Le Large (The Open Sea)

No ordinary tale etched in my memory,
no ship full of pirates that can take control;
no shooting star that would leave me in the dark;
no fear, none at all.

REFRAIN:
And tomorrow all will be well and so far away,
there at the end when I take to the sea;
all will be far, so give me your hand,
there at the end when I take to the sea.

No tears--and nothing else that can strangle me,
no cloud of mist across my faded eyes;
no grain of sand or dune to halt the hourglass;
no quarter moon, none at all.

REFRAIN

No other places, none other than you.
No secret key, no chance for me.

REFRAIN

No hungry shark and no sad tune,
no regret, no quaking ground;
no empty phrases
and no chaos--none at all.

REFRAIN

Words and music by Sophie Huriaux
English translation by Frank Beck

In April 2018, Françoise Hardy released the album Personne d'Autre ("Noone else"). It was the 28th album in a career that began 56 years earlier with her hit single "Tous les garcons et les filles" ("All the boys and girls my age/promenade in the street two-by-two . . . ").

But this album was different: it came four years after Hardy nearly died in a Paris hospital at the age of 70, as a result of lymphatic cancer. As a last resort, her son agreed to try an experimental type of chemotherapy, and, miraculously, she regained her health.

When Hardy began to compile material for a new album, she wanted, among other things, to reflect her near-death experience, and French singer/songwriter Sophie Huriaux, better known by her stage name, Le Grand Sophie, provided "Le Large." The song was chosen for the album's video, shot in black-and-white by François Ozon, a French film director who had never done a music video before. His best known films are Swimming Pool (2003) and Frantz (2016).

Few contemporary songs deal with mortality with such openness and finesse; this brilliant collaboration by Hardy, Huriaux and Ozon sees it as the last of life's gifts.

• The song's French lyrics
• VIDEO: Hardy sings Michel Berger's "Message Personnel" (in English)
• Hardy's memoirs, published in May 2018
• Sean O'Hagen interview with Hardy for The Guardian
• Agnès Poirier's interview with Hardy for the New York Times
• VIDEO: Françoise Hardy discusses her new album (in French)

Françoise Hardy in 1966

Because you're gone (Puisque tu pars)

Jean-Jacques Goldman

Because the dark has won;

because there's no high mountain

where the winds of forgetfulness
are blowing strong enough;

because we have to learn

that we failed to understand,

to dream into our wishes
and to live what might have been.

Because it seems to you,

from the closest evidence,

that sometimes giving everything
still is not enough;

because you think your heart

will beat better somewhere else;

because we love you far too much
to hold on to you now.

Because you’re gone . . .

May the good winds bring you

where other, kinder souls

will learn to love you better,

since we cannot love you more.

May life always teach you,

but may you remain the same—

for if you had betrayed yourself,

we truly would have lost you.

So go and take this chance,

while in silence we must envy

the strength to keep believing
that the best is yet come,

and, as far from each of us

as October is from April,

know that you have left
an indelible footprint here.

No drama and no tears—

those pitiful, poor weapons—

because there are some sorrows
that can only rage inside,

because today your only home
is that far horizon,

try, in your exile, to learn
how to come back.

But not too late …

In days to come

recall this night

and our goodbye—

because you’re gone.

I could have closed these doors

and simply walked away—

but that’s not what you did.

I could have given so much love,

given so much strength,

but all that I could do was not enough,

not enough, not enough.

In days to come

recall this night

and our goodbye—

because you're gone.

"Puisque tu pars" - Words and music by Jean-Jacques Goldman; translation by Frank Beck

Many Americans misunderstand French pop music, and that's understandable. The music is usually secondary to the words, so knowing some French is crucial to appreciating many French songs. Jean-Jacques Goldman is a prime example: he's a master lyricist, and "Puisque tu pars" is one of his best efforts.

With the help of my translation, I hope you'll see why he's still one of the popular entertainers in France, years after releasing his last album.

• VIDEO: Goldman sings "Puisque tu pars" in concert

• Lyrics in French

• More Goldman songs on Spotify