Un Brin De Haine

Vincent is 60 years old, an immigrant from Calabria
He left the fields for a deteriorating neighborhood
His wife gave birth to a son named Stéphane
So he could better integrate into society
But Stéphane, who grew up here in vice
Is another statistic of juvenile delinquency
His best friend Isham, this young man from Nice
As far as I know, is indeed a very quiet kid
Stéphane is in all the shady deals and
Above all, hates the guys who sit at the table
His father, who picks him up at the station at night
Blames the fault on the one he calls the 'Arab'
People live so close, and cultures ignore each other
Like two twins sitting back to back
A bit of spice in a mundane life, and boredom
Today leads to kids playing with knives
The tension crushes the weak, the technique of
Pressure, of terror, for the kings of block 3
And both remember like yesterday, the first
Stabs, at the movies, after watching Rocky 3
So many people hate them, these stereotypes
Of terror coming from the north of the city
They reject their parents' ideals
And say they refuse to become educated pigeons
{Chorus:}
A dash of hate and a lot of trouble
Lead to acts that ruin a whole life
These people who are eaten up by regrets
Totally bitter from living too long in secret...A dash of hate
A dash of hate
An eye for an eye, Vincent now lives almost
Imprisoned like a pygmalion
In fear of Arabs, always on guard
Living a life governed by the law of retaliation
He never falls asleep without
The Bible and the .22 Long Rifle by the bed
He who used to sleep with the door open in the family house
In the countryside surrounding Locri
And this is the result of people piling up
Not really mean, but who know nothing about their neighbor
In August '95, no effort is made in this camp
And this summer we are experiencing a truly unhealthy climate
'Stéphane, I forbid you to see all these losers
Stéphane, stop hanging out with that dirty Arab'
Believing that Isham is leading him astray
He doesn't know that the Devil in the story is his son
And when he slams the door
He breathes as usual, far from having suspicions
Stéphane picks up his buddy
And they head to the station, catch a train to Toulon
{to Chorus}
In Toulon, the girls are so pretty, but today
No thoughts of the bed
They buy two tickets, then enter a cinema
Sit behind a couple they've been following
The woman always has the bag on her arm
As soon as she removes it, Stéphane dives in and snatches the car keys
They paid for the train and 'borrowed' an Audi
Which they will come back to see when the job is done
No trace, no clue
No stolen car, tonight Stéphane is proud
When they arrive in La Valette, they sneak
Along a wall, everything is fine tonight, it's deserted
The metal curtain of the bar gives way
They pick the lock, no trouble
When they spot the cash register, they smile, they rush,
What they don't know is that the owner lives upstairs
Shit, the dude has a gun
He loads it, the bullet grazes Isham's shoulder
They leave like crazy and drop the cash
Stéphane turns his jacket inside out to fool the cops
They jump in the Audi, start it
And speed towards Marseille without looking back
When they arrive in the neighborhood, Stéphane laughs
But he lost the keys while turning his coat
So he climbs up to the first floor
And pushes open the living room window to enter
His father stands in the dark, he's heated
Aims at the head and says 'here, die, you dirty Arab'
He thought thugs were attacking him
And gave himself the pleasure of fighting back
That's what happens when you despise people
And completely neglect your kid's education
A dash of hate and a lot of trouble
Lead to acts that ruin a whole life
These people who are eaten up by regrets
Totally bitter from living too long in secret
A dash of hate
A dash of hate
A lot of hate!