LYRICS (French – English)

J’en avais marre de travailler – I was sick of working

Et de perdre mon temps – And wasting my time

À faire des boulots mal payés – Doing underpaid jobs

Avec des gens très emmerdants – With very annoying people

Je cherchais la combine – I was looking for a scheme

Et c’est pas facile – And it’s not an easy thing

De se tirer de l’usine – To get away from the factory

Pour partir dans les îles – And head for the islands

Je me creusais le ciboulot – I was wracking my brain

J’étais comme tous les gens – I was like everyone

Allergique au boulot – Allergic to work

Mais pas allergique à l’argent – But not allergic to money

Je n’connais qu’une façon – There’s only one way I know

De se tirer sous les tropiques – Of escaping to the tropics

Quand on est petit, laid – When one is small, ugly

Et qu’on a pas de fric – And has no cash

ASSEDIC*

Je t’écrirai de temps en temps – I’ll write to you from time to time

Toi tu m’enverras mon virement – And you’ll wire my cash

Directement – On time

Tout là-bas, dans mon île – Way out there, on my island

ASSEDIC

Avec ton amie RMI – With your friend RMI**

Vous s’rez mes deux meilleurs amies – You’ll be my two best friends

Ce s’ra dément – It’s going to be insane

L’Agence Nationale Pour l’Emploi – The Agence Nationale Pour l’Emploi***

M’écrit de France – Writes to me from France

Ils veulent à peine au bout d’un mois – It’s only been a month and they’re

Me gâcher mes jolies vacances – Already messing with my lovely holiday

En m’envoyant chez «Prisunic» – They want to send me to «Prisunic»****

Décharger des camions – To unload their trucks

Avec ma copine ASSEDIC – My girl, ASSEDIC and I

Évidemment on a dit non – Obviously had to decline

J’veux qu’ça dure toute la vie – I want this to last forever

Que chaque jour soit férié – For every day to be a holiday

Un jour, je r’cevrai l’avis de fin de droit – Someday I’ll get a benefit termination notice

Dans mon courrier – In the mail

Mais faudra me payer cher – but they’ll have to pay me a fortune

Pour retourner au carnaval – To get me back into the circus

Du R.E.R. – Of the R.E.R.*****

Et du Leclerc de Bougival – And the Leclerc de Bougival******

ASSEDIC

Je t’écrirai de temps en temps – I’ll write to you from time to time

Toi tu m’enverras mon virement – And you’ll wire my cash

Directement – On time, please

Tout là-bas, dans mon île – Way out there, on my island

ASSEDIC

Enfin ma place au soleil – At least my place in the sun

À moi les ciels vermeils – All mine these vermillion skies

Et les beaux voyages – And the lovely trips

M’en priver ce s’rait dommage – Doing without would be a shame

ASSEDIC

Tu s’ras ma petite maman – You’ll be my little mama 

La maman de tous les gens – The mother of all those people

Qui n’ont pas d’argent – Who don’t have money

Enfin pas assez, quoi… – Well, not enough anyway…

*ASSEDIC is an acronym for Association pour l’emploi dans l’industrie et le commerce or the Association for Employment in Industry and Trade. It was a French agency that collected and paid unemployment insurance contributions.

**RMI is an acronym for Revenu minimum d’insertion, a type of social welfare that was aimed at people without any income, who were of working age and had no other employment benefits. 

***L’Agence nationale pour l’emploi or National Employment Agency was the French agency tasked with providing counseling and aid to those in search of employment and training.

****PRISUNIC was a large French retail chain that merged with Monoprix in 1997. Its last stores closed in 2003.

*****R.E.R. is an acronym for the Réseau express régional or Regional Express Network. It is a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris and its suburbs.

******Leclerc or E.Leclerc officially, is a French hypermarket chain. The song refers to an E.Leclerc store located in Bougival, a small town 10 miles from the center of Paris.