Every new release from Malajube provides the perfect opportunity to get a catchy, French-Canadian indie-pop beat stuck in your head. “Synesthésie,” the first single from Malajube’s yet-to-be-released album La caverne, is no exception.
The song, which has been receiving airplay on Radio 3, is full of Malajube’s trademark space-y vocals and equally cosmic guitar and keyboard. I figured that, after seeing them perform live at SXSW, and bobbing my head incessantly to their latest single every time it comes on the radio, I’d make an attempt at translating it. Corrections to the original French and my (probably poor) English translation are very welcome.
La caverne is set for release on April 19 and is available for pre-order (on CD, cassette, and vinyl) now on Malajube’s official website. You can listen to “Synesthésie” for free at CBC Radio 3’s New Music Canada, and you can learn more about Malajube on iTunes, at CBC Radio 3, and at MySpace Music.
Ma bouche est remplie de dents contre toi
Mais je t’aime à la folie et tu es folle de moi
Je sais que par moment, je ne suis pas complètement là
Je ne t’écoute pas quand tu parles de moi, parle moi de toiMy mouth was filled with teeth against you
But I love you madly and you are mad about me
I know that at times, I am not completely there
I don’t hear you when you speak to me, tell me about yourselfPrend moi, prend moi pour quelqu’un d’autre
Et le, le dit jamais, ne le dit jamais
Sert moi, sert moi contre ton coeur
Dis-moi pourquoi tu m’aimes ?Take me, take me for someone else
And he, he never says, no he never says
Hold me tight, hold me tight against your heart
Tell me, why do you love me?Je sais que par moment, je ne suis pas complètement là
Je ne t’écoute pas quand tu parles de moi, parle moi tout basI know that at times, I am not completely there
I don’t hear you when you speak to me, speak to me very softly
2 Comments
Hi! So, have you translated the entire song here, as I assume, with some of these verses being repeated? While I have no ear for *hearing* French, what I can glean from reading it looks right. Can you tell me how the band’s name is pronounced? Thanks!
Kathy, the whole song is, indeed, just three verses, so the above lyrics are everything! As for the pronunciation, it’s kinda hard to do that in writing—but it’s something like Mal-ə-ZHoōb. Just pronounce it like it’s English and make the “J” sound French.