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Listen and translate. La Corrida by Francis Cabrel


This is a third post featuring songs I like and this one is a real favourite which I enjoyed using with A-level classes. If you don’t already know it, La Corrida is Francis Cabrel’s powerful song about the evil of bullfighting - the corrida. He brings a Spanish flavour, and even a little Spanish language, into the song. The music itself is dramatic in its ebbs and flows and, as usual, Cabrel’s voice and delivery make him a good source of language input.

So here is a translation into English which students would have to retranslate into the original French. It’s therefore a listen and transcribe task. Quite a challenge for a good class, and a possible alternative to gap-fill.

On a technical/pedagogical note, I often mention the importance of comprehensible input. When you provide a translation like this, the language is instantly understandable.


Since I’ve been waiting

In this dark chamber

I hear fun and singing

Down the hall 

Someone opened the lock

And I burst into the daylight

I saw the bands, the barriers

And the people all around


At first I believed

That you just had to defend yourself

But this place has no exit

I begin to understand

They closed the gate behind me

They were afraid that I would retreat

I'm gonna get him in the end

That ridiculous dancer ...


Is this world serious?

Is this world serious?


Andalusia, I remember

Meadows bordered by cacti

I won't tremble before this puppet, this midget

I'll catch him and his hat

Spin them like a sun

Tonight the bullfighter's wife

Will sleep soundly


Is this world serious?

Is this world serious?


I chased ghosts

Almost got their ballerinas

They struck me hard on my neck

So I would bow

Where do they come from, these acrobats

With their paper costumes?

I never learned to fight dolls

I feel the sand beneath my head

It's amazing how good it can be

I prayed that it would all stop

Andalusia, I remember

I hear them laugh as I groan

I see them dance as I succumb

I didn't think we could have so much fun around a tomb


Is this world serious?

Is this world serious?

(Spanish section)


Comments

  1. Unknown25 August 2020 at 14:04

    Great song by a very established French artist - an attempt of bringing back some form of "chansons à texte", but maybe more accessible! I once (rather successfully) used Eddy Mitchell's "Il ne rentre pas ce soir" with a group of students https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s7oVSE7usQ&list=RDu1Qrt-V4qT0&index=3. The song is about a man who's just lost his job, and how he dreads going home for fear of breaking the news to his wife - and how, somehow, life stops for him! Sadly, a very current topic! Arnaud

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