Update: Testbild!
While exchanging e-mails with Petter Herbertsson before the Testbild! interview, I remarked that it would be helpful to have an English translation of the parts of Une Teinte Intense which were in French.
Katja, who spoke Isabelle Eberhardt’s words on the album, was kind enough to send along an English translation of L’errante, a song on the album that is also featured on Testbild’s MySpace page. So go ahead, click on that Testbild! MySpace link in the previous sentence, choose L’errante from the MySpace player, and follow the English translation below.
Katja says, “L’errante means roughly ‘The one on the move’, ‘Girl on the move’, etc. It’s Isabelle, in the desert…”
At daybreak
I’ll be further away from here – somewhere
When day breaks – finally
I won’t be here anymore – elsewhere
Tomorrow my traces are gone
This dormant place
The waking light
Soothing colour
This life on the move
When I travel, I can breathe
Everyday on my way
Doubtless, I was born a nomad
When the sun is burning
The heat does me good – heals me
In the insufferable hours of the day,
The wind leaves me with all I need
The sand between my fingers is enough
This charming spot
The constant sun
Fascinating scent
This life on the move
In the evening, the colours become deeper
And I see your eyes – yellow eyes
I see them on all the dunes
Golden dunes
Finally, night falls
And the colours disappear – somewhere
In the desert, soft and empty,
There will be solitude and peace
In this stillness I’ll stay
In the stillness of the night I’ll stay
Stay here
But only tonight
I’ll be further away from here – somewhere
When day breaks – finally
I won’t be here anymore – elsewhere
Tomorrow my traces are gone
This dormant place
The waking light
Soothing colour
This life on the move
When I travel, I can breathe
Everyday on my way
Doubtless, I was born a nomad
When the sun is burning
The heat does me good – heals me
In the insufferable hours of the day,
The wind leaves me with all I need
The sand between my fingers is enough
This charming spot
The constant sun
Fascinating scent
This life on the move
In the evening, the colours become deeper
And I see your eyes – yellow eyes
I see them on all the dunes
Golden dunes
Finally, night falls
And the colours disappear – somewhere
In the desert, soft and empty,
There will be solitude and peace
In this stillness I’ll stay
In the stillness of the night I’ll stay
Stay here
But only tonight
Tags: Isabelle Eberhardt, L'errante, Petter Herbertsson, Testbild!, Une Teinte Intense