The Partisan - the original lyrics and English translation?

[hydriot]

Thanks Darling. That's really interesting. "On m'a dit 'résigne toi'" makes so much more sense.

I had seen the original French lyrics some time ago. I think "On nous oubliera. Nous rentrerons dans l'ombre" is so poignant, so much better than the reversed English translation.

I also think "Vous qui le savez Effacez mon passage" is incredibly powerful. That really gives the feeling of the partisan coming and going like a phantom, thanks to the support of the local population.

But what is 'su' the past participle of? 'Savoir'? 'The enemy knew it' seems a bit weak

[caz]

Actually.....to return to this thread: I've just been watching this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jQ311QP050 and with regard to the line "This I could not do", the caption reads "Mais je n'ai pas peut", not "pu" as quoted by others and indeed the Song Index on this site. As the clip is from a French programme (May 13, 1970, the Joe Dassin Show), I'm inclined to see this as the definitive version - even though Babelfish weirdly translates this as "but I n' do not have can" (I re-translated it back again, to see what came up!!) ("Pero yo no pude hacerlo" - the subtitle from the San Sebastian concert: "but I couldn't do it".)

Carole

[Darling]

Actually.....to return to this thread: I've just been watching this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jQ311QP050 and with regard to the line "This I could not do", the caption reads "Mais je n'ai pas peut", not "pu" as quoted by others and indeed the Song Index on this site. As the clip is from a French programme (May 13, 1970, the Joe Dassin Show), I'm inclined to see this as the definitive version - even though Babelfish weirdly translates this as "but I n' do not have can" (I re-translated it back again, to see what came up!!) ("Pero yo no pude hacerlo" - the subtitle from the San Sebastian concert: "but I couldn't do it".)

Carole

Carole, it's a mistake, the words written did not come from the French show itself but were kindly added by the person who uploaded the video. It is indeed 'pu' which is the 'participe passé' (past participle?) of the verb 'pouvoir' as in "J'ai pu'' or, in this case, 'je n'ai pas pu''. ''Peut'' is the present tense at the third person 'du singulier' like in ''Il peut'' (he can).

I posted it elsewhere but here are again the original French words taken from http://www.deljehier.levillage.org/text ... rtisan.htm where you can also listen to it.

LA COMPLAINTE DU PARTISAN

L'ennemi était chez moi
On m'a dit résigne toi
Mais je n'ai pas pu
Et j'ai repris mon arme
Personne ne m'a demandé
D'où je viens et où je vais
Vous qui le savez
Effacez mon passage

J'ai changé cent fois de nom
J'ai perdu femme et enfants
Mais j'ai tant d'amis
Et j'ai la France entière

Hier encore nous étions trois
Il ne reste plus que moi
Et je tourne en rond
Dans la prison des frontières

Un vieil homme dans un grenier
Pour la nuit nous a cachés
L¹ennemi l'a su
Il est mort sans surprise

Le vent souffle sur les tombes
La liberté reviendra
On nous oubliera
Nous rentrerons dans l'ombre

[Darling]

Yes, Hydriot, 'su' is the past participle of 'savoir'. In this case, it could be translated as 'the enemy learned about it' which would imply that somebody probably told them, the rat !

I agree with your other comments, it's true that 'Nous rentrerons dans l'ombre' is more poignant, kind of sad though. ''We will come from the shadows'' maybe gives a bit more hope. And, yes, 'Effacez mon passage' is quite powerful, a lot of images spring out of these few words.

Did you also notice that ''On m'a dit résigne-toi'' also makes more sense (IMHO) in that it means that other people told him to give up (a probably all too common attitude in those hard times), whereas "Les allemands étaient chez-moi/ Ils me dirent résigne-toi'' sounds more like it's the Germans that told him to give up. I always found it weird that after telling him that, the Germans let him get away with his weapon...

[caz]

Carole,it's a mistake, the words written did not come from the French show itself but were kindly added by the person who uploaded the video. It is indeed 'pu' which is the 'participe passé' (past participle?) of the verb 'pouvoir' as in "J'ai pu'' or, in this case, 'je n'ai pas pu''. ''Peut'' is the present tense at the third person 'du singulier' like in ''Il peut'' (he can).

Hi - thanks for clearing that up for me - my A Level French must be rustier than I thought (well it was 35 years ago.......). But yes, now you've explained it, that makes sense. I think what threw me was thinking the translation came from the programme itself. But "pu" just seems like an odd past participle; for some reason I have an urge to put a circumflex on it!

Cheers
Carole

[Darling]

But "pu" just seems like an odd past participle; for some reason I have an urge to put a circumflex on it!

Cheers
Carole

It's true that it looks a little naked, but it really is how it's written. Maybe you are confusing with 'dû' which takes one when it's a past participle, I guess to distinguish it from the article 'du'.

Now they introduced a new set of rules for spelling French, the accent circonflexe will not be compulsory on the i, and u anymore except for the exceptions of course (and dû is one of them). I'm sticking with the old spelling, I haven't suffered all these school years to learn them just to drop them now.

[hydriot]

I agree with your other comments, it's true that 'Nous rentrerons dans l'ombre' is more poignant, kind of sad though. ''We will come from the shadows'' maybe gives a bit more hope.

How intriguing. I see it the other way round. I think the ability of a hardened soldier to beat his sword into a ploughshare when peace comes is a triumph of the human spirit. To me 'Nous rentrerons dans l'ombre' is a mark of the moral strength of the partisan who does not need the vain-glory of a victory parade but rather slips back into the shadows and, without a fuss, becomes just a private citizen again.

And, yes, 'Effacez mon passage' is quite powerful, a lot of images spring out of these few words.

The image I have, perhaps too literal, is of a Soviet peasant-woman desperately shovelling fresh snow on top of a line of foot-prints as the headlights of a German patrol approaches.

Did you also notice that ''On m'a dit résigne-toi'' also makes more sense (IMHO) in that it means that other people told him to give up (a probably all too common attitude in those hard times), whereas "Les allemands étaient chez-moi/ Ils me dirent résigne-toi'' sounds more like it's the Germans that told him to give up. I always found it weird that after telling him that, the Germans let him get away with his weapon...

Very good point. A colloquial translation would be: "Everybody told me to give up".

[Darling]

How intriguing. I see it the other way round. I think the ability of a hardened soldier to beat his sword into a ploughshare when peace comes is a triumph of the human spirit. To me 'Nous rentrerons dans l'ombre' is a mark of the moral strength of the partisan who does not need the vain-glory of a victory parade but rather slips back into the shadows and, without a fuss, becomes just a private citizen again.

Yes, I see what you mean. After I wrote it, I thought about it again, I even thought coming back to change my post. I guess at first what I saw as being sad was that people would forget about the ones that gave their lives for their freedom.

The image I have, perhaps too literal, is of a Soviet peasant-woman desperately shovelling fresh snow on top of a line of foot-prints as the headlights of a German patrol approaches.

It's interesting to see how the imagery can be different from one person to another. I see many people in little quaint French villages pretending to go about their business but plotting to protect him each in their own way. And for some reason, it's always a nice summer day. That's what's great about a good song or poem (perhaps bad ones also ), it's up to each person to make their own interior movie with it.

A colloquial translation would be: "Everybody told me to give up".

Or ''I was told to give up''.

[Eskimo]

Regarding "come from vs. return to" the shadows and Hydriot's image of a Soviet peasant woman...

A line "Ami, si tu tombes, un ami sort de l'ombre à ta place" (Friend, if you fall, a friend comes from the shadows to take your place) can be found in the more famous (except to LC fans) of Anna Marly's "partisan" songs - Le Chant des Partisans - the hymn of the French resistance. Marly, who was Russian by birth (Anna Betulinskaya) can be heard here singing the Russian lyrics that were adapted into French by Joseph Kessel (whose books include L'armée des ombres, later made into a movie) and Maurice Druon (who served as a government minister in the 70's and went on to head the Academie Francaise). The French adaptation was supposedly done at the request of Emmanuel d'Astier, a prominent figure in the French resistance (BTW, La Complainte du Partisan which we know as The Partisan is said to have his words and Marly's music). The French version of Le Chant des Partisans can be found here with English subtitles (not mine). Le Chant des Partisans still evokes strong emotion - as seen in this great performance by la Garde Républicaine in honor of Sarkozy becoming president.

As for Marly, she died at age 88 in 2006. Her story told in her obituary is found here

[hydriot]

Fantastic links, Eskimo. Many thanks. Personally I prefer the Partisan to Le Chant des Partisan as it is musically more varied (hardly surprising as Le Chant is a march).

How insensitive that the subtitles of the opening translate 'Amis' as 'Men'. Quite a gratuitous side-swipe at the huge contribution women made to the Resistance, particularly as couriers, bicycling past the sentries in summery dresses and wide friendly smiles.

[Darling]

Yes, this is all very interesting Eskimo, thank you. For those who understand French I found clips of Anna Marly talking about the songs in the related videos (in 2 parts)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsON5VMs ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0oz4dL4 ... re=related

Thank you too Hydriot, for acknowledging the contribution of women.

Sorry Tom...

[caz]

I've returned to this thread because ... I've just found this You Tube video that was uploaded in June 2009 (sorry if it's already been posted but I'm struggling with my connection so haven't read all posts):
http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri= ... _223jKXKgQ

He is definitely singing "Il" or "ils" at the beginning of the second line of the French part, if you look at his lips (ils me disent resigne-toi?).

Well, whatever: still one of my favourite songs.

Carole