# French speaking Dopers - what is the English translation for these Grace Jones lyrics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 16, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131 "2013-06-16T17:57:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131/1 "2013-06-16T17:57:33Z")
[This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIN3IE3DHqc) is a Grace Jones video from circa 1979/80. I know that I saw it in rotation in a music video show from before MTV launched. I was about 10 or 11 when I first saw it, and it freaked me right the hell out. I liked it, yet I was inexplicably disturbed by it at the same time. It was so distinctly different from anything else I had seen. Anyway, my question really is what do the French lyrics that she sings / speaks at the end of the song translate to in English? I have always wondered what. Any french speaking dopers care to translate? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131/2 "2013-06-16T18:15:46Z")
In his room, Joel and his suitcase, look at his rags, On the wall, photos, Without regret, without sentiment, the door is slammed, Joel is gone. Google translate gives a different translation, but I offer you mine. The consensus online for the French lyrics is: Dans sa chambre, Joel et sa valise, un regard sur ses fringues, Sur les murs, des photos, Sans regret, sans mélo, La porte est claquée, Joel est barré. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131/3 "2013-06-16T18:35:29Z")
The album that is off of, _ **Nightclubbing** _ is fucking perfect. Sly and Robbie on the rhythm. Perfect grooves and great songs. Her cover of Use Me is worth the price of admission alone. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131/4 "2013-06-16T18:38:55Z")
Oh my! I’d forgotten this album, which I bought for some reason in high school. Pull up to my bumper, baby! ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131/5 "2013-06-16T19:06:11Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Pull up to my bumper, baby! Back when that charted in Britain, the BBC still occasionally banned songs with explicit content. I guess “Pull up to my bumper baby / In your long black limousine / Pull up to my bumper baby / Drive it in between” didn’t ping their radar. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131/6 "2013-06-17T16:43:06Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > In his room, > Joel and his suitcase, > look at his rags, > On the wall, photos, > Without regret, > without sentiment, > the door is slammed, > Joel is gone. > > Google translate gives a different translation, but I offer you mine. > > The consensus online for the French lyrics is: > > Dans sa chambre, Joel et sa valise, > un regard sur ses fringues, > Sur les murs, des photos, > Sans regret, sans mélo, > La porte est claquée, Joel est barré. Yup, that’s what I hear, and your translation’s on the money. My only nitpick would be that “rags” is a bit too negative a word. “fringues” is just colloquial slang for clothes without any value judgement - more like “togs” or perhaps “threads”. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131/7 "2013-06-17T22:25:13Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > The album that is off of, _ **Nightclubbing** _ is fucking perfect. Sly and Robbie on the rhythm. Perfect grooves and great songs. Her cover of Use Me is worth the price of admission alone. Yeah, I have fond memories of that being a great album. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131/8 "2013-06-18T03:34:07Z")
A belated thanks to **Baron Greenback** for providing the answer. I spent this afternoon at work piping in _Nightclubbing_ on Spotify. One of the youn’un gay guys from the other side of the cubicle aisle asked me what I was listening to, and I had to explain to him who Grace Jones was. It made me feel a little old, but I think I made a sale. ---
**Author:** ![Themenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@Themenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Themenin)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131/9 "2013-06-18T08:30:48Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Yup, that’s what I hear, and your translation’s on the money. My only nitpick would be that “rags” is a bit too negative a word. “fringues” is just colloquial slang for clothes without any value judgement - more like “togs” or perhaps “threads”. Agree with this, but I would also nitpick “Joel est barré”. As written this would mean “Joel is ‘out there’”, as in ‘kind of strange’ = ‘un peu barré’. “Joel \*\*s’\*\*est barré” would mean “Joel has left”. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131/10 "2013-06-18T09:22:30Z")
> [@Themenin](#): > > Agree with this, but I would also nitpick “Joel est barré”. As written this would mean “Joel is ‘out there’”, as in ‘kind of strange’ = ‘un peu barré’. > > “Joel \*\*s’\*\*est barré” would mean “Joel has left”. That is correct, and I actually thought about mentioning that but I think that’s Grace Jones’ mistake there, as the barré = crazy meaning wouldn’t really make sense in the context. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131/11 "2013-06-18T12:10:37Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > A belated thanks to **Baron Greenback** for providing the answer. > > I spent this afternoon at work piping in _Nightclubbing_ on Spotify. One of the youn’un gay guys from the other side of the cubicle aisle asked me what I was listening to, and I had to explain to him who Grace Jones was. It made me feel a little old, but I think I made a sale. Excellent. I was visiting Paris in the '80’s; while walking around we saw '80’s icon, already-famous-in-the-U.S. artist Keith Haring doing some commissioned graffitti art close to Pompidou Center. We approached him and he was very cool about it - no one in Paris was bugging him. We asked him what he thought of Paris and he said something like “oh, last night I attended a party where Grace Jones showed up naked and I painted art all over her body while the party went on around her. It was great…” 😉 I Googled Keith Haring painted by Grace Jones and found these images: [grace jones painted by keith haring - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=grace+jones+painted+by+keith+haring&safe=off&client=safari&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0k3AUYm-INXe4AP8qYCoAQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAA&biw=1024&bih=672) Perhaps you can share those photos with him… ---
**Author:** ![Lorenzo196672](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lorenzo196672](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorenzo196672)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2024, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-speaking-dopers-what-is-the-english-translation-for-these-grace-jones-lyrics/661131/12 "2024-06-13T12:23:04Z")
I came across this post from 2013 regarding the lyrics from Grace Jones’s great track, I’ve seen that face before. Funnily enough, i was listening to that track recently, reminiscing and all that, and i too was slightly confused by the lyrics, Joel est barré: I have used different translation sites and they come up with different answers Joel is gone; bounced; did one Joel is barred; Joel is mad: It would seem to me going by the end of the track you can hear police sirens getting closer and louder. Joel est barré a cause de la police. Joel did a runner from the police. Love and peace to you all.