Listen #
Intro #
I’ve really come to admire the music from Québec because it always tries to capture life experiences that aren’t often sung about. Maybe I just haven’t looked hard enough in English or Spanish.
In this case, this song is about sickness and the death it can bring. Someone has gotten a fatal prognosis from their doctor and this takes me through the pain and final effort made to hold my head high and face that which causes the most fear and pain.
It isn’t easy to listen to. I’ve never faced death head on. I’ve never faced the death of another head on. From the look of it, I would likely be destroyed in the process. I could only hope to find a shred of peace and poise as the person in the song does.
Favorite Lyrics #
I made it this far
My head hanging low
If things are headed down hill
It’ll be with my head held high
I like the resolve here. The person is deciding, before their decline, what they will do and how they will face their fate.
The time for tears has run out
I have to turn in my sword
I’m not sure if I translated this well. The more literal term would be ‘arms’, as in fire arms or weapons, instead of ‘sword’. Still, the phrase communicates the idea that there is a point in time where one must accept the fate they’ve been given. Fighting it serves no more purpose, even if one has fought with all their might up until that point.
I made it this far
My head hanging low
Now that I’m headed down hill
I have my head held high
Their resolve is strong and at the end they behaved as they had set out to act. That’s always a tough thing to do, for us that are not facing death, and much more so for someone on the brink of that chasm. In honor of this song and my future self I try to face the important things with my head held high, even if there are times where it hangs low. This reminds me of a quote from the Wheel of Time tv series.
There’s one rule above all others for being a man.
Whatever comes, you face it on your feet.– Lan
Lyrics #
C’est ma fête j’ai 19 ans
pu d’cheveux mais toutes mes dents
et quand je r’garde en avant
y’a comme un flou dans le temps
It’s my birthday, I’m turning 19
No more hair but all my teeth
And when I look up ahead
Something makes time pass strangely
tantôt le doc passera
me donner mes résultats
et j’saurai si oui ou non
j’ai des chances de guérison
Soon the doctor will come by
To give me my test results
And I’ll know whether or not
I’ll make a full a recovery
mes bougies d’anniversaire
s’ront peut-être bien les dernières
Mais je n’suis même pas fébril
j’ai en moi cette force tranquille
des gens qui sont habitués à voir la mort roder
The candles on birthday cake
Might be the last ones that I see
But I’m not feverish at all
I’ve got in me this peaceful strength
Of people that get used seeing death wear us down
J’ai tout surmonté
la tête baissée
si j’redescends la côte
ce s’ra La Tête Haute
I made it this far
My head hanging low
If I’ll be headed down hill
It’ll be with my head held high
Si je suis au bout d’la route
de ma vie beaucoup trop courte
je partirai quand même en paix
sans éprouver de regret
If I’m at the end of the line
of a life that was cut too short
no matter what I’ll leave in peace
Without an ounce of regret
Car même si j’ai encore la flamme
j’ai en moi cette vieille âme
de ceux pour qui la sagesse
a remplacé la jeunesse
Because even if I have this fire
Inside me is this old soul
of those for whom great wisdom comes
and replaces the spark of youth
Et qui m’a fait garder espoir
dans les moments les plus noirs
Mais qui a aussi tempéré
les victoires à l’arrachée
And it helped me hold on to hope
in the darkest moments of my life
But also helped in tempering
Each victory that I could snatch
J’me s’rai tenu comme un roi
Face à ce cheval de Troie
Sans me plaindre de la douleur
Et sans pleurer sur mon malheur
I’ll hold myself up like a king
And face the Trojan Horse
With no complaints about the pain
And no cries for my bad health
Que je survivre ou que je meure
Maintenant je n’ai plus peur
Whether I survive or if I die
I don’t have any more fear
J’ai tout surmonté
la tête baissée
si j’redescends la côte
ce s’ra La Tête Haute
I made it this far
My head hanging low
If I’ll be headed down hill
It’ll be with my head held high
C’est ma fête j’ai 19 ans
pu d’cheveux mais toutes mes dents
Je soufflerai mes bougies
les dernières de ma vie
It’s my birthday, I’m turning 19
No more hair but all my teeth
I’ll blow out my candles
The last ones of my life
Le doc me l’a confirmé
le mal a trop progressé
une affaire de quelques s’maines
peut-être deux mois à peine
The doctor confirmed for me
The sickness advanced too much
It’ll be just a few weeks
Maybe even 2 months still
Les yeux qui flottent dans l’eau
Dans un dernier soubresaut
De colère et d’impuissance
Il faut accepter l’évidence
My eyes float in the waters
With a final twitchiness
Of anger and impotence
The evidence is clear as day
Ce n’est plus le temps pour les larmes
je dois rendre les armes
The time for tears has run out
I have to turn in my sword
J’ai tout surmonté
la tête baissée
maintenant j’redescends la côte
et j’ai La Tête Haute
j’ai La Tête Haute
j’ai La Tête Haute
I made it this far
My head hanging low
Now that I’m headed down hill
I have my head held high
I have my head held high
I have my head held high