Le Dernier Soir (The Last Night)

Joseph Reinhardt* (music) / Jacques Salvet (lyrics) / 1944 

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

This is our last night. I came to see you, to say, "Goodbye, friend, good night."
I go sadly. My heart is not happy. It repeats to you slowly, "Honey, wait!

Listen to the Original

Why do you want us to part?  If you were to leave, darling, you would forget me, I suspect.  Have you thought  about it?

I came to see you, for our last night. Would  you, my dear, like to see me? I hope so.

FRENCH ORIGINAL

C'est notre dernier soir. Je suis venue te voir, pour te dire au revoir, ami, bon soir. Je m'en vais tristement.  Mon coeur n'est pas content. It te redit tout doucement, "Chéri, attends!

Pour quoi veux tu que nous nous quittions, si tu t'en allais, ché ri? 
Tu m'oublierais, j'aurais des soupçons.  As tu réfléchit?

Je suis venue te voir, pour notre dernier soir. Voudrais tu, chéri, me revoir? J'en ai l'espoir.

*Brother of Django.

Douce Ambiance (Sweet Atmosphere)

Django Reinhardt (music) / Jacques LaRue (lyrics) / 1944 

ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

Curtains drawn, shutters closed,
Sure is sweet to be in love.
Come near me, close your eyes.
Don’t say a word, let’s be happy.

The evening breeze, on one note, 

makes the garden bell resound.
My dear friend, it's the time
for your heart to be close to mine.

Along the wall, rain murmers to ivy,
which clings to a long refrain.
Nestled in our house, we’re good.

In its sleep, the radio plays
a tender waltz by Chopin,
Your voice makes love.
I lack nothing!

What’s more, my heart, on one note,
while the garden bell strikes,
sings with the sweet ambiance,
the beautiful spirit, that has returned.

FRENCH LYRIC:

Rideaux tirés, volets fermés.
Comme il est doux, de bien s’aimer.
Viens près de moi, ou-vre les yeux.
Ne dit plus rien, soy-ons heu-reux.

Le vent du soir, sur u-ne note,
fait ré-son-ner la clo-che du jar-din.
Mon cher a-mi, voi-ci l'heu-re
de ton coeur près du mien.

Le long du mur, la pluie chu-cho-te
Au lier-re qui s'ac-chroche un long re-frain.
Blot-tis dans no-tre de-meu-re,
com-me nous som-mes bien.

La ra-dio joue, en veil-leu-se,
u-ne ten-dre val-se de Cho-pin.
Ta voix se fait a-mou-reu-se.
Je ne man-que de rien!

De plus, mon coeur, qui bat des ailles,
tan-dis que bat la clo-che du jar-din,
danse avec la douce ambian-ce,
belle es-prit qui re-vient.

Papirosn (Buy My Cigarettes)

English translation of Yiddish lyric:

A cold night, foggy, and darkness everywhere.
A boy stands sadly and looks around.
Only a wall protects him from the rain.
He holds a basket in his hand
and his eyes beg everyone silently:

I don't have any strength left
to walk the streets hungry and
ragged, wet from the rain,
I shlep around from dawn.
Nobody gives me any earnings,
everyone laughs and makes fun of me.

Buy my cigarettes!
Dry ones, not wet from the rain.
Buy real cheap,
Buy and have pity on me.
Save me from hunger now

Buy my matches, wonderful ones, the best,
and with that you will uplift an orphan.
My screaming and my running will be for nothing
Nobody wants to buy from me-
I will have to die like a dog.

My father lost his hands in the war.
My mother couldn't bear her troubles anymore
And was driven to her grave at a young age.
I was left on this earth unhappy and alone like a stone.
I gather crumbs to eat in the cold market.

A hard bench in the cold park is my bed.
And on top of that, the police
beat me with the edges of their swords and sticks.
My pleas and my cries are of no use.

I had a little sister, a child of nature.
Together we shlepped around for an entire year.
When with her, it was much easier for me.
My hunger would weaken when I glanced at her.

Suddenly she became weak and sick,
died in my arms on a street bench.
And when I lost her I lost everything.
Let death come already for me, too.

Original Yiddish lyric:

A kalte nakht, a nebldike finster umetum
sheyt a yingele fartroiert un kukt zikh arum
Fun regn shtist im hor a vant, A koshikl trogt er in hant,
un zayne oygn betn yedn shtum

Ikh hob shoyn nit keyn koyekh mer arumtsugeyn in gaz,
hungerig un opgerizn fun dem regn naz.
Ikh shlep arum zikh fun baginen, keyner git nisht tsu fardinen,
ale lakhn, makhn fun mir shpaz.

Kupitye koyft zhe, koyft zhe papirosn,
trukene fun regn nisht fargozn.
Koyft she bilik benemones, koyft un hot oyf mir rakhmones,
ratevet fun hunger mikh atsind.

Kupitye koyft she shvebelakh antikn,
dermit verd ir a yosiml derkvikn.
Umzizt mayn shrayen un mayn loyfn, keyner vil bay mir nit koyfn,
oysgeyn vel ikh muzn vi a hunt.

Mayn tate in milkhome hot farloyrn zayne hent,
mayn mame hot di tsores mer oyshaltn nisht gekent.
Yung in keyver zi getribn, bin ikh oyf der velt farblibn,
ungliklekh un elnt vi a shteyn.

Breklekh klayb ikh oyf tsum ezn oyf dem kaltn mark,
a harte bank iz mayn geleger in dem kaltn park.
In dertsu di politziantn, shlog mikh shvern kantn,
z'helft nit mayn betn, mayn geveyn.

Ikh hob gehat a shvesterl, a kind fun der natur,
mit mir tsusamen zikh geshlept hot zi a gants yor.
Mit ir geven iz mir fil gringer, laykhter vern flegt
der hunger, ven ikh fleg a kuk ton nor oyf ir.

Mit amol gevorn iz zi shvakh un zeyer krank,
oyf mayne hent iz zi geshtorbn oyf a gazn-bank.
Un az ikh hob zi farloyrn, hob ikh alts ongevoyrn,
zol der toyt shoyn kumen oykh tsu mir.