Shoutbox

Well, we're analysing this song in French class, it's titled "Les Rats" (The Rats) by Jean Leloup. I don't really have an idea of what it's really talking about.

Any help would be appreciated as to examples in the text and things like that

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Ils étaient plus d'un milliard
A se partager la caisse
De denrées alimentaires
Ils se bouffèrent les doigts
Et se grugèrent le foie
Ils étaient bien dégueulasses
Des fourrures de Hyènes
Et des dents longues et malsaines
Était tout leur apparat

Nombreux sont les Scélérats

Nombreux sont les Scélérats
Nombreux sont les gros tas
Beaucoup trop les exploiteurs
Et les ramoneurs en trop
Comme ils sont de gros mangeurs
De la faim ils ont très peur
Ils ont même élu un roi
Pour le faire pèter de joie
Ils ont même élu un roi
Pour le faire pèter de joie

Ohh mais pendant qu'ils se battaient
Pour aller toujours plus haut
Quoi qu'ils venaient de plus bas
Découragés de l'odeur
Et incapable d'ambitions
Et de mordre un pauvre raton
Je tombais enfin de compte
Dans le fin fond de la caisse...

Et la caisse accéléra
Et la caisse accéléra ...

Use google's traduction, hehee

They were more than one billion  To divide the case  Foodstuffs  They puffed out the fingers  And notched the liver  They were quite disgusting  Furs of Hyenas  And of the long and unhealthy teeth Was all their pageantry    Many are Scélérats    Many are Scélérats  Many are the large heap  Much too exploiteurs  And chimney sweepers in excess  As they are big eaters  Hunger they are very afraid  They even elected a king  To do it pèter joy  They even elected a king  To do it pèter joy    Ohh but while they fought to go always higher  No matter what they came moreover low Découragés of the odor  And incompetent of ambitions  And to bite a poor little rat  I fell finally from account  In the fine body floor…    And the case accelerated  And the case accelerated…

Nono, I understand French perfectly! I should have made that clearer in my first post, because I'm from Montreal and go to a French school. I'm just not able to properly analyse it. In other words, I'm not able to clearly understand what he's referring to in his lyrcis.

If there's any other Québécois here (perhaps Patchou? ), I'd greatly appreciate your help

quote:

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Originally posted by crazihouse
Québécois

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MOI! MOI! CHOISI MOI!

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Beaucoup trop les exploiteurs...De la faim ils ont très peur: (English..faster for me) This is about the hunger in the world. The hunger is caused by people who eat too much, who are too greedy, and who are scared of starving, when really they wouldn't even if they did share.

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Des fourrures de Hyènes
Et des dents longues et malsaines
Était tout leur apparat: This sort of explains how the above mentioned "greedy people" are like monsters. They act like monsters when they do not share, to save the world.

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Beaucoup trop les exploiteurs: Speaks for itself really, to many people exploit other people to become rich and these people are greedy.

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Et incapable d'ambitions
Et de mordre un pauvre raton: They have no ambitions, and they don't care about anyone poor (ratons = personnes pauvres dans ce cas) and they are again, the greedy people.

That's about it imo.

Wow! That's a really great analysis!!! Thanks a million, really.

Does anyone know what this signifies?

Ils étaient plus d'un milliard
A se partager la caisse

(They were more than a billion to divide the money)

quote:

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Originally posted by crazihouse
Wow! That's a really great analysis!!! Thanks a million, really.

Does anyone know what this signifies?

Ils étaient plus d'un milliard
A se partager la caisse

(They were more than a billion to divide the money)

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This seems to imply that they were millions to eat the food, but only a few of the greedy ones got  it.

and btw, you're very welcome

quote:

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Originally posted by .Lou

quote:

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Originally posted by crazihouse
Wow! That's a really great analysis!!! Thanks a million, really.

Does anyone know what this signifies?

Ils étaient plus d'un milliard
A se partager la caisse

(They were more than a billion to divide the money)

---

This seems to imply that they were millions to eat the food, but only a few of the greedy ones got  it.

and btw, you're very welcome

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Ahh scuse, je pensais qu'il voulait dire que seul les riches se partageaient la luxe. Merci!

Hey c'est vrai j'ai complètement oublié que Patchou est Québecois! Vous restez dans quel secteur? Moi j'reste à LaSalle pi j'étudie au cegep André-Laurendeau en informatique

As I said in French, I completly forgot that Patchou is a French Canadian. What area do you guys live? I live in LaSalle and I study at André-Laurendeau college in computer science

Patchou habite en banlieue de Montreal. On dit meme son adresse ici (A moins que ce ne soit qu'une adresse postale ) : http://www.msgplus.net/postcard.php

Translation: Patchou lives in Montreal's suburbs. It says his address (if it's not a postal address) : http://www.msgplus.net/postcard.php

PS: I live in Verdun and I study at College St-Louis

Non non, Patchou est Français et Canadien, pas Québécois .

J'habite a Laval mais pas a cette adresse exacte non. Si t'y vas tu pourras toujours demander des infos sur le gars qui reçois toujours des cartes postales dans son casier .