In Germany Before the War /
Un homme, un simple fonctionnaire
In Germany Before the War: for this song, Randy Newman was probably inspired by a real-life serial killer, nicknamed the Vampire of Düsseldorf. The year mentioned in the lyrics of the song (1934) does not correspond to the year of the historical facts, but it was indeed in Germany before the war that this assassin, also a sex offender and a pedophile, struck. Randy Newman dares to lend him a voice in a song where he mentions an assault on a little girl. I allowed myself the liberty of adapting it by transposing the drama to the present day, imagining that it took place not on the banks of the Rhine, in Germany, but along the St. Lawrence River, in a park on the south shore of the city where I live, Montreal. Other than that, I stayed as close as possible to Newman’s story, to his words that are all the more disturbing as they evoke horror with gentleness, with a detachment characteristic of the pathological killer.
In Germany Before the War
Written by
Randy Newman
In Germany before the war / There was a man who owned a store / In nineteen hundred thirty-four / In Düsseldorf
And every night at fine-o-nine / He’d cross the park down to the Rhine / And he’d sit there by the shore
I’m looking at the river / But I’m thinking ot the sea / Thinking of the sea / I’m looking at the river / But I’m thinking ot the sea
A little girl has lost her way / With hair of gold and eyes of grey / Reflected in his glasses / As he watches her / A little girl has lost her way / With hair of gold and eyes of grey
I’m looking at the river / But I’m thinking ot the sea / Thinking of the sea / Thinking of the sea
We lie beneath the autumn sky / My little golden girl and I / And she lies very still
Un homme, un simple fonctionnaire
French kiss by
François Godin
Un homme, un simple fonctionnaire / Se morfondait, à St-Lambert / Il aimait bien prendre un peu l’air / Après l’ouvrage /
Il avait pris pour habitude / D’aller traîner près de l’écluse / Le long de la piste cyclable
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Je me mire dans l’eau grise / Ah, mais si c’était la mer / Si c’était la mer / Je me mire dans l’eau grise / Ah, mais si c’était la mer
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Une petite fille s’est égarée / D’un sourire, il l’a rassurée / Sa chevelure blonde / L’a presque fait pleurer / Une petite fille s’est égarée / D’un sourire, il l’a rassurée
Je me mire dans l’eau grise / Ah, mais si c’était la mer / Si c’était la mer / Si c’était la mer
Le jour tombe si vite en automne / Je me demande si elle frissonne / Mais elle ne bouge plus
A Man, a Simple Civil Servant
Translation of the
French adaptation
A man, a simple civil servant / Was moping in St-Lambert / He liked to get some fresh air / After work /
He had gotten into the habit / Of hanging out near the lock / Along the bike path
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I look at my reflection in the grey water / Oh, but if it were the sea / If it were the sea / I look at my reflection in the grey water / Oh, but if it were the sea
A little girl got lost / With a smile, he reassured her / Her blond hair / Almost made him cry / A little girl got lost / With a smile, he reassured her
I look at my reflection in the grey water / Oh, but if it were the sea / If it were the sea / If it were the sea
Day falls so quickly in autumn / I wonder if she shivers / But she no longer moves
The voice/piano demos of the French versions were recorded for the strict purpose of presenting my adaptation work. No broadcasting or public sharing on social networks, media or any other platform is authorized.
Any recording or public presentation by third parties of the songs in their French version is subject to my authorization as well as that of the rights holders of the original song.
