Bonsoir
Ton véhicule
N’a pas l’air d’avoir
De passager
Peux-tu, veux tu
Me recevoir
Sans trop te déranger?
Mes bottes ne feront
Pas trop d’échos
Dans ton couloir
Pas de bruit
Avec mes adieux
Pas pour nous
Les moments perdus
En attendant
Un incertain
Au-revoir
Parce que j’ai
La Folie
Oui, c’est
La Folie
Il était une fois
Un étudiant
«Qui voulait fort»
Comme en littérature
Sa copine
Elle était si douce
Qu’il pouvait presque
En le management
Rejeter
Tous les vices
Repousser
Tous les males
Détruire
Toutes beautés
Qui par ailleurs
N’avait jamais
Été ses
Complices
Parce qu’il avait
La Folie
Oui, c’est
La Folie
Et si parfois l’on fait
Des confessions
À qui les raconteurs?
Même le bon dieu
Nous a laisse tomber!
Un autre endroit
Une autre vie
Eh, oui, c’est
Une autre histoire
Mais à qui
Tout raconté?
Chez les ombres
De la nuit
Au petit matin
Au petit gris
Combien des crimes ont
Été commis
Contre les mensonges
Et soi disant
Les lois du cœur?
Combien sont
La a cause de
La Folie?
Parce qu’ils ont
La Folie
The Stranglers La Folie La Folie (1981)
Or in English, as follows:
Madness
Good Evening
Your vehicle
Doesn’t seem to have
A passenger
Could you, would you
Let me in
Without too much bother?
My boots won’t
Echo too much
In your corridor
No noise accompanies
My farewells
For us, no
Wasted moments
Waiting for
An uncertain
Good-bye
Because I am
Mad
Yes, this is
Madness
There once was
A student
Who had a ‘strong will’
As they say in books
His girlfriend
She was so sweet
That by eating her
He managed
To reject
All vices
To repulse
All competing males
To destroy
Everything of beauty
In which otherwise
He never would have
Been an accomplice
Because he was
Mad
Yes, this is
Madness
And if sometimes you make
Your confessions
To whom do you make them?
Even the Good Lord
Has abandoned us!
Another place
Another life
And, of course
Another story
But to whom
Can you tell all?
In the shadows
Of the night
At dawn
At dusk
How many crimes have
Been committed
Against the lies
And so-called
Laws of the heart?
How many are
Here on account of
Madness?
Because they are
Mad
‘Let Me Introduce You to the Family’ (conclusion):
After the death of my brother, things at home kind of fell apart, and everyone in our family went a little mad. My father started staying later and later at the office and missing dinner. My mother started drinking more than usual, and when I came home from school in the afternoon (usually late afternoon, after practice for one sport or another), she would be lying in bed with ‘a headache.’ It’s amazing how hard it is to kill old habits, though. She still went to the health club every day to exercise, only earlier and earlier in the day, until eventually ‘cocktail hour’ began sometime around noon.
I went a little nuts myself. My brother’s death left me with a lot of unresolved questions about the nature of our ‘relationship.’ Like, sure, he was my brother, and I loved him, but after awhile it became more like, I loved him only because everyone told me he loved me. That is to say, other people had to reassure me of his love because there were lots of times when I just wasn’t convinced he felt the same way as I did, and he seldom if ever told me he loved me directly.
I’ve finally concluded, after years of therapy, he was just a ‘hard case,’ probably more than a little psychotic, with so much emotional baggage of his own, he simply didn’t have the ability to love me, or perhaps anyone else. I don’t know why that was so, or what made him that way, but curiously enough it made me feel more sympathetic to him, so now, I can honestly say, I love my brother.
Well, I didn’t get to introduce you to any of my cousins… but I’ve run out of space again and, as usual, want to close with one more Stranglers song, so let’s just call an end to ‘family matters’ at long last, shall we?
Join me next time, when we’ll get down to the real nitty gritty, won’t you? Until then, here’s a taste of what’s to come. Don’t worry, the first taste is always free…
Harry and me
We live in a dream
With a friend like him
I don’t need enemies
I don’t know
Where morning is
It might not come today
That’s the trouble
When Harry’s around
He forces me to play
I should have refused to meet
This midnight cheat
He likes to prey on my mind
With his own special treat
I don’t know
When morning comes
It might not come today
Harry likes to play all night
I’ll do what Harry says
Don’t bring Harry
I don’t need him around
Don’t bring Harry
I don’t need him around
Ah, you’ve met Harry
I can see by your eyes
If once, there was life there
Now, there’s compromise
Harry is a
Beast of luxury
He just wants
My body and soul
Leaves the bones behind
Ah, you’ve met Harry
I can see by your eyes
If once, there was action
Now, there is no life
Don’t bring Harry
I don’t need him around
Don’t bring Harry
I don’t need him around
The Stranglers Don’t Bring Harry The Raven (1979)
Ton véhicule
N’a pas l’air d’avoir
De passager
Peux-tu, veux tu
Me recevoir
Sans trop te déranger?
Mes bottes ne feront
Pas trop d’échos
Dans ton couloir
Pas de bruit
Avec mes adieux
Pas pour nous
Les moments perdus
En attendant
Un incertain
Au-revoir
Parce que j’ai
La Folie
Oui, c’est
La Folie
Il était une fois
Un étudiant
«Qui voulait fort»
Comme en littérature
Sa copine
Elle était si douce
Qu’il pouvait presque
En le management
Rejeter
Tous les vices
Repousser
Tous les males
Détruire
Toutes beautés
Qui par ailleurs
N’avait jamais
Été ses
Complices
Parce qu’il avait
La Folie
Oui, c’est
La Folie
Et si parfois l’on fait
Des confessions
À qui les raconteurs?
Même le bon dieu
Nous a laisse tomber!
Un autre endroit
Une autre vie
Eh, oui, c’est
Une autre histoire
Mais à qui
Tout raconté?
Chez les ombres
De la nuit
Au petit matin
Au petit gris
Combien des crimes ont
Été commis
Contre les mensonges
Et soi disant
Les lois du cœur?
Combien sont
La a cause de
La Folie?
Parce qu’ils ont
La Folie
The Stranglers La Folie La Folie (1981)
Or in English, as follows:
Madness
Good Evening
Your vehicle
Doesn’t seem to have
A passenger
Could you, would you
Let me in
Without too much bother?
My boots won’t
Echo too much
In your corridor
No noise accompanies
My farewells
For us, no
Wasted moments
Waiting for
An uncertain
Good-bye
Because I am
Mad
Yes, this is
Madness
There once was
A student
Who had a ‘strong will’
As they say in books
His girlfriend
She was so sweet
That by eating her
He managed
To reject
All vices
To repulse
All competing males
To destroy
Everything of beauty
In which otherwise
He never would have
Been an accomplice
Because he was
Mad
Yes, this is
Madness
And if sometimes you make
Your confessions
To whom do you make them?
Even the Good Lord
Has abandoned us!
Another place
Another life
And, of course
Another story
But to whom
Can you tell all?
In the shadows
Of the night
At dawn
At dusk
How many crimes have
Been committed
Against the lies
And so-called
Laws of the heart?
How many are
Here on account of
Madness?
Because they are
Mad
‘Let Me Introduce You to the Family’ (conclusion):
After the death of my brother, things at home kind of fell apart, and everyone in our family went a little mad. My father started staying later and later at the office and missing dinner. My mother started drinking more than usual, and when I came home from school in the afternoon (usually late afternoon, after practice for one sport or another), she would be lying in bed with ‘a headache.’ It’s amazing how hard it is to kill old habits, though. She still went to the health club every day to exercise, only earlier and earlier in the day, until eventually ‘cocktail hour’ began sometime around noon.
I went a little nuts myself. My brother’s death left me with a lot of unresolved questions about the nature of our ‘relationship.’ Like, sure, he was my brother, and I loved him, but after awhile it became more like, I loved him only because everyone told me he loved me. That is to say, other people had to reassure me of his love because there were lots of times when I just wasn’t convinced he felt the same way as I did, and he seldom if ever told me he loved me directly.
I’ve finally concluded, after years of therapy, he was just a ‘hard case,’ probably more than a little psychotic, with so much emotional baggage of his own, he simply didn’t have the ability to love me, or perhaps anyone else. I don’t know why that was so, or what made him that way, but curiously enough it made me feel more sympathetic to him, so now, I can honestly say, I love my brother.
Well, I didn’t get to introduce you to any of my cousins… but I’ve run out of space again and, as usual, want to close with one more Stranglers song, so let’s just call an end to ‘family matters’ at long last, shall we?
Join me next time, when we’ll get down to the real nitty gritty, won’t you? Until then, here’s a taste of what’s to come. Don’t worry, the first taste is always free…
Harry and me
We live in a dream
With a friend like him
I don’t need enemies
I don’t know
Where morning is
It might not come today
That’s the trouble
When Harry’s around
He forces me to play
I should have refused to meet
This midnight cheat
He likes to prey on my mind
With his own special treat
I don’t know
When morning comes
It might not come today
Harry likes to play all night
I’ll do what Harry says
Don’t bring Harry
I don’t need him around
Don’t bring Harry
I don’t need him around
Ah, you’ve met Harry
I can see by your eyes
If once, there was life there
Now, there’s compromise
Harry is a
Beast of luxury
He just wants
My body and soul
Leaves the bones behind
Ah, you’ve met Harry
I can see by your eyes
If once, there was action
Now, there is no life
Don’t bring Harry
I don’t need him around
Don’t bring Harry
I don’t need him around
The Stranglers Don’t Bring Harry The Raven (1979)
