Les châteaux de sable

I sing of the little war
Of brave kids from back then
Who fought on the beach
To save a sandcastle
And its unbreakable walls
That a wave was about to sweep away

I was there: Gun slung on my shoulder
Barricaded in the fortress
We stood firm, waiting
For a Saracen horde
From the neighboring coast
To storm our stronghold

A hundred steps away on the dune
Waiting for fortune
To smile on the victors
Longing to be courted
Our sweethearts, our fiancées
Gently prepared their hearts

Suddenly, the wild Armada
Surged onto our shore
With its lances, its shields
To commit all sorts of plunder
And even take our Sabines
More beautiful than theirs, I swear

The melee was worthy of Homer
And the defeat was quite bitter
To the enemy, though numerous
We beat them soundly
They left in disarray
In retreat, scrambling to escape

Yes, this horde of barbarians
That our fury disarmed
Retreated with their ships
Taking away as trophies
Less than nothing, two flat balls
Three rackets, four hoops

After the famous victory
Singing the tune of Sambre and Meuse
And the Marseillaise, oh yeah
We ran towards the reward
That the lovely sex dispenses
To the little tired heroes

While softly in the ear
Of our Fanny, of our Mireille
We told our saga
As we slipped the ring on their finger
A kind of wave suddenly appeared
That no one noticed

In fact, it was just a
Wave with no amplitude at all
A little lost wave
But upon reaching the shore
It caused more damage
Than a tidal wave

Swiftly, the traitor
Invaded our fortress
Toppling it, destroying it
Goodbye dungeon, towers, and walls
That four harmless drops
Had erased in passing

Some time later we went
To lead among men
Other battles more disappointing
To lead other campaigns
Where the castles are more Spanish
And made of sand than before

When I see soldiers struggling on the beach
Young soldiers in their prime
I don’t discourage them
Though I know, having once
Fought this war myself
The fatal outcome of the fight

I know that despite their defense
Their story is doomed from the start
But I let them battle
To save a sandcastle
And its unbreakable walls
That a wave will sweep away