L'Homme Qui N'Avait Pas De Mason

[ocelot]

English Translation:
The Man Who Had No Home


He carried only a big hat
A cane and a long coat
He slept on the old benches
In the park where we often went

He drew some rainbows
On the cobblestones, under the skyscrapers
He went to bed near a strange bag
Where he hid his steel guitar

The man who had no home
Told us quite a lot of stories
If he had lost the reason
He had not lost the memory
The man who had no home
Had always a beautiful smile
A big smile which said a lot
When those who speak have nothing to say

He carried only a big hat
A cane and a long coat
He slept on the old benches
In the park where we often went

He drew some rainbows
On the cobblestones, under the skyscrapers
He went to bed near a strange bag
Where he hid his steel guitar

The man who had no home
Had engraved on his face
The cruelty that the seasons
Had left on their passage

The man who had no home
Put away his heart in a bottle
On which he pulled with all affection
Which failed him on awakening...

He carried only a big hat
A cane and a long coat
He slept on the old benches
In the park where we often went

He drew some rainbows
On the cobblestones, under the skyscrapers
He went to bed near a strange bag
Where he hid his steel guitar

[ocelot]

Here is an engliah translation from an article that was written about 9, in which Lara tells the background for the song.

L'homme qui n'avait pas de maison (The man who had no home): Text and worlds both of us. As the theme is heavy, I had wanted to make the listener smile by the evocation of real-life events that I had in Montreal with some homeless person who appeared in certain of my clips. One day on the shooting of "J'y crois encore", a homeless person threw at me this phrase: "Is it that one day you swear to write a song for us?" I didn't want to swear for this would become a promise without certainty, and I didn't want to lie to her. I promised her to think about it. Some years later, Felix put out a riff and in writing this song, I naturally thought again about her and all her smiles. She never complained about her life, even going so far as saying that she had chosen it. She adored the lack of responsibility which she proved. I remembered our conversation, the words and the text have come simply, and the song is born.

[shavonfan]

Thank you so much, Leona, for sharing that! Now, more than ever, I stand behind my choice of this song as my favorite video of Lara's. She is such an amazingly beautiful person!