Les boîtes à musique

Music boxes
Are mechanical
A bit fantastic
Magical and mystic
Sometimes poetic
Sometimes sarcastic
With a hint of innocence

They have tunes
That are distinctive
Ironical airs
Aristocratic
That convey to you
Romantic feelings
Fragrance of bygone times

Ah, dance my lady
Ah, my lord dance
The exquisite gavotte
Of days gone by

First the dance
Then the romance
And the carefree
The fainting
Here open the porcelain arms
On Italian lace

Blonde curls
Curvy figures
That blend together
Under the rotundas
We find ourselves in another world
Among the mists of forgetfulness

Ribbons and ties
In scarlet tones
Charming diplomats
Duelists and pirates
Delicate ladies
Beauties that are flattered
In the groves of Marly
But these acrobats
These aristocrats
Have no shoulder blades
No heart or gallbladder
For the automatons
Are just boxes
Wheels, strings, and pulleys

Fragile mechanics
That need to be wound
The music box
Is about to stop

Music boxes
Are mechanical
A bit fantastic
Magical and mystic
But the automatons
Are just boxes
Wheels, strings, and...