My French teacher introduced me to this poem and well after many many many attempts of understanding Jacque Prévert's Barbara I tried making my own little version of it... its not a literal translation.... its just my interpretaion feedback is gladly welcomed ...... voilà i present to you Look Back my Friend Look Back...
Look back my friend look back
It rained that day till the end of day
And you walked your smiling way
Under the incessant rain
You smiled, you laughed, you sang
You greeted every lady, every man
And every grandpa along the way.
Do you remember?
Look back my friend look back
It rained that day till the end of day
Our eyes met as we crossed our paths.
You smiled at me
And I smiled back at you, my friend
Look back my friend look back
Remember again your little girl,
Standing under the soggy tree,
And she shouted aloud “Mamma!”
And you flew towards her
Under the incessant rain
You passed the zooming traffic,
Under the incessant rains.
Then you gaily took her in your arm.
Don't you remember anything at all?
Look back my friend look back,
Don’t you ever forget.
Don’t you ever forget those happy days
Those rains happy joyous and gay,
Those blessed rains over the sleepy ocean,
The lazy rivers and the rolling seas.
But then it suddenly changed.
The arsenals and the reserves.
Oh my dear dear friend
What senseless folly was this war!
Look what you have become
Look what I have become,
Under these senseless rains of hate
These rains of rage, of blood and jealousy.
And … and that darling little girl,
That gleaming face that hopped into your arms.
What fears and sorrow passed her way?
Is she still holding her breath?
Oh dear friend it rained again today,
and I saw you both again,
I remembered that day ...
But it just doesn’t feel the same
When everyone is playing the blame game,
With everything around us destroyed.
The rains have turned to grief.
They mourn our blunders
Our foolishness our mistakes.
Pouring sorrow down for the bombs,
the missiles and for our recklessness.
That has left nothing...
Nothing except the dark clouds,
The dark clouds that hold buckets of woe.
As each day passes by.
Soon these gloomy clouds will stir away
And move away to another land.
Away far away from this mess
Where all that rests is hope
Hope that rests in the eyes of your young one
Those eager eyes that waits,
Waits for those long forgotten rains
Those happy rains of happy days
That will clean away this clutter,
Wash away….
Our craziness, our mistakes, our follies,
So that you and your petite can dance again
Like you did before.
