Below is my poetic translation of ‘L’Air De La Betise’ by Jacques Brel. Particular attention has been paid to keeping the rhyme and flow of the piece while retaining the poetic origins of the French lyric.
Lyrics
Goddess of those who speak without thinking Goddess of those who talk out of turn Goddess of those with a habit of misspeaking Princess of those that never learn
I salute you, Lady Stupidity Your reign is underestimated I salute you, Lady Stupidity But please tell me how you do it You have so many fiancés And even more lovers So many valets So many prisoners You weave them with your hands You muddle them around Persuading all the morons To never have a doubt You make our lives progress With your backstabbing advance Through narrow-minded envy And noble intolerance Goddess of all our femme fatals Goddess of all royal incest Goddess of all marriages for wealth Princess of those who should know best I salute you, Lady Stupidity Your reign is underestimated I salute you, Lady Stupidity But please tell me how you do it You who never lets us see Your smile that's growing bold As you've made of him and me Very noble cuckolds Because you've led just to forget That all the real whores The ones that we regret Charge us after, not before And so it leaves me in a haze When in the mirror, I see Your familiar gaze Staring back at me
Collecting Brel 