I thought I might use this journal for translations, amongst other things. I love French and I love to translate from French. If anyone has anything they'd like translated, I'm happy to oblige.

Romeo et Juliette is this wonderful, totally campy and somewhat cracktastic French musical that I love. It's a sort of rock opera with really eccentric costumes and make-up and a tendency to have characters explain themselves in a very long, repetative songs. It also has a character who is the personification of Death. It's awesome. It's based on the Shakespeare play, but it changes a lot of little elements to the plot. You can read a more detailed analysis by myself here.

L'anyhoodle, Benvolio is my favourite character from the play and the musical. In the original cast, he's played by Grégori Baquet, who is the cutest thing who ever cuted. In the musical, they have Benvolio tell Romeo that Juliette is dead, instead of Balthazar, which makes much more sense. This is the song he sings before he has to go and do that.

COMMENT LUI DIRE (How do I tell him?)
youtube links:
Song (from the DVD for the show. The women in white vogueing around is Death, btw)
Music Video (musical actors are kind of like rockstars in France, they usually do music videos of all the popular songs)



Moi qui n'ai pas d'importance
Qui ne suis que son ami d'enfance
Qui n'aimais que les femmes et la danse
C'est fini...

I'm not important.
I'm just his childhood friend.
Who loves nothing more than women and dancing
It's over...

Nous étions hier encore
Si loin si loin de la mort
Elle est tombée sur la ville
Comme une araignée tissant son fil

Yesterday, we were still
So far, so far from death
She's fallen on the village
Like a spider spinning her web.

Nous étions les rois du monde
Oui mais nos blessures sont trop profondes
Et même si demain le temps s'arrête
Ça ne fera pas revivre Juliette
Et c'est moi...
Qui doit lui dire ça

We were the kings of the world
Yes, but now our wounds are too deep
And even if I could stop time
It wouldn't bring back Juliette
And it's me...
Who has to to tell him that

Comment lui dire, comment lui dire
Qu'il est arrivé le pire
Comment lui dire
Que la femme qu'il aime s'est tuée
Que le bonheur est passé
Que sa jeunesse est finie
Qu'il ne lui reste qu'un ami
Comment lui dire, qu'il va souffrir
Comment lui dire

How do I tell him, how do I tell him
That the worst has happened
How do I tell him
That the woman he loves killed herself
That happiness is gone
That his childhood is over
How do I tell him, that he's going to suffer
How do I tell him

Moi qui ai toujours vécu
Sans mes parents dans la rue
Quand on perd un ami
On devient, orphelin

I've always lived
Without my parents, on the street
When you lose a friend
You're orphaned

Quand Mercutio nous chantait la vie est belle
Moi j'y croyais
Mercutio ne chantera plus
Et me voilà tout seul perdu

When Mercutio sang that life is beautiful
I believed him
Mercutio won't sing anymore
And here I am, lost and all alone

Nous étions les rois du monde
Oui mais ses blessures sont si profondes
Et même si demain certains regrettent
Ça ne fera revivre Juliette
Et c'est moi...
Qui doit lui dire ça

We were the kings of the world
Yes, but now our wounds are too deep
And even if tomorrow some people regret what's happened
It wouldn't bring back Juliette
And it's me...
Who has to to tell him that

Comment lui dire, comment lui dire
Qu'il est arrivé le pire, comment lui dire
Que la femme qu'il aime est morte
Et qu'en partant elle emporte
La moitié de son amour
Elle prend le tout de toujours

How do I tell him, how do I tell him
That the worst has happened
How do I tell him
That the woman he loves killed herself
And when she left, she took
Half of his love
And all of his future

Comment lui dire qu'il va souffrir, comment lui dire
Que le bonheur est passé
Que sa jeunesse est finie
Qu'il ne lui reste qu'un ami

How do I tell him, that he's going to suffer
How do I tell him
That happiness is gone
That his childhood is over
That the only thing left is a friend

Comment lui dire, comment lui dire
Qu'il est arrivé le pire, comment lui dire
Que la femme qu'il aime s'est tuée
Que le bonheur est passé
Que sa jeunesse est finie
Qu'il ne lui reste qu'un ami
Comment lui dire qu'il va souffrir
Comment lui dire
Comment lui dire...

How do I tell him, how do I tell him
That the worst has happened
How do I tell him
That the woman he loves killed herself
That happiness is gone
That his childhood is over
That the only thing left is a friend
How do I tell him, that he's going to suffer
How do I tell him
How do I tell him