No Surprises / Sortie de piste
No Surprises: a list of what has created unhappiness, of what is unbearable, is followed by the statement of a decision: to end it once and for all. The phrase “such a pretty house, such a pretty garden” can, in my opinion, be understood in two ways: a brief expression of regret for what is left behind or a cynical comment on the triviality of common aspirations in this life.
Sortie de piste (going off the tracks) : again, a dark look at the world and the decision to end it – « la sortie de piste, à tout jamais »/“going off the tracks, forever”. “Such a pretty house, such a pretty garden” becomes in French “Dormir comme un ange, comme dans mon lit d’enfant”/“Sleep like an angel, like in my childhood bed”, evoking a sense of well-being that also has its downside: it is both nostalgia for a lost peace and the innocence of childhood, while also being the yearning for eternal rest.
​The beauty – dark, admittedly – and originality of this song are due to the fact that death is perceived as a promise of rest, and suicide as a gentle aspiration. The desire for tranquility that nothing can disturb: that’s the fundamental note of this song, and what above all had to be conveyed with new words.
No Surprises
Written by
Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O’Brien, Colin Greenwood and Philip Selway
(Radiohead)
A heart that's full up like a landfill / A job that slowly kills you / Bruises that won't heal
You look so tired, unhappy / Bring down the government / They don't, they don't speak for us
I'll take a quiet life / A handshake of carbon monoxide / And no alarms and no surprises / No alarms and no surprises / No alarms and no surprises / Silent, silent
​
This is my final fit / My final bellyache / With no alarms and no surprises / No alarms and no surprises / No alarms and no surprises, please
Such a pretty house / And such a pretty garden / No alarms and no surprises / No alarms and no surprises / No alarms and no surprises, please
Sortie de piste
French kiss by
François Godin
Souriez vous êtes filmés / Vendez votre âme au PIB / Vous êtes tous damnés
Pour moi c’est bon j’ai donné / Un shoot et tout sera réglé / Simple comme un pas de côté
​
Sans même laisser un mot / Je pars, j’ai / La dose qu’il faut pour / La sortie de piste, la vraie / La sortie de piste, la vraie / La sortie de piste et elle m’est / Douce, douce
​
J’ai pas la carapace / La farce a assez duré, c’est / La sortie de piste, la vraie / La sortie de piste, la vraie / La sortie de piste à tout jamais
​
Dormir, comme un ange, comme dans mon lit d’enfant / La sortie de piste, la vraie / La sortie de piste, la vraie / La sortie de piste à tout jamais
Off the Tracks
Translation of the
French adaptation
Smile you're being filmed / Sell your soul to the GDP / You're all damned
As for me, I quit, I've done enough / One shot and everything will be settled / As simple as taking a step aside
Without even leaving a word / I'm leaving, I have / The dose it takes for / Going off the tracks, for real / Going off the tracks, for real / Going off the tracks, for real, there’ll be / No damage, no pain
I don't have the shell / The farce has gone on long enough, I’m / Going off the tracks, for real / Going off the tracks, for real / Going off the tracks, forever
I long to sleep like an angel, like in my childhood's bed, I’m/ Going off the tracks, for real /Going off the tracks, for real / Going off the tracks, forever
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.
