Sedulia's Quotations

Tristane Banon on Dominique Strauss-Kahn: a rutting chimpanzee

He's a rutting chimpanzee.

--Journalist Tristane Banon, describing an encounter five years earlier with Dominique Strauss-Kahn in which he invited her to an empty apartment (only a bed) for an interview aired in 2007, threw her on the floor and tried to rape her, undid her bra and pulled at her jeans before she could escape. (At this, the other French journalists sitting around the table all laugh and one says, "J'adore!")

C'est un chimpanzé en rut.

Trenet: Long, long, long after the poets are gone

Long, long, long 
after the poets are gone
their songs are still alive in the streets
Absent-minded, crowds of people
sing them, not knowing the name of the author
not knowing who makes their hearts beat so fast
sometimes people change a word or a phrase
and when they can't think
they go la la la la la la
la la la la la la

Long, long, long after
the poets are gone
their songs are still alive in the streets
One day, perhaps, long after me
one day they'll sing
this tune to comfort some sadness
or some piece of luck
will it give an old beggar a living?
will it put a child to sleep?
will it whirl along the water
in spring from the airwaves?

Long, long, long after
the poets are gone
their light soul and their songs
which make people gay, which make people sad
girls and boys
bourgeois and artists
or vagabonds

     --Charles Trenet (1913-2001), beloved French singer. You can hear him singing the song here.

Longtemps, longtemps, longtemps
après que les poètes ont disparu
leurs chansons courent encore dans les rues
La foule les chante un peu distraite
en ignorant le nom de l'auteur
sans savoir pour qui battait leur cœur
parfois on change un mot, une phrase
et quand on est à court d'idées
on fait la la la la la la
la la la la la la

Longtemps, longtemps, longtemps
après que les poètes ont disparu>
leurs chansons courent encore dans les rues
Un jour, peut-être, bien après moi
un jour on chantera
cet air pour bercer un chagrin
ou quelqu'heureux destin
Fera-t-il vivre un vieux mendiant
ou dormir un enfant?
Tournera-t-il au bord de l'eau
au printemps sur un phono?

Longtemps, longtemps, longtemps
après que les poètes ont disparu
leur âme légère et leurs chansons
qui rendent gais, qui rendent tristes
filles et garçons
bourgeois, artistes
ou vagabonds.