lines before it talk about how man "is blind and deaf to the pains of his neighbor" rather than "That's all you can say for the life of the poor." Cuz it obviously isn't. Moving on...*
LES PAUVRES:
Quand un jour est passé, il est passé sans joie.
When a day is over, it's over without joy
Il faut s'en retourner sous la pluie, dans le froid,
You've got to go back out in the rain and the cold
Implorer le bourgeois qui t'ignore,
Begging the bourgeois, who ignore you,
Bien calfeutré dans son opulence,
Well sealed-up in their opulence
Et qui te jette une pièce
And who throw you a simple coin
Et qui s'endort,
Then go to bed
En ayant bonne conscience!
With a clear conscience.
*
Whoaaa!!! That's a lot of awesome stuff in one verse. The English version plays on the pity the audience should feel for the poor, while the French version directly calls out the upper-middle-class for ignoring them. In a sense, the chorus is actually calling out the audience. Anyone who could afford to spend three hours in a well-climated theatre could certainly afford to help the poor. The English version has none of this.*
LES PAUVRES:
Quand un jour est passé, un autre jour se lève.
When a day is over, another one's rising
Il faudra bien qu'un jour, le malheur s'mette en grève;
One day unhappiness wil have to go on strike
Et qu'un ouragan éclate;
And a storm will break out
Et qu'il vienne enfin secouer le monde
And will at last shake up the world
Pour nourrir de sa colère
To feed its anger
Ceux qui ont tant d'arriérés de misère,
Those who have so many debts of poverty
Ceux qui n'ont jamais eu leur part
Those who have never had their share
De bonheur en retard.
Of overdue happiness.
*The line about "unhappiness going on strike" is awesome. So French.*
CONTREMAÎTRE
Quand un jour est passé, on a qu'ce qu'on mérite;
When a day is over, we have what we deserve
Les feignants auront rien à mettre dans la marmite.
The lazy ones won't have anything to put in their savings
*I like how the Contremaitre (Foreman) has this line. As he is the boss, he assumes that only those who work should have money.*
OUVRIER 1:
Il faut nourrir les marmots You've got to feed your kids
OUVRIERS 1 & 2:
Qu'on a faits sans toujours les vouloir. That you had without always wanting them
OUVRIER 2:
Mais ça va tant qu'on a un boulot, But that's fine, as long as you have a job--
OUVRIÈRE :
Un coup à boire! --Or something to drink!
OUVRIERS:
Nous on a cette chance! We have this luck!
FILLE 1:
As-tu vu la sale gueule que tire le contremaître? Have you seen the look on the Foreman's face?
FILLE 2:
Et ses mains baladeuses qui vous collent comme la poisse? And his wandering hands that stick like a curse?
FILLE 3:
C'est la faute à Fantine qui veut rien lui permettre. It's Fantine's fault; she won't budge an inch.
FILLE 4:
Ben, qu'ça lui plaise ou pas, va falloir qu'elle y passe! Well, whether she likes it or not, it's gonna have to happne!
FILLE 5:
Le patron, lui, ne sait pas And the boss, he doesn't know
Que sa chiourme est toujours en chaleur. That his galley slaves are always in heat!
FILLE 3:
Si Fantine ne fait pas gaffe, If Fantine doesn't watch out
Y aura pas long It won't be long
Qu'il lui arrive un malheur. Before something terrible happens to her.
OUVRIÈRES:
Quand un jour est passé, on est plus vieux d'un jour. When a day is over, you're a day older.
Et on gagne juste assez pour pas crier au s'cours. And you've earned just enough to not cry out, "Help!"
Avant la soupe et le vin, Before the soup and wine,
Il faut payer le propriétaire You have to pay the landlord
Et gratter jusqu'à la fin And scrape until the end
Chaque miette de chaqu'sou d'un salaire, Every crumb from every penny of your salary
Dont il ne va rien rester Of which nothing will be left
Quand un jour est passé. When a day is over!
CONTREMAÎTRESSE:
Qu'est-ce que tu caches, ma jolie, de la sorte? What are you hiding like that, my dear?
Alors, Fantine, quelles sont les nouvelles? So, Fantine, what's the news?
«Oh, chère Fantine, Cosette est très malade; envoyez quarante francs ou la petite est morte!»
"Oh, dear Fantine, Cosette est very sick, send 40 francs or she's dead!"
*Of note here: the woman who grabs the letter from Fantine, is, in the English version, simply another worker. She is here called the "Contremaitresse", a Female Supervisor. This may actually be a reference to the original novel, where a female supervisor discovers Fantine's child and fires her.
Also, the 2008 Quebec version renders the first line "Qu'est-ce que tu caches, ma jolie, de la lettre?"--which is a better translation, IMHO.*
FANTINE:
Rends-moi ma lettre, mêle-toi de tes affaires. Give me my letter, mind your own business
Toi qui as un mari qui ne te suffit plus. When you've got a husband who's not enough for you
Occupe-toi de ta vie et laisse-moi la mienne. Take care of your life, leave me mine
Qui êtes-vous pour me faire des leçons de vertu? Who are all of you to give me lessons in virtue?
*Note there how she switches from "tu" to "vous"...she begins by adressing her attacker, then turns to the group as a whole. This nuance is lost in English, which does not employ a singualr/plural "you" distinction. Anyway, then a fight breaks out! I think someone gets slammed against a chain link fence in this version?*
VALJEAN:
Séparez-les, je vous l'ordonne, Seperate them, I command it
Je ne conduis pas un troupeau, I do not head a circus
C'est une usine que je mène. I run a factory!
Allons, mesdames, reprenez-vous; Now, ladies, control yourselves.
Je suis le maire de cette ville, I am the mayor of this town
Je ne tolère pas ces querelles; I do not tolerate fights like this
Je vous charge de ramener l'ordre; I'll leave you to bring back order;
Et que chacun fasse son travail! Now everyone do your work!
*The first four lines above are directly lifted from the original 1980 version.*
CONTREMAÎTRE:
Qui a déclenché cette pagaille?
Who started this brawl?
CONTREMAÎTRESSE:
Moi je n'y suis pour rien, tout ça c'est bien sa faute.
I've got nothing to do with this, it's all her fault
Elle a une gosse qu'elle cache, on imagine pourquoi.
She's got a kid that she's hiding, I wonder why?
Y a un homme qu'elle doit payer.
There's a man she has to pay
Et on devine comment elle s'y prend,
And you can guess how she goes about it
Pour se faire, n'est-ce pas ma poule! Des suppléments.
To get herself some extra money--ain't it so, dearie?
Monsieur le maire appréciera!
The Mayor would love that!
FANTINE:
Oui c'est vrai, j'ai une fille qui n'a que moi sur terre;
Yes, it's true, I've a daughter who's got naught but me on Earth
Je l'ai donnée en garde pour pouvoir me placer.
I gave her up, she's cared for, so I could get situated.
J'envoie tout ce que je gagne pour élever ma Cosette.
I send everything I earn to raise Cosette
Je suis une femme honnête, monsieur, vous comprenez!
I'm an honest woman, sir, you understand!
OUVRIÈRES:
Quand un jour est passé, on n'a que ce qu'on sème;
When a day is over, you reap what you sew
Et la brebis galeuse contamine le troupeau.
And the black sheep gets the whole herd sick
Pendant qu'on trime pour gagner notre pain,
While we're slaving away to earn our bread
Elle se roule dans les lits des palaces;
She's rolling around in the beds of palaces!
Il faut chasser cette catin
We have to get read of this slut
Ou c'est nous qui perdrons notre place.
Or we'll lose our place
C'est nous qu'on fera payer
It's us who'll have to pay
À la fin de la journée
At the end of the day
CONTREMAÎTRE:
J'aurais dû voir ta vraie nature, I shiould have seen your true nature
La chienne derrière la jeune fille pure, The bitch behind the pure young lady
Bien trop sérieuse pour être honnête. Way too serious to be honest.
Voila la vertueuse Fantine, Here we have the virtuous Fantine!
La sainte nitouche de cette usine; The untouched saint of this factory
Pendant que tu bradais tes charmes, While you were selling off your charms at a discount,
Tu m'achetais avec tes larmes. You were paying me off with your tears.
Tu joues les pucelles en plein jour You play the virgin in the day
Et la nuit tu vends de l'amour But, come night, you sell love.
*Despite this section being very similar in tone to the English version, the French version adds in the fact that not only is Fantine "sleeping around" to earn her keep, but that she is doing so with rich men--basically, they're accusing her of being a tramp AND a gold-digger!*
CONTREMAÎTRESSE:
Si t'y es pas passé, If you haven't been with her,
T'es bien le seul en ville! You're the only one in town!
OUVRIÈRES:
Fais-les lui ravaler, ses larmes de crocodile ! Make her swallow her crocodile tears!
CONTREMAÎTRESSE:
Débarrasse-nous d'elle Get rid of her!
OUVRIERS & OUVRIÈRES:
Débarrasse-nous d'elle! Get rid of her!
CONTREMAÎTRE:
Non, ma belle, No, my lovely,
C'est fini! It's over!
...wow. That's just one song. Can you see how the French version gives the English version an extra layer of nuance? Also, French can get away with singing a lot of things English can't. Can you imagine an English song that included the line "Make her swallow her crocodile tears!" ?
This series will continue soon where I talk about the French version of "I Dreamed a Dream." If anyone has a request for a song to talk about, I'll take them into consideration!
