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Un Canadien Errant was translated as The Lost Canadian in recent Songs booklet, but in Rasky's movie there's a great scene when LC plays the tape and translates the song immediately from French, while listening. And he says "The wandering Canadian". (The same affair goes with poor translation of The Partisan into English, when LC sang "then the Germans came" as in the original French version, and on the album was his recording of politically correct English version from People's Songbook, "then the soldiers came").


Lizzytsh - maybe you should buy recent compilation "Brel: Next", with English covers of Brel. There are David Bowie and similar artists, but highlights are old covers "Do'n Go Away" by Nina Simone and other old ladies.

". . . other old ladies."

Tom, Tom, TOM! ~ We must find you an alternate phrase ~ immediately!

As your suggestion goes on Brel, however, thanks. It's an excellent one.

Ah, well......."wandering" it is, then. I like that so much better. On the Germans/soldiers, I'm guessing[?] maybe the American, record company chose to be, what they considered, more politically correct?

"Next", Brel in translation is not Brel, it's Mort Shuman (with Eric Blau), author of "Teenager in Love" and "Stand by Me" and other pop hits, who at least had the taste to become interested in Jacques Brel when he was in France and loosely translate about 40 of his songs. Brel is reported to have felt like a chicken who hatched a duck (un canard=a hoax) on hearing these songs. Anyone who can listen to Brel sing Brel in French should forget about "Next" and enjoy "Infiniment" also issued by DRG in North America. The old ladies like Nina Simone and Dusty Springfield are, in fact, dead ladies. David Bowie, is one who is still above room temperature. Still the dead ladies sing better than many live ladies, especially Aunt Nina. But not when they sing Brel.

I don't thing changing "Germans" to "soldiers" is more politically correct, it just takes the song out of WW II and universalizes it.

Well, then, Tom ~ It looks like you need to get "Infiniment" ! I'm happy to say that I already have it, am loving it, and will [trusting Lightning's judgement when it comes to Brel ~ not that the 'chicken and the duck' wouldn't have done it on its own ] rely on the site Lightning gave me for Brel's lyrics.

However, thank you, Tom, for your suggestion, nonetheless. I know it's well-intended, and we're all on a learning curve .

~ Lizzy

lizzytysh, may I suggest ancient archaic antique? is this looks better? Dead? Oh! then mummy, ghost, vampire, illusion, hallucination, DVD.

~ Yes, well definitely could be considered "old" once they're dead., or on their way to becoming so, at an accelerated pace.

Yes, you're right, Lightning....it does make the song more universal, but not a 'true'/accurate translation. And, not in every war, do people hide the 'enemy' in their attics, and risk the loss of their own lives, by lying to those who come looking. My sense was that by the time of this translation, we were trying to not place blame with Germany, in general, and would want to avoid any misinterpretations on that.

When I said "old" I did meant on dead jazz singers, yes...
I heard Brel in French, I didn't like it, it was pretty loud, angry, more like shouting than singing I like "Next" because of Nina Simone, Dusty Springfield.

Seasons in the sun - best cover is made by unbelievable and great English band Belle&Sebastien.