Wishing You a Yellow New Year - ”The Deplorables”  🎶 🎶

This is the first new year in decades that I have a modicum of optimism, thanks to the Gilets Jaunes movement.

This song was written for the Gilets Jaunes (credits at the end of the video), based on a song by Jean Ferrat, one of the Greats of French poets/songwriters. It is quintessentially French, in form, in melody, and in the vernacular of the lyrics, and I wanted to share it with you. I have this heritage in my blood, the same blood that was spilled in the trenches.

Every time I hear this song, it brings tears to my eyes. For the first time in a long long time, the French people is getting away from the pseudo relationships of FB and their solitary screens to get to know one another again on the traffic circles, in the streets, fleeing the gas grenades thrown by the police, and have gotten reacquainted with the value of “Fraternité” and with their long history of rebellion against tyranny.

For those who don’t speak French I have translated the lyrics. Not the most polished translation, but you’ll get the gist of it.

Happy New Year! May the color of 2019 be yellow and may the movement for a real democracy spread throughout the world!

Much love ❤️ and peace ☮️

Les gueux
Originally from the dutch name geuzen (I’m not going to reinvent the wheel, so here is the wikipedia link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geuzen), in French it refers to the beggars, the peasants, by extension the plebs, the populace, and as HRC so eloquently called them “the deplorables”. IMHO the latter term is so powerful in the contempt with which it was uttered that I have used it in the translation.

Dans leur gilet jaune fripé
In their wrinkled yellow vest

Ils s’en allaient manifester
They went out to demonstrate

Dans le petit matin frileux,
In the cold early morning

Les gueux…
The deplorables…

Ils sortaient tous les jours d’la semaine,
They were out every day of the week.

Pour crier: «La coupe est pleine! »
To scream: “Enough!”

Ils se battaient pour qu’on vive mieux,
They were fighting for a better life,

Les gueux.
The deplorables.

Ils luttaient contre la misère,
They were fighting against misery

Il etait plus question d’se taire,
No more being silent,

Ils ne demandaient pas l’paradis,
They weren’t asking for paradise,

Juste être compris
Just to be understood.

Dans leur gilet jaune fripé
In their wrinkled yellow vest

Pacifistes mais determinés
Peaceful but determined

Ils bloquaient fermement les lieux,
They were firmly blocking circulation,

Les gueux…
The deplorables…

Le soir ils maintenant le blocage
In the evening they maintained the blockages

Sur les ronds-points et aux péages,
On the traffic circles and at toll booths,

Ils voulaient plus baisser les yeux,
They were done with eyes downcast,

Les gueux.
The deplorables.

Y a jamais eu autant d’personnes
Never before have there been so many people

Pour réclamer que démissionnent
Calling for the resignation

Tous ces politiciens véreux,
Of these rotten politicians,

Dégueus
Short for déguelasse which means “disgusting”, still referring to the politicians

Dans leur gilet jaune fripé
In their wrinkled yellow vest

Portant la France des oubliés
Bearing the France of the forgotten

Enfin, on les voyait un peu,
Finally they could be seen a little

Les gueux…
The deplorables…

Ensemble, ils chantaient des chansons
Together, they were singing songs

Tout y passait, bourgeois, patrons,
No-one was spared, neither bourgeois nor bosses,

Le refrain “Macron démission!”
With the refrain “Macron resignation!”

A plein poumons!
At the top of their lungs!

Ils veulent plus d’BMF TV
They’re done with BFM TV (a MSM TV channel)

De tous ces médias enchaînés
All these media in chains

Qui sèment la peur, la division…
Sowing fear and division…

C’est leur mission.
Which is their mission.

Dire qu’ils ont passé des années
Just thinking that they spent years

A payer toujours sans broncher
Always paying without a peep

Il était temps couvrir les yeux,
It was time to open their eyes,

Les deux.
Both eyes.

T’aurais pu si t’étais malin
If you’d been clever you could have

Calmer la colère et la faim
Soothed the anger and the hunger

De ceux qu’avancent le ventre creux
Of those marching with empty bellies,

Les gueux.
The deplorables.

Mais tu es tellement méprisant
But you hold them in such contempt

Tu n’as pas le coeur assez grand
Your heart is not big enough

Pour y loger tous ces gens-là
To hold all these people

Voilà.
That’s it.

En pensant à tout ça, j’me dis
When I think of it all, I tell myself

Vivement la Vraie démocratie
I can’t wait for Real democracy

Ils ne marcheront plus d’ici là,
Until then they’ll no longer

Au pas…
Walk in step…