The translator's voice is so nice! It must have been quite an emotional experience to put the mourning person's words to music.
There's an error in L1 in the French version. It should read "Tu sais" instead of "Tu sait".
I don't agree with the translation of L2 from "les gens" to "your friends". It makes a general statement into something it (perhaps) isn't.
The refrain is quite problematic: L2 is gravely mistranslated (three times), L3 is a weak, tame and much-too-bland way of saying "You are love", L4 adds brightness where there is none in the original, and, as pointed out by the TSDG, L5 could have more punch.
Also, it's really too bad the translator could not retain the rhyme scheme and acrostic (which is a vital part of the text, written with the dearly departed in mind and heart).
The saving grace of this translation is the melody. I don't feel the depth of emotion of the original French in the translated text.
Oh, I forgot to mention, "belle de nuit" (besides being the name of a flowering plant) is French slang for prostitute. I think the title is, therefore, unfortunate, unless it was intentional on the part of the poet, which I doubt. The translator left it in French. Yikes!
Last edited by Catherine Chandler; 11-11-2015 at 02:05 PM.
Reason: added information
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