Sur La Place
Jacques Brel
On the Square
On the sun-warmed square
A girl started to dance
She always spins the same
Like ancient dancers
In the city, it's too hot
Men and women are drowsy
And they look through the window
At this girl dancing at noon
So some days a flame appears
In our eyes
At the church I used to go
They called it the Good Lord
The lover calls it love
The beggar calls it charity
The sun calls it day
And the good man calls it kindness
On the square vibrating with hot air
Where not even a dog appears
Undulating like a reed
The girl leaps, goes and comes
No guitar or tambourine
To accompany her dance
She claps her hands
To keep the beat
So some days a flame appears
In our eyes
At the church I used to go
They called it the Good Lord
The lover calls it love
The beggar calls it charity
The sun calls it day
And the good man calls it kindness
On the quiet square
A girl started to sing
And her song hovers over the city
Hymn of love and kindness
But in the city, it's too hot
And to not hear her song
Men close their windows
Like a door between the dead and the living
So some days a flame appears
In our hearts
But we never want
To let its light shine
We plug our ears
And we cover our eyes
We don't like the awakenings
Of our already old heart
On the square a dog still howls
Because the girl has gone
And like the howling dog of death
Men weep for their fate
