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Une fille qui tangue et vient mouiller

English translation: A girl who sways and comes to dock

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:Une fille qui tangue et vient mouiller
English translation:A girl who sways and comes to dock
Entered by: Nick Lingris

08:38 Aug 23, 2005
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / music lyrics
French term or phrase: Une fille qui tangue et vient mouiller
In an interview with a well-known gallery owner, he is asked to give a symbol of the "l'esprit parisien". His answer:
une attitude, "une fille qui tangue et vient mouiller".

This is part of a song by Léo Ferré (I've copied the lyrics below). I was thinking of dealing with this with something like:
an attitude, like when Léo Ferré sings "une fille qui tangue et vient mouiller"
and then putting the English translation in brackets.
Interested in what creative suggestions you have for this quote. I have my idea, but I'm curious to see what others come up with. :-)

Many thanks in advance,
Mara

Léo Ferré
C'est extra
1969

Une robe de cuir comme un fuseau
Qu'aurait du chien sans l'faire exprès
Et dedans comme un matelot
Une fille qui tangue un air anglais
C'est extra
Un moody blues qui chante la nuit
Comme un satin de blanc d'marié
Et dans le port de cette nuit
Une fille qui tangue et vient mouiller

C'est extra c'est extra
C'est extra c'est extra

Des cheveux qui tombent comme le soir
Et d'la musique en bas des reins
Ce jazz qui d'jazze dans le noir
Et ce mal qui nous fait du bien
C'est extra
Ces mains qui jouent de l'arc-en-ciel
Sur la guitare de la vie
Et puis ces cris qui montent au ciel
Comme une cigarette qui brille

C'est extra c'est extra
C'est extra c'est extra

Ces bas qui tiennent hauts perchés
Comme les cordes d'un violon
Et cette chair que vient troubler
L'archet qui coule ma chanson
C'est extra
Et sous le voile à peine clos
Cette touffe de noir jésus
Qui ruisselle dans son berceau
Comme un nageur qu'on attend plus

C'est extra c'est extra
C'est extra c'est extra

Une robe de cuir comme un oubli
Qu'aurait du chien sans l'faire exprès
Et dedans comme un matin gris
Une fille qui tangue et qui se tait
C'est extra
Les moody blues qui s'en balancent
Cet ampli qui n'veut plus rien dire
Et dans la musique du silence
Une fille qui tangue et vient mourir

C'est extra
C'est extra
C'est extra
C'est extra
French Foodie
Local time: 13:59
A girl who sways and comes (in) to dock
Explanation:
I agree with the simple translation given at this site
http://www.franceinfo.us/picassa/frenchmix/target1.html
which you should visit because you can also listen to the song.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs 12 mins (2005-08-23 16:51:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I didn't adopt that translation just because I found it at that site.
The phrase "une fille qui tangue" (a girl that sways) has already turned up in a previous line. So we have to repeat that.
"Mouiller l'ancre" is to cast anchor. "Comes in to dock" is a good translation.
"A girl that sways and comes to dock" also repeats the meter of the original line. Great with me. Give me a lesson in sailing and you've lost me.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 hrs 8 mins (2005-08-23 17:47:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

From Le Petit Robert:
mouiller (3) Mar. Mettre à l'eau. Mouiller une sonde, une mine, une ligne, un casier. Mouiller l'ancre. — Absolt. *Jeter l'ancre, s'arrêter*: Yacht qui mouille en grande rade, dans un port, dans une baie.
Therefore, in English: cast anchor, drop anchor.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 6 hrs 18 mins (2005-08-24 14:57:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Re the translation of "tanguer" when it relates to people:
French-English Robert for "tanguer":
3. (tituber) to reel, to sway
des marins ivres tanguaient dans la rue, drunken sailors were reeling / swaying along the street

Same thing in the Larousse Advanced French-English.

Maritime terms like 'tack' or 'pitch' do not belong to the way a person moves (unless the girl pitches in a baseball team).
Selected response from:

Nick Lingris
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:59
Grading comment
While Jane's answer may be correct sailing-wise, I'm going with Nick's suggestion because the line is repeated later as "une fille qui tangue et vient mourir" and I think it's important to keep the same word. Sway works well in both lines. Thanks to everyone for helping.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3A girl who sways and comes (in) to dock
Nick Lingris
5 +1a girl who docks smoothly on a close haul
Jane Lamb-Ruiz (X)
4 +1Wets down her keel...
Pierre POUSSIN


  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Wets down her keel...


Explanation:
A girl that tacks and wets her keel...
(same rythm as the French sentence...)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs 19 mins (2005-08-23 12:58:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

zaphod is right: "a girl who tacks..."

Pierre POUSSIN
France
Local time: 13:59
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 20

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  zaphod: who tacks
3 hrs
  -> You are definitely right! Sorry for this...typo!
neutral  Jane Lamb-Ruiz (X): a girl who tacks...something with keel is OK but wets down her keel doesn;t really make sense since a keel is always wet...it's more like tacks home...then you lose the erotic part..but..
5 hrs
  -> I should have known you were also good at sailing! I will not explain! You know all!!
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
a girl who docks smoothly on a close haul


Explanation:
a close haul is a kind of tack...sailing close to the wind..


Sex and sailing

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs 0 min (2005-08-23 16:38:55 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or A girl tacking into a wet dock... [as opposed to drydock: you know?]


to tack is to sail at an angle to direction of the wind...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs 58 mins (2005-08-23 17:37:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Final Comment: The image here is actually the girl as boat, going at an angle to the wind, and coming to rest at anchor [we all know what that means right? mooring or docking..get it?] after caroming in on a tack...it's a very sexy image..because it implies that it is not a straight on affair...it is Oblique...meaning feminine..not phallic.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 hrs 1 min (2005-08-23 17:39:55 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Forgot to say: naturally the underlying image is that a guy is sailing that boat...right....he knows how to make her tack...ha ha

I guess it requires knowing about sailing...anyway, sailing a boat has always been a boat as female steering as man affair...

Tchau

Jane Lamb-Ruiz (X)
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 80

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tom Bishop: Tanguer is in fact neither to tack nor to sway, but to pitch, which is most likely to occur when close-hauled, so docking on a close-haul (probably the safest way to do it under sail) is a nice image and a good technical fit.
22 hrs
  -> yeah and it works with the sex part too...:)
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37 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
A girl who sways and comes (in) to dock


Explanation:
I agree with the simple translation given at this site
http://www.franceinfo.us/picassa/frenchmix/target1.html
which you should visit because you can also listen to the song.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs 12 mins (2005-08-23 16:51:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I didn't adopt that translation just because I found it at that site.
The phrase "une fille qui tangue" (a girl that sways) has already turned up in a previous line. So we have to repeat that.
"Mouiller l'ancre" is to cast anchor. "Comes in to dock" is a good translation.
"A girl that sways and comes to dock" also repeats the meter of the original line. Great with me. Give me a lesson in sailing and you've lost me.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 hrs 8 mins (2005-08-23 17:47:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

From Le Petit Robert:
mouiller (3) Mar. Mettre à l'eau. Mouiller une sonde, une mine, une ligne, un casier. Mouiller l'ancre. — Absolt. *Jeter l'ancre, s'arrêter*: Yacht qui mouille en grande rade, dans un port, dans une baie.
Therefore, in English: cast anchor, drop anchor.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 6 hrs 18 mins (2005-08-24 14:57:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Re the translation of "tanguer" when it relates to people:
French-English Robert for "tanguer":
3. (tituber) to reel, to sway
des marins ivres tanguaient dans la rue, drunken sailors were reeling / swaying along the street

Same thing in the Larousse Advanced French-English.

Maritime terms like 'tack' or 'pitch' do not belong to the way a person moves (unless the girl pitches in a baseball team).


Nick Lingris
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:59
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in GreekGreek
PRO pts in category: 28
Grading comment
While Jane's answer may be correct sailing-wise, I'm going with Nick's suggestion because the line is repeated later as "une fille qui tangue et vient mourir" and I think it's important to keep the same word. Sway works well in both lines. Thanks to everyone for helping.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Philippe Maillard: Excellent !
2 hrs
  -> Merci, Philippe!
agree  sarahl (X)
6 hrs
  -> Thanks, Sarah.
neutral  Jane Lamb-Ruiz (X): OK, first of all, In English, one casts off or lifts anchor..mouiller is the opposite: to drop anchor ie moor the boat, or dock the boat...mouiller is Also Sexual, and I'll leave you to work that out..See now? or den vleppes?
7 hrs
  -> "A girl that sways and comes to dock" would be my version. Try singing yours in iambic tetrameter! :-}
agree  Vicky Papaprodromou: Nice song! :-)
1 day 13 hrs
  -> Merci, Vicky. Glad you enjoyed it.
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