Jack's lament (French) Lyrics & Translation

~ Attivate i sottotitoli per la traduzione in ITALIANO!
Those who know me, know that, to me, the French adaptation of this movie is a journey into the most refined poetry ever composed for a Disney movie, amongst the languages I actively understand.
I could spend hours unfolding the features that make the grandeur of this lyric, but I’ll try my best to make it short.
The French version of “Jack’s lament” does not portray the cunning puns which characterize the adaptation of “This is Halloween”, for instance. This is due to the fact that this song does not want to be stirring, like the previous one, but it rather wears a shroud sewed with streams of words flowing together with the melody, with words attentively selected, requiring to be reasoned and understood. I confess finding and weighting up the terms and expressions I used in my translation was rather difficult, but I mean it in the best possible way. Translating these lyrics is never easy, but always challenging, and making it to the end always gives me great satisfaction.
*just a couple of footnotes for these passages.
2:03 « Les revenants ne vont pas en revenir » - “revenant” literally means “the one coming around”. Thus, the pun “those who come around are not going to come around”
2:35 « Un jour pourrai-je me faire entendre ? » - the verb “entendre” doesn’t actually mean “listen to”, but rather bears the double meaning of “hear” and “understand”. Such expression conflicts with the previous mention to his thunderous cries, to be heard more than 120 km far, nonetheless, no one seems to be able to hear him.
Title: La complainte de Jack (Jack's lament)
Jack Skellington: Olivier Constantin
Sally: Dorothée Jemma [speaking]
More from The Nightmare Before Christmas: • The Nightmare Before C...
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All my translations: • My Translations

[@justyouraveragejoe9454]

French: *I am married to fear, horror, and terror* English: To a guy in Kentucky, I'm Mr. Unlucky

[@codymays9943]

Oui 😂

[@gamachea.h3342]

the original feels so random x)

[@seymentheboss5194]

Wait are those the english words for real?!

[@KarmaSensei_]

Yes 😂​@@seymentheboss5194

[@vastro921]

​@@seymentheboss5194Yes.

[@N.a.r.i]

French version here is pure poetry, damn

[@avivastudios2311]

I love how the lyrics are completely different but the song still works with the context of the movie. Not to mention it's 1000 times more beautiful.

[@animactor1315]

Et oui c’est comme ça que ça marche le français ! Yes that is how French is working !

[@tylermcintyre1454]

Tyler Mac bonjor

[@ryandeschanel6925]

"Les revenants" are ghosts with a physical body, they are literally "coming back (verb : revenir)" from the afterlife. "Ne pas en revenir" would literally mean "not coming back from that", but it's actually an idiomatic phrase which means "being very surprised of something and remaining so for a while". For example, the series "The returned" is called "Les Revenants" in French.

[@ultimate-phenix]

They know. They explained the pun in the description of the video

[@animactor1315]

je suis le 100eme like 😂

[@tylermcintyre1454]

Tyler Mac what

[@94zekrom]

J'aime tellement la mélancolie qui se dégage de cette scène, de ces paroles, j'aime tellement ce film !

[@animactor1315]

C’est la qu’on se dit que le français est une langue vraiment plus belle et riche que les autres en terme de vocabulaire 🤩

[@nefertariwinchester3177]

This is a truly beautiful version of this song!! :)

[@egirlnet]

This is the first time ever I listen to this song and...it is so beautiful! The lyrics are really great I must say :o

[@FlamSparks]

Ce film est mon film preferé, la version française a les plus belles paroles que j'aie jamais trouvé dans un film Disney...et tu ne l'as jamais regardé ? Précipite-toi ou je pourrai te désavouer ! O.o

[@FlamSparks]

@TheZwok bien sûr qu'il est Disney

[@tylermcintyre1454]

Tyler Mac La Disney world sah we

[@danielleruigrok576]

I don't speak French but this is as good as the original

[@Polyglot_English]

Nah, it's better.

[@sab3148]

@@Polyglot_Englishso true!! It’s so poetic

[@ZephLodwick]

I watched this film about 7 years ago. And even at a young age, I remember thinking, 'What a bizarre film!' And though I don't remember much of the film's plot, this scene has always stuck with me, particularly the line where the sceleton guy says, 'And since I am dead, I can take off my head' (something like that) and the image of him standing atop this hill that extends out like a sort of tentacle. I ought to rewatch it next October. I can't remember if I liked the film or not when I saw it.

[@benjaminroydurocher5610]

Just to remind you in case you forgot it, to re-watch this gorgeous movie

[@fntes.chloe97]

Ils me trouvent génial ! Mes mauvais tours mes émerveilles, Tout les ans c'est le triomphe et la gloire. Je leurs fait des surprise ! Quand la lune s'éveille et ils crient avant de m'apercevoir. Sans le moindre effort je m'amuse à jouer au fantôme, et presque aussitôt c'est la panique ! Un seul geste banal si l'ont sait faire "bouh" ! Fait fuir sur le champ l'armée la plus stoïque. Mais jour après jour c'est la même déprime Je n'éprouve plus rien en commettant mes crimes Et moi jack l'épouvantail J'avoue me lasser de la même bataille ... Dans mon vieux corps il règne aujourd'hui une bien étrange mélancolie pour moi la vie n'est un long sanglots mon coeur éclate La mort est mon lot Je suis l'esprit du mal Le génie infernal Les revenants ne vont pas en revenir Je suis marié à la peur l'horreur et la terreurs pour le meilleur et surtout le pire Et comme je suis mort je me sers de mon crâne pour réciter "être ou ne pas être" Lorsque l'envie m'en prend mes cries fracassants Résonnent à plus de 120 kilomètres Un jour ,oui, pourrais je me faire entendre Moi l'épouvante qu'on a privé d'entrailles Je ne veux plus de ma couronne comment pourraient ils comprendre? S'ils sauvaient seulement comme j'aimerais la rendre Je traine sans but mes vieux os fourbus Je me languis de l'inconnu Pouvoir et gloire sont bien dérisoires Face au néant de mon désespoir Voilà juste pour mon plaisir de remettre la chanson et de mettre les paroles :3

[@LaTiaYuli]

Je suis apprendre français et je rencontre cette version probablement très différent de la version anglaise et peut être se ressemble beaucoup à la version espagnole 💕

[@mawerjammin-korea]

Jack skellington Olivier Constantin Ils me trouvent génial, mes mauvais tours les émerveillent Tous les ans, c’est le triomphe et la gloire Je leur fais des surprises quand la lune s’ éveille Et ils crient avant de ‘m apercevoir Sans le moindre effort, je m’ amuse à jouer au fantôme Et presque aussitôt, c’est la panique Un seul geste banal, si l’ on sait faire « bouh ! » fait fuir sur-le-champ l’ armée la plus stoïque Mais jour après jour, c’est la même déprime Je n’ éprouve plus rien en commettant mes crimes Et moi, Jack L’épouvantail J’ avoue me lasser de la même bataille Dans mon vieux corps, il règne aujourd’hui Une bien étrange mélancolie Pour moi, la vie n’ est qu’ un long sanglot Mon cœur éclate, la mort est mon lot Je suis l’ esprit du mal, le génie infernal Les revenants ne vont pas en revenir Je suis marié à la peur, l’horreur et la terreur Pour le meilleur et surtout le pire Et comme je suis mort, je me sers de mon crâne Pour réciter « être ou ne pas être » Lorsque l’ envie m’ en prend, mes cris fracassants Résonnent à plus de 120 kilomètres Un jour, oui… Pourrai-je me faire entendre? Moi l’ épouvantail qu’ on dit privé d’ entrailles Je n’ veux plus de ma couronne Comment pourraient-ils comprendre ? Je traîne sans but mes vieux os fourbus Je me languis de l’ inconnu face au néant de mon désespoir

[@GranchioGranchio]

"Potere e gloria sono talmente irrisori davanti al nulla della mia disperazione" 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@kyleboisvert4501]

I love how "I'm known throughout England and France" was replaced. Only 120km though? Jack can do better. Haha

[@vincent-ox9bq]

120km is the distance of which you can hear him scream, which is not Bad 😂

[@Northdracula]

You act like it is a weak statistic. The island I live on, the main place stretches about 30 miles across from west to east. Jack can scream from the other end of the road, all the way out in the country, and people on the western side and then some CAN STILL HEAR HIM. Not to mention that my island is only 99.42 miles/ 160.001 km. THAT MEANS JACK’S SCREAM CAN ALMOSF ENGULF THE ENTIRE ISLAND!!! Crazy

[@macro3751]

To be fair, he said "more" than 120 km

[@Petitmoi74]

In the air and in the right conditions, a man's voice can be heard up to 350m away. Jack's voice can be heard 343 times further away.

[@FazeWolf115YT]

ive been watching this movie for years still love it to this day

[@McintyreGhost13]

This is my comfort song.

[@n.s5241]

Ma chanson préférée :)

[@user-dq3jd8ts4d]

Jack est vraiment super cool comme épouvantail 😍🤩🥰😘😂😱🐞🏵️❤️❤️❤️🍁🍁🥰🦉🦉💙💙💛🏵️🐞🐞

[@DlGALONE]

tres simpa comme vidéo

[@the_car_guy_1176]

Singing this en francais is amazing

[@mawerjammin-korea]

2:16

[@tylermcintyre1454]

Tyler Mac oh yes

[@hypermonkeygames6772]

Sounds alot less angry with the French version haha

[@basdau6487]

More lyrical I'd say. But my birth language can be quite moody.

[@Groganee]

He's melancholic, sad, and that's how it's always been for me 😅

[@KarmaSensei_]

He's depressed not angry ^^"

[@srartgaming]

C'est le Disney que je préfère le plus ^^

[@marionfaure4270]

At 0:48 I thought that "cry" was when someone is sad so why did you use it? :)

[@FlamSparks]

Well, that's only a part of the meaning the word "cry" covers. You need to consider that the English word "cry" derives from the French "cri" (and subsequently "crier") ;) Definition of the verb "to cry" from the Oxford Dictionary: 1. Shed tears in distress, pain, or sorrow 2. *Shout or scream in fear, pain, or grief*

[@marionfaure4270]

Oh okay thanks ! In France, English classes are quite bad if you want to really learn English and one of my former teachers told us that "to cry" didn't mean "crier". Thanks to you, I know now that he was wrong. :)

[@FlamSparks]

C'est le même en Italie. Si je parle l'anglais à ce niveau, je le dois à mes parents, qui me l'ont fait apprendre au dehors de l'école. Quoi qu'il en soit, le mot "pleurer" n'a pas une traducion exacte en anglais. Quand il est traduit avec "cry", ça veut dire "pleurer en criant" : c'est cette sorte de pleur accompagné par des lamentations, il n'est jamais silencieux. Si on veut indiquer un pleur muet, alors il faudrait plutôt utiliser le verbe "to weep" (ou "shed tears"), mais les deux signifient plus "verser des larmes", donc n'est pas exactement la même nuance de "pleurer".

[@marionfaure4270]

Merci beaucoup pour ton explication. Et ton français est excellent ! J'aimerai beaucoup apprendre l'italien après avoir complètement (ou presque) maîtrisé l'anglais et l'espagnol

[@FlamSparks]

Merci ^-^ Je l'etudié seule pour cinq ans et maintenant, je l'approfondis à l'université. Je crois que avec une connaissance solide du français et l'espagnol, apprendere l'italien sois plus facile, donc ça mi semble une bonne idée :)

[@WhiteScorpio2]

Why would you need to take your head of to recite To Be Or Not To Be? That's a strange line.

[@FlamSparks]

Well...because a skull is requested to recite that line, isn't it?

[@WhiteScorpio2]

It's not. Hamlet recites "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him" while holding a skull of said Yorick. "To be or not to be" does not feature a skull (at least usually).

[@FlamSparks]

That's right, but since the skull is normally related to Hamlet and Hamlet is normally related to _to be or not to be_, we can help being less fastidious and just accept the quotation the way it's delivered

[@WhiteScorpio2]

It's still wrong, though.

[@FlamSparks]

You've got the point

[@alidacchii7426]

E noi che ci lamentavamo dell’adattamento italiano eh

[@FlamSparks]

Io mi lamento molto dell'adattamento italiano e trovo che quello francese sia magistrale. Qual è la tua opinione?

[@alidacchii7426]

FlamSparks trovo manchi di teatralità ( ancor più della versione che italiana che comunque apprezzo ) e alcuni adattamenti li trovo insensati Quindi perchè disprezzare quella italiana ma quella francese no? Lol

[@FlamSparks]

Olivier non è esattamente il mio interprete preferito per Jack, ma tendo a preferirlo a Renato Zero. E per quanto riguarda il testo...perché lo troveresti insensato a tratti? Io lo trovo molto bello (quell'ultimo ritornello è un capolavoro), molto ben curato e studiato, contrariamente ai testi italiani, che sono un'accozzaglia di parole più o meno pertinenti raffazzonate insieme a caso

[@N.a.r.i]

@@alidacchii7426 Scusami, ma non sai di cosa stai parlando. Mi dispiace, ma se dici che questo manchi di teatralità... Cioè, ma abbiamo sentito la stessa canzone, letto lo stesso testo? Dai. Va bene le opinioni, ma qui si sta dicendo proprio una castronata.

[@innerlonerism]

io sto impazzendo per l'adattamento italiano in realtà, mi piace tantissimo

[@frenchpotato2852]

I do like this song but in my opinion, don't hate on me for having an opinion against this. I like the english version better, it suits jack a little more than this, but I do respect the fact that both are great, I just like the english better.

[@marieguillou8808]

How dare you have your own opinion on something subjective?! Barbaric!

[@frenchpotato2852]

@@marieguillou8808 oh yes, I must be sentenced to hell.

[@marieguillou8808]

@@frenchpotato2852 You monster.

[@seymentheboss5194]

What do you prefer in the english version?