J'Ai Vu Paris

I saw Paris wake up
To warm croissants, to café au lait
Paris leaning into its troubles
Paris mustard, Paris certified
I saw Paris get real
Paris bistros, Paris with friends
Paris the girls we kiss
And mess around on the ramparts
Paris daydreaming
Paris twenty years old
Paris I’ll take you out for a spin
On its bicycle frame
I’ve got your skin to unbutton
Paris the dives
Paris red wine
Paris idle, Paris debauchery
But also Paris with no jobs
At the gates of guarded factories
I saw Paris, fist raised
And the revolutionary spirit
Discovering its popular front
Paris descending into Paris

I saw Paris get passionate
For a king coming to visit
A convict getting beheaded
An invention, a clever word
I saw Paris out of breath
Singing a trendy tune
Fluff, my ass on the dresser
But unfortunately, I also saw
Paris at war
Paris in misery
Paris decomposing, getting violated
Paris that’s lost its voice
Defeated, suffering, and humiliated
Paris the grumbling
Paris the rebellion
Paris courage, Paris dull
Paris gasping and in decline
Paris-London parachuted in
I saw Paris play its life
Paris fed up with the bullying
And perched on its barricades
Paris becoming Paris again

I saw Paris transform
Getting excited for the automobile
Paris thinking it’s a thousand miles
Paris reckless, Paris complaining
I saw Paris break free
Paris in blue jeans, goodbye complexes
Paris equality of the sexes
Paris the pill, emancipated
Paris that grumbles
Paris that strikes
Paris at the prophetic polls
Paris talking politics
And getting fired up for an idea
Paris on strike
Paris dreaming
Paris sitting, breaking bread
Or pissing by the roadside
Splashing its paid vacations
Paris of yesterday and always
Paris twenty centuries of youth
For all your lovers, your mistresses
You remain the greatest love