# Triplets of Belleville song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 1, 2004, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015 "2004-02-01T06:53:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/1 "2004-02-01T06:53:58Z")
Does anyone with a knowledge of French have an idea what the title song in this film (which is nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song) is about? Some reviews say it is complete nonsense, but I would think it would be unlikely for song that is _deliberately_ nonsense to be nominated. The song does have a composer and a lyricist named. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/2 "2004-02-01T20:38:52Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > Does anyone with a knowledge of French have an idea what the title song in this film (which is nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song) is about? Some reviews say it is complete nonsense, but I would think it would be unlikely for song that is _deliberately_ nonsense to be nominated. > > The song does have a composer and a lyricist named. Well, the closing credits has the song sung in English, but I don’t remember much of the lyrics (the song grooves like crazy, though–it’ll be a treat to see it performed at the ceremony). As for preivously nominated nonsense songs, “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” from Disney’s _Cinderella_ is largely [gobbledy-book](http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/cinderella_soundtrack/cinderella/bibbidibobbidiboo/), but it got nominated. And the largely ridiculous “Say You Say Me” won! I’m sure I’ll be buying the score soon (it’s a terrific piece) so I’ll report back then. Oh, and one of the nominated lyricists (Sylvain Chomet) is also the director of the film. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/3 "2004-02-01T21:05:49Z")
They nominated TWO songs from _White Nights_ incredible! ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/4 "2004-02-17T07:43:00Z")
Well this blog – [http://www.boucledor.net/blog/2003/09/24/4998-LeRendezvousM](http://www.boucledor.net/blog/2003/09/24/4998-LeRendezvousM) – appears to have the French lyrics. I don’t how accurate they are, but when I plug them into [http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr](http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr) , I get: \*…Swinging Belleville go Marathon dance hall doop dee doop Balas Cancan voodoo taboo To Belleville swinging go I do not want to finish my life in Singapore I say myself how to eat small furnaces Me I want to be idioticE Three times over idioticE Gondoler like a triplette of Belleville …\* Okay… I think babelfish has a long way to go. However, it does appear that French-speaking people are as confused by the song as the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/5 "2004-02-17T08:19:53Z")
The _petit fours_ in the lyrics are [French pasteries](http://www.frenchpatisserie.com/gateaux/fours.html), not “little furnaces”. The verb _gondoler_ means to bend or warp. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/6 "2004-02-17T22:39:35Z")
I’ve listened to the CD which has an English version. It doesn’t make much more sense than the Babelfish translator. But damn is the tune catchy. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/7 "2004-02-17T23:00:44Z")
What is the “title” song? “Bellville Rendez-Vous”? There doesn’t seem to be a song called “Triplets Of Bellville” on the soundtrack album: [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000168ACI/qid=1077058696/sr=2-1/ref=sr\_2\_1/102-9235560-8488932](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000168ACI/qid=1077058696/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/102-9235560-8488932) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/8 "2004-02-17T23:03:18Z")
I have the CD of the soundtrack, and different remixes of the song account for about six of the tracks. Here’s what the chorus sounds like to me: Swinging Belleville rendez-vous Congo dancing\*, whoop-de-doo Voodoo, ca-ca\*\*, big taboo Swinging Belleville rendez-vous * * * \*A reference, I thought, to Josephine Baker’s “Banana Dance,” represented in the opening nightclub sequence. \*\*“Ca-ca” is whispered in some versions, and changed to “Can-Can” in others. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/9 "2004-02-17T23:43:53Z")
Saw it on Sunday, loved it! although it lagged in places. Bought the CD right afterwards; unfortunately, there’s no translation and no lyrics in the booklet. The English version is pretty hard to understand so I guess it’s supposed to be scat-influence nonsense lyrics, although the ‘demo version’ mix seems to have coherent lyrics. Is Bruno the dog male or female? Obviously Bruno’s a boy dog’s name but it seemed to have distinctive nipples. Being a girl would fit with the female power theme of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/10 "2004-02-18T00:08:21Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] What is the “title” song? “Bellville Rendez-Vous”? There doesn’t seem to be a song called “Triplets Of Bellville” on the soundtrack album: _Belleville Rendez-Vous_ is an alternate title for the film. [http://film.guardian.co.uk/News\_Story/Critic\_Review/Guardian\_review/0,4267,1030893,00.html](http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,4267,1030893,00.html) [quote=Walloon] The petit fours in the lyrics are French pasteries, not “little furnaces”. [/quotes] I should have realized that right away. I’ve enjoyed petits fours. I’m not sure how to eat little furnaces. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/11 "2004-02-18T00:11:50Z")
J’ai honte. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/12 "2004-02-18T12:12:50Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > Saw it on Sunday, loved it! although it lagged in places. Bought the CD right afterwards; unfortunately, there’s no translation and no lyrics in the booklet. The English version is pretty hard to understand so I guess it’s supposed to be scat-influence nonsense lyrics, although the ‘demo version’ mix seems to have coherent lyrics. > > Is Bruno the dog male or female? Obviously Bruno’s a boy dog’s name but it seemed to have distinctive nipples. Being a girl would fit with the female power theme of the movie. I seem to recall seeing conspicuous balls on Bruno. He’d be a fine match for Hank Hill’s dog Lady Bird. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/triplets-of-belleville-song/227015/13 "2004-02-18T12:47:37Z")
Here’s my translation, from the link posted above: > [@](#): > > Don’t want to end my life in Timbuktu > My skin stretched by nail machines > Me, I want to be crumpled > Triply crumpled > Crumpled like a Belleville triplet > > Don’t want to end my life in Acapulco > In those turrets with gigolos > I want to be twisted > Triply twisted > Thrown like a Belleville triplet > > (chorus) > > Don’t want to end my life in Singapore > I tell myself how to eat petits fours > Me, I want to be stupid > Triply stupid > Bend like a Belleville triplet > > Don’t want to end my life in Honolulu > Singing like a bird doesn’t do anymore > I want my voice broken > Triply broken > Swinging like a Belleville triplet > > I’d like to end my life in Kathmandu > It’s much sweeter rhymming in “oo” > Me, I want to be crazy/drunk/stoned > Triply crazy/drunk/stoned > Swinging like a Belleville triplet Of course, this doesn’t make much sense, but most of the nonsense comes from rhymes that disapear when translated into English.