"C'est La Vie - Paryż z pocztówki" ("C'est La Vie - a picture-postcard Paris")

(wokal: Andrzej Zaucha, muzyka: Wiesław Pieregorólka, słowa: Jacek Cygan)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJWrNJSMdsA

C'est la vie - cały twój Paryż z pocztówek i mgły...

... — (this is) all that Paris of yours, the Paris of picture-postcards
and of the mist (of your dreams)
C'est la vie - wymyślony...
... — (the Paris that is) (all) made-up (/ only a fantasy)...
C'est la vie - ciebie obchodzi, przejmujesz się tym.
... — (and) you still care, you're still troubled by this.
C'est la vie - podmiejski pociąg rozwozi twe dni...
... — a suburb train carries your days here and there...
C'est la vie - wciąż spóźniony...
... — (your train is) permanently late / delayed...
C'est la vie - cały twój Paryż, dwie drogi na krzyż:
... — all that Paris of yours, (spanning) hardly more than two streets 1:

Knajpa, kościół, widok z mostu

The pub, the church, a view from a bridge
Knajpa, kościół i ten bruk - ideał nie tknął go...
The pub, the church, and these pavement stones — the ideal has not touched these
(/ no ideal has touched these)...2

1 more literally "(just) two streets (put) across" — the expression "na krzyż" ("(put / placed / joined) across") is
often used figuratively to signify scarcity or a really small number: "only / barely / hardly more than"; I don't
know the origins of this meaning, but I suppose the idea may be that if you put two items of something (like, say,
two pieces of timber) across, they will likely cover more space, although, at the end of the day, it is still going to be
only two items; —but that's just my surmise as to how the expression may have come about :) And the figurative
meaning is not limited by any specific numbers (provided they are sensibly small and refer to a quantity which is
lesser than wanted or expected) or objects:"W poczekalni było kilka osób na krzyż." — "In the waiting room there
were only a few people."
2 This is a reference to a classic poem of Polish romantic literature (obligatory reading at school :)) : "Fortepian
Szopena" ("Chopin's Grand Piano") by Cyprian Kamil Norwid. The poem is an elegy, and a praise of the late
composer's great art. The inspiration for it came from a poignant scene of the genious composer's piano being tossed
down by Russian soldiers onto the street from a window of a rich tenement house where the composer's sister lived
(Chopin himself had lived mostly abroad, and, at that time of the defenestration, had been dead for 14 years). The
plundering of the house came as a retaliation for a failed assult on the Russian Empire's governor-general for Poland
of the time (the event took place in 1863, when Poland de facto didn't exist — since 1795 — and most of its former
territory had been incorporated to the Russian Empire). For the poet, the scene was a symbol of utter barbarianism,
but also represented a situation of persecution which further ennobled Chopin's art and proved its significance.
The phrase "ideał sięgnął bruku" ("the ideal has reached the pavement") is fairly popular — although its
predominant reading has little to do with the message of the poem: most commonly, it is applied so as to to say that
something/someone of seemingly high value has absolutely discredited itself/himself/herself: came as low as it's
only possible.
(the footnote continues on the next page)
Knajpa, kościół, widok z mostu
The pub, the church, a view from a bridge
Knajpa, kościół i ten bruk - tak realny...
The pub, the church, and this pavement — so real / so concrete...

Zostaniesz tu - ile można tak żyć na palcach?

Here's where you'll stay — (because) how long can one live on tiptoe?3
Zostaniesz tu - to złudzenia.
Here's where you'll stay — (because) those are/were just your illusions.
Zostaniesz tu - w Kaskadzie nocą też grają walca...
Here's where you'll stay — at night they play the waltz at the Cascade, too...4
Już na rogu kumple jak grzech;
Your pals are already at the corner, (waiting for you) like a sin;
Odwrotu już nie ma... (nie, nie, nie)
There's no turning back... (no, no, no)
Wypijesz to wszystko do dna, także dziś.
You're going to drink this (/ your fill) all down, also today.5
Jak co dnia...
Just like everyday...

<reprise — no new lines from here on>

C'est la vie - cały twój Paryż z pocztówek i mgły

C'est la vie — the whole Paris of yours, the Paris of picture-postcards and of the mist
(...)
Knajpa, kościół i ten bruk - ideał nie tknął go...
The pub, the church, and these pavement stones — the ideal has not touched these...

In the lyrics, however, the context in which the phrase is called up seems to be more in line with the original concept
of Norwid's poem. The lyrical subject here is apparently a Polish immigrant who came to France to escape the
dreariness, the lack of perspectives and the stifling atmosphere of the communist Poland. However, instead of
fulfilling his dreams and the ambitions of realising his potential in one of Western civilization's big cities, he ended
up doing menial jobs and living a low, routine existence in Parisian suburbs. The pavement stones in the parts of the
city he normally goes to have not been touched by the ideal — because those districts are nondescript, anonymous
places without history.
Another interpretation I can think of — and this one comes to mind as you listen to the expressive way in which the
phrase "ideał nie tknął go" is sung as the very last words of the reprise — is that the immigrant's
plans/dreams/expectations ("the ideal") have not come any close ("touched") with the harsh reality ("the pavement
stones").
In case you may want to check out the Norwid's poem, it's available on the internet — together with an English
translation. For me the text is ... rather historical ;)), but I'll let you be the judge :) :
http://accurapid.com/journal/18soundapp.htm#j
3 I gather that "here" is the world of the suburbs and of the local Polish community — the immigrant will soon
realise his position in city society and the effort it would take him to achieve the existence he had hoped for. He will
resign himself to what he has, so as to save himself the life of permanent expectation. Besides, he has not much
chance to achieve anything big now that he has already taken to drink...
4 "Kaskada" must be the name of a local pub run by Polish community. The walz they play at that joint will have to do
as nightlife in Paris for somebody like him.
5 also figuratively: "This (life) is your fill and you're going to drink it all down, also today"