Frangines Lyrics English Translation – Anne Sylvestre

It was already at school
We were made competitors
We looked at each other like cats and dogs
We hated the repeaters
A pain in the a$$ or a pain in the a$$
We always pushed each other harder
We fought for good grades
We cried in front of the blackboard

We could have stayed sisters
It would have saved us time
Neck and neck, I imagine
It wouldn’t have taken long
For us to be just as good
Despite the supervisors
And the parents

Then, in front of the boys
The great offensive began
We made up our minds
Rendezvous on the other side
And a big party lovers or Snow White
It was a race to see who could bring
All the pimply-faced kids at school
To accompany us on the quayside

We could have stayed sisters
That would have saved us time
Arm in arm, I imagine
That we would have, of these beginners
Before life knocked them out
Could have made men
Not children

A little later, it was beauty
That was erected as a barrier
We found ourselves insulted
If we weren’t the first
Our friendships made people smile
We had to fight each other
And all we could say to each other
Was just rubbish or rags

We could have stayed sisters
It would have saved us time
Hand on shoulder, I suppose
We could have looked at each other
To see that we were all quite beautiful
And even those
Who didn’t have the time

It’s all the same in our professions
They pit us against each other
All the better to show
That we’re out of our depth
As soon as you stick your head
We’re always an exception
Each one on our planet
How we’ve gone round and round

If we got together, sisters
We wouldn’t have wasted our time
Uniting our voices, I imagine
We’d say twenty times as much
And we’d make things change
And, I suppose, people too
And make things change
Come on, we are going to dare
It’s high time