One of the bright poins of pop in the seventies was Lady Marmalade, the song which tought us all how to say "do you want to (bleep) me tonight?" in French.
Originally by Labelle.
Many versions since, a good one by All Saints.
And a big one by four big stars.
And a bigger one by four even bigger stars.
(The last one is blocked for minors on YouTube. What, it's inappropriate for kids to see large people in skimpy outfits? Where are the kids in Houston gonna go?)
4 comments:
Almost perfect translation there, Eolake, except for the tiniest of typos (typoes?). The exact version is: "do you want to (sleep) with me tonight?" ;-)
To balance the cultural exchanges, several songs taught the young French how to say "je t'aime" in English...
I thought about that, even thought about calling for your judgement, but I looked it up, not wanting to be *too* lazy, and the dictionary said that "coucher avec" is often vulgar in meaning, so I decided that "(bleep) me" was the preferred translation.
coucher avec (faire l'amour, baiser (vulg.), avoir des relations sexuelles) vtr eff (have sex, f***) offensive
Why is the audience laughing so hard? If these ladies had been more svelte, would it be more cheering and less laugher?
Don't mind me, I'm off analysing why people react the way they do again - or at least trying. :)
Oui, the exact literal translation and the best one are seldom the same. Not that "sleeping with" leaves much room for doubt in English. :-)
Bleep, sleep, whatever.
Hannah, my mother and her (not so) little sister are rather well-rounded. But most of their time together is spent laughing and joking.
I don't know, maybe having a body saying "I enjoy life a bit too much rather than too little" IS normally linked to merriness. (I don't see Buddha frowning, do you?)
Or, of course, you could consider the possibility that some are laughing AT that singer, not WITH her. But hey, it only matters if she cares.
I know being laughed at more than I'd ever need to know anything. But I learned to make people laugh WITH me. And, if I make them laugh with me about me, by self-derision, it can be very efficient in defusing most conflicts. You can't insult somebody who's already done it himself a second ago, or you'll look real thick.
Count on me to be the only Lebanese born with jewish humour. :-)
"You just can't ever do anything like everybody else, can you?
- Mea culpa, Sister Superior. I confess, I'm a calamitous histrionic show-off.
- A what? Watch your language, young man, or else!..."
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