Je ne veux pas travailler

As I was telling loiseaurebelle yesterday, I spent the weekend listening and humming this song repeatedly. It is an earworm I tell you, despite me not understanding the lyrics. It reminds me of the happy, pre-Depression dance halls of the 1920s.

The title is quite fitting for what I am experiencing now in school. (Duh, it's the winter break.)

loiseaurebelle:

And so I have translated the song... bear in mind that I haven't
really kept in touch with French for a long time, and some of the
nuances of the language probably escaped me. I also translated mostly
for meaning, and paid little attention to style.

I Don't Want to Work
Pink Martini.

My room is in the shape of a cage
The arms of the sun pass through the window
The hunters are at my door
Like little soldiers
Who want to take me away

(Chorus)
I don't want to work
I don't want to have lunch
I only want to forget
And so I smoke

I've already smelled the perfume of love
A million roses
Doesn't fill enough
Now there's only one flower
In my circle
And it's making me sick

(Chorus)

I don't trust it
The life that wants to kill me
It's magnificent
To be nice to people
But I never knew what it is like

(Chorus)

I don't trust it
The life that wants to kill me
It's magnificent
To be nice to people
But I never knew what it is like

As you can see, the song pretty much makes no sense, and juxtaposed with the happy, jaunty melody, it makes even less sense. Not to mention the images in the video... It's quite an accurate reflection of the attitudes of the 1920s, if you ask me: the darker side to the decadence of that era.

I found another translation. While I agree the song as a whole is nonsense, the individual verses are not. Could very well represent the themes of some of my previous blog entries.

On a side note, my favorite work of fiction is Alice. No prizes for guessing why.


A music video which makes no sense.