Les Champs-Élysées is a reprise of the song “Waterloo Road” written by Michael Deighan and composed by Michael Wilshaw. It is interpreted by the British group Jason Crest in 1968. The title is adapted from the French lyricist Pierre Delanoë. Here it is sung by Joe Dassin, the American-born French singer-songwriter (November 5, 1938 – August 20, 1980).
The title refers to the avenue of the Champs Élysées of Paris, which boasts the 1960s a chic and elegant image. The narrator wanders carelessly on the avenue and the chorus says: “At midday or midnight, there all you want at Champs Élysées”.
Cover image: “The Flower Seller” by Louis Marie de Schryver, the French painter (1862-1942).
Les Champs-Élysées lyrics
French
Je me baladais sur l’avenue
Le coeur ouvert à l’inconnu
J’avais envie de dire bonjour
À n’importe qui
N’importe qui ce fut toi
Je t’ai dit n’importe quoi
Il suffisait de te parler
Pour t’apprivoiser
Aux Champs-Élysées (2)
Au soleil, sous la pluie
À midi ou à minuit
Il y a tout ce que vous voulez
Aux Champs-Élysées
Tu m’as dit : “J’ai rendez-vous
Dans un sous-sol avec des fous
Qui vivent la guitare à la main
Du soir au matin”
Alors je t’ai accompagnée
On a chanté, on a dansé
Et l’on n’a même pas pensé
À s’embrasser
Aux Champs-Élysées (2)
Au soleil, sous la pluie
À midi ou à minuit
Il y a tout ce que vous voulez
Aux Champs-Élysées
Hier soir deux inconnus
Et ce matin sur l’avenue
Deux amoureux tout étourdis
Par la longue nuit
Et de l’Étoile à la Concorde
Un orchestre à mille cordes
Tous les oiseaux du point du jour
Chantent l’amour
Aux Champs-Élysées (2)
Au soleil, sous la pluie
À midi ou à minuit
Il y a tout ce que vous voulez
Aux Champs-Élysées
Aux Champs-Élysées (2)
Au soleil, sous la pluie
À midi ou à minuit
Il y a tout ce que vous voulez
Aux Champs-Élysées
English translation
I have walked along the avenue
The heart opened for the unknown
I wished to say: good morning
No matter whom
No matter who you were
I told you no matter what
It was enough talking to you
For taming you.
At the Champs- Élysées
At the Champs- Élysées
In the sun, under the rain
At noon or at midnight
There is everything you want
At the Champs- Élysées
You told me: “I have a date
In abasement with the madmen
Who spend with the guitar in the hand
From evening to morning.”
So, I have accompanied you
We sang, we danced
And we weren’t even thinking
Of kissing.
At the Champs- Élysées
At the Champs- Élysées
In the sun, under the rain
At noon or at midnight
There is everything you want
At the Champs- Élysées
Yesterday evening, two strangers
And this morning, on the avenue
Two lovers, all dazed
From the long night
And from the Étoile to Concorde
An orchestra with thousand strings
All the birds of the point of the day
Sing the love.
At the Champs- Élysées
At the Champs- Élysées
In the sun, under the rain
At noon or at midnight
There is everything you want
At the Champs- Élysées
Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, 1.9 kilometers (1.2 mi) long and 70 meters (230 ft) wide, running between the Place de la Concorde and the Place Charles de Gaulle, where the Arc de Triomphe is located.
The avenue is known for its theaters, cafés, and luxury shops, for the annual Bastille Day military parade, and as the finish of the Tour de France cycle race, one of the three Grand Tours of cycling.
The name is French for the Elysian Fields, the paradise for dead heroes in Greek mythology. Champs-Élysées is widely regarded to be one of the most recognizable avenues in the world.
Sources
- Champs-Élysées on Wikipedia
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