Now there is a song...

[andreyb]

...of course, in French!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcg6Gf5TnvU

A nice song and a nice video -- but wish I understand anything apart of "Savile Row"!

Andrey

[andreyb]

And I suspect this is RJMan's wrongdoings!

Andrey

[andreyb]

Here is the lyrics:

Des passants taillés sur mesure
Défilent devant des vitrines
Ou les mannequins en devanture
Porte haut la couleur du spleen
Rien ne dépasse, pas un fil
Un geste ni un mot de trop
Les corps se déplacent avec style
Sur les trottoirs de Savile row

Comme toujours il pleut sur Londres
L'hiver ici semble sans fin
Mais sous le ciel qui s'effondre
Les dandys marchent l air serein
De Shaftsburry avenue
Au marché de Portobelo
Ils gardent le cap, la tenue
Vers les trottoirs de Savile row

Les visages sont parés
(L usage l'exige)
D'un masque grave et glacé
...Élégance oblige

Brummell, Byron, Gary Cooper
Et d'autres sont passés par là
Le regard noir, l'air supérieur
Dans leurs costumes, coupez droit
Voyez passer ces gentlemen
Avec leur trench-coat sur le dos
Qui sous la bruine se pavanent
Sur les trottoirs de Savile row

Comme un linceul sur les pierres
La brume envahissant la rue
Habille de sa robe légère
Ce monde bientôt révolu
Ou des vieux Lords sophistiqués
Qui continuent de porter beau
Avant d'aller prendre le thé
Vont faire un tour à Savile-row

Les visages sont parés
(L usage l'exige!)
D'un masque grave et glacé...
Élégance oblige

[hectorm]

Thank you for posting it, andreyb
Here´s my (crude) English take:

Gentlemen donning bespoke
promenade by the windows
where mannequins in display
proudly carry the colors of melancholy

Nothing out of place, not even a stitch
Not a gesture, not a word
The bodies go by in style
on the sidewalks of Savile Row

As it´s always raining in London
winter here has no end
But under the collapsing skies
unflappable dandies go by
from Shaftsburry avenue
to the Portobelo market
on the sidewalks of Savile Row

Their faces are shielded
(custom demands it)
with a severe and icy mask
...elegance requires it

Brummell, Byron, Gary Cooper
and others have passed on by.
Obscure gaze, air of superiority
dressed in their well tailored garments
See these gentlemen strolling
with their trenchcoats on their shoulders
sauntering under the mist
on the sidewalks of Savile Row

Like a shroud over the cobblestones
the mist invades the street
dressed in its supple cloth.

In this world soon to be over
old sophisticated Lords
still beautifully dressed
before meeting for tea
take a stroll by Savile Row

Their faces are shielded
(custom demands it)
with a severe and icy mask
...elegance requires it

[rjman]

And I suspect this is RJMan's wrongdoings!

Andrey

Not I...

[andreyb]

Hectorm, thank you for the very nice translation!

Now I see that the song does indeed "carry the colors of melancholy"...

Andrey

[hectorm]

Now I see that the song does indeed "carry the colors of melancholy"...

Since my first magical encounter with Baudelaire´s work many years ago, I have always struggled translating "le spleen". If forced to do it, first think of "ennui" in French that gives me the feeling, and then I use what better serves in context.