This song, written in the early 1980’s, is about a political prisonner, probably in a Latin American dictature such as Argentina, Cuba, Chile or Brazil. The lyrics and music were written by Michel Berger and the song was first performed by his wife France Gall. It was then sung by many famous French singers such as Michel Berger himself and Véronique Sanson, but the most famous version of the song is the powerful one by Johnny Halliday. That’s why I put both of them.
[More about France Gall]
This one is quite complicated to translate even though it’s quite short. It’s got many sentence structures that sound quite strange in English, but I still translated it faitfhfully so that it follows the verses. So if anybody has suggestions…
- Derrière les barreaux
- Pour quelques mots
- Qu’il pensait si fort
- Dehors
- Dehors il fait chaud
- Des milliers d’oiseaux
- S’envolent sans effort
- Quel est ce pays
- Ou frappe la nuit
- La loi du plus fort
- Diego
- Libre dans sa tête
- Derrière sa fenêtre
- S’endort peut-être
- Et moi
- Qui danse ma vie
- Qui chante et qui ris
- Je pense à lui
- Diego
- Libre dans sa tête
- Derrière sa fenêtre
- Déjà mort peut-être…
- Behind the bars
- For a few words
- That he meant so much
- Outside
- Outside the weather is beautiful
- Thousands of birds
- Fly away effrotlessly
- What is this country
- Where on night strikes
- The law of the strongest
- Diego
- Free in his head
- Behind his window
- May be falling asleep
- And me
- Who dance my life
- Who sing and laugh
- I think about him
- Diego
- Free in his head
- Behind his window
- Maybe dead already…
French Music into English 