Renaud: Mistral Gagnant
Mistral Gagnant (Winning Mistral)
This 1985 song is a hymn to lost childhood, filled with nostalgia for passing time. Little known outside of France, it nevertheless ranked first among the French in a 2015 poll as the most popular French song of all time.
The word “Mistral” refers to a legendary strong, cold northerly wind that blows through the Rhone valley across southern France. The song’s title “Mistral Gagnant,” however, refers to a discontinued popular candy from old times (the 50s and 60s). It came as a flavored sugar powder sucked through a straw and it fizzed on one’s tongue like a cool breeze or “mistral.” The candy had a lottery spin since when the inside of the green packet carried the word “gagnant” (“winning”), the empty packet could be exchanged free for a new one.
In the song, Renaud addresses his young daughter Lolita using the familiar “tu” (“tutoyer”). He constructs a narrative of reminiscences with which many listeners of a certain age could identify. These include vivid images of times shared sitting on a bench, watching people, holding hands, feeding pigeons, laughing, walking in the rain splashing puddles, and sampling favorite sweets nicked from the candy shop like Coco Boer, Car-en-Sac, Minto, Roudoudou, and Mistral Gagnant. Renaud injects informality by the familiar personal pronouns and intimations of complicity and he uses the linguistic device of elisions to replicate the sound of casual spoken speech. He ends by telling Lolita to love life, even though time is like an assassin that steals the laughter of children and….”Mistral Gagnants.”
When he wrote the song, Renaud reportedly did not intend to include it in his 5th forthcoming album because he felt the lyrics were too personal. When he called his wife Dominique during the recording session, he sang the song to her over the phone. She loved it so much that she threatened to leave him if he did not include it in the album. The rest is history and it became the title song for the album, quickly rose to classic status for many French people and has been covered by numerous other artists.
It seems like a simple song, but it’s difficult to translate because of obscure references, frequent slang words, and Renaud’s habit of writing the way he speaks which impedes comprehension. The narrative is essentially spoken in a sing-song way along with the addictive earworm of the background melody. There are 9 stanzas, mostly 4 lines each, with a mostly AABB rhyme scheme.
When he wrote the song, Renaud reportedly did not intend to include it in his 5th forthcoming album because he felt the lyrics were too personal. When he called his wife Dominique during the recording session, he sang the song to her over the phone. She loved it so much that she threatened to leave him if he did not include it in the album. The rest is history and it became the title song for the album, quickly rose to classic status for many French people and has been covered by numerous other artists.
It seems like a simple song, but it’s difficult to translate because of obscure references, frequent slang words, and Renaud’s habit of writing the way he speaks which impedes comprehension. The narrative is essentially spoken in a sing-song way along with the addictive earworm of the background melody. There are 9 stanzas, mostly 4 lines each, with a mostly AABB rhyme scheme.
À m'asseoir sur un banc, cinq minutes, avec toi
Et regarder les gens, tant qu'y en a
Te parler du bon temps, qui est mort ou qui reviendra
En serrant dans ma main tes petits doigts
Pis donner à bouffer à des pigeons idiots
Leur filer des coups de pied pour de faux
Et entendre ton rire qui lézarde les murs
Qui sait surtout guérir mes blessures
Te raconter un peu comment j'étais, minot
Les bombecs fabuleux, qu'on piquait chez l'marchand
Car-en-sac et Minto, caramels à un franc
Et les Mistral Gagnants
À remarcher sous la pluie, cinq minutes, avec toi
Et regarder la vie, tant qu'y en a
Te raconter la Terre en te bouffant des yeux
Te parler de ta mère, un petit peu
Et sauter dans les flaques pour la faire râler
Bousiller nos godasses et s'marrer
Et entendre ton rire comme on entend la mer
S'arrêter, repartir en arrière
Te raconter surtout les Carambars d'antan et les Coco Boers
Et les vrais Roudoudous qui nous coupaient les lèvres
Et nous niquaient les dents
Et les Mistral Gagnants
À m'asseoir sur un banc, cinq minutes, avec toi
Regarder le soleil qui s'en va
Te parler du bon temps, qui est mort et je m'en fous
Te dire que les méchants, c'est pas nous
Que si moi je suis barge, ce n'est que de tes yeux
Car ils ont l'avantage d'être deux
Et entendre ton rire s'envoler aussi haut
Que s'envolent les cris des oiseaux
Te raconter, enfin, qu'il faut aimer la vie
L'aimer même si
Le temps est assassin et emporte avec lui
Les rires des enfants
Et les Mistral Gagnants
Et les Mistral Gagnants
To sit on bench, 5 minutes, with you,
And watch the people, if there are any
To talk of good times, that have gone or will return
Holding in my hand your little fingers
Then giving food to idiotic pigeons
And faking kicks for fun,
And hear your laugh that basks on the walls
That knows above all to heal my wounds
To tell you a little how I was, as a kid
The fabulous sweets that we snitched from the shop
Car-en-Sac and Minto, one franc caramels
And the Mistral Gagnants
To walk under the rain, 5 minutes, with you
To watch life going by, if there is any
To tell you about earth feasting my eyes on you
To talk about your mother, a little bit
And jumping in puddles to make her complain
Ruining our shoes and having fun
To hear your laugh as one hears the sea
To stop, and turn around
To tell you especially about Carambars of yesteryear et the Coco Boers
The real Roudoudous that cut our lips
And chipped our teeth
And the Mistral Gagnants
To sit on a bench, 5 minutes, with you
To watch the sun going down
To talk about the good time that’s gone and I don't care
To tell you that the bad guys, that’s not us
That if I am insane, it is only for your eyes
Because they have the advantage of being two
And to hear your laugh rise as high
As rise the cries of birds
To tell you, finally, that you need to love life
Love it even if
Time is an assassin and carries away
The laughter of children
And the Mistral Gagnants
And the Mistral Gagnants
NB:
1) “tant qu'y en a:” this is contraction through elision of the expression “tant qu’il y en a.” It is an ambiguous expression and can mean “as long as it lasts” or “if there are any” or even “such as it is.” It is also the name of a song by Canadian singer Richard Séguin.
2) “qui est mort ou qui reviendra” is an ambiguous phrase that gets translated variously. It is unclear what “qui” refers to—is it the “bon temps” (“good times”) or is it unspecified other people?
3) “Pis” is a contraction of “puis” (“then”). Renaud seems to like rendering words in writing exactly as they sound in speaking, which is commonly very abbreviated.
4) “qui lézarde les murs:” the word “lézarder” can mean “crack” (“break”) or “lounge around” (“bask”).
5) “Les bombecs” is slang (“argot”) for “bonbons.”
6) “minot” means “youth” or “kid” in Marseille slang.
7) “en te bouffant des yeux” translates literally “while eating your eyes” but means colloquially “feasting my eyes on you.”
8) “les vrais Roudoudous” were a candy that confectioners made in real seashells. They were cute and tasty, but the seashells were hazardous for lips and teeth. Over time, the word “roudoudou” became a term of endearment.
9) “nous niquaient les dents” means “chipped/ruined our teeth” (as seashells are wont to do) but the verb “niquer” can also have a strong vulgar connotation.
1) “tant qu'y en a:” this is contraction through elision of the expression “tant qu’il y en a.” It is an ambiguous expression and can mean “as long as it lasts” or “if there are any” or even “such as it is.” It is also the name of a song by Canadian singer Richard Séguin.
2) “qui est mort ou qui reviendra” is an ambiguous phrase that gets translated variously. It is unclear what “qui” refers to—is it the “bon temps” (“good times”) or is it unspecified other people?
3) “Pis” is a contraction of “puis” (“then”). Renaud seems to like rendering words in writing exactly as they sound in speaking, which is commonly very abbreviated.
4) “qui lézarde les murs:” the word “lézarder” can mean “crack” (“break”) or “lounge around” (“bask”).
5) “Les bombecs” is slang (“argot”) for “bonbons.”
6) “minot” means “youth” or “kid” in Marseille slang.
7) “en te bouffant des yeux” translates literally “while eating your eyes” but means colloquially “feasting my eyes on you.”
8) “les vrais Roudoudous” were a candy that confectioners made in real seashells. They were cute and tasty, but the seashells were hazardous for lips and teeth. Over time, the word “roudoudou” became a term of endearment.
9) “nous niquaient les dents” means “chipped/ruined our teeth” (as seashells are wont to do) but the verb “niquer” can also have a strong vulgar connotation.
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