Victor     (texte de Wystan Hugh Auden, traduction par Cochonfucius)



Victor was a little baby,

Into this world he came;

His father took him on his knee and said:

'Don't dishonour the family name.'


    Bébé Victor naquit,
se trouva parmi nous,
Un jour son paternel
le prit sur ses genoux
En lui disant, aussi
sérieux qu'on puisse l'être,
'Tu ne saliras pas
le nom de tes ancêtres'.


Victor looked up at his father

Looked up with big round eyes:

His father said; 'Victor, my only son,

Don't you ever ever tell lies.'


    Victor, levant les yeux
vers son auguste père,
Les a ouverts tout grands,
en muette prière,
Le père poursuivit :
'Victor, toi, mon seul fils,
Je voudrais que jamais,
jamais tu ne mentisses.


Victor and his father went riding
Out in a little dog-cart;
His father took a Bible from his pocket and read:
'Blessed are the pure in heart.'

    Victor, en voiture légère,
Ecoute la voix de son père
Disant ces mots de l'Ecriture :
'Heureux ceux qui ont le coeur pur'.

It was a frosty December,
It wasn't the season for fruits;
His father fell dead of heart disease
While lacing up his boots.


    En décembre et dans la froidure
Que n'est aucune chose mûre,
Le coeur du père eut un arrêt
Quand il attachait ses lacets.

It was a frosty December
When into the grave he sank;
His uncle found Victor a post as cashier
In the Midland Counties Bank.

    En décembre, en un froid polaire,
On l'a conduit au cimetière ;
Un oncle alors a gratifié
Victor d'un emploi de caissier.

It was a frosty December
Victor was only eighteen,
But his figures were neat and his margins straight
And his cuffs were always clean.

    En décembre où gèle la plaine,
Il avait dix-huit ans à peine,
Mais il écrivait proprement
Et soignait bien ses vêtements.

He took a room at the Peveril,
A respectable boarding-house;
And Time watched Victor day after day
As a cat will with a mouse.

    Il prit un logis confortable
Dans un endroit bien respectable ;
Mais le Temps mit un oeil sur lui
Comme un chat sur une souris.

The clerks slapped Victor on the shoulder;
"Have you ever had a woman?" they said,
"Come down town with us on Saturday night".
Victor smiled and shook his head.

    Ses collègues, de joyeux drilles,
Ont voulu le mener aux filles,
Samedi soir, pour s'amuser;
Il a poliment refusé.

The manager sat in his office,
Smoked a Corona cigar;
Said: "Victor's a decent fellow but
He's too mousey to go far".

    Le directeur dans son bureau
Fumait un cigare, et un gros.
"Victor, dit-il, il est bien brave
Mais sa timidité l'entrave".

Victor went up to his bedroom,
Set the alarm bell;
Climbed into his bed, took his Bible and read
Of what happened to Jezebel.

    Victor dans sa chambre est monté,
Son réveil il a remonté,
Au lit a relu dans sa Bible
De Jézabel la fin horrible.

It was the First of April,
Anna to the Peveril came;
Her eyes, her lips, her breasts, her hips
And her smile set men aflame.

    Ce fut d'avril le premier jour,
Survint Anne, son bel amour,
Et tous les gars du voisinage
Ont pris feu pour ce beau visage.

It was the Second of April,
She was wearing a coat of fur;
Victor met her upon the stairs
And he fell in love with her.

    Le deux avril, d'une fourrure
La belle avait fait sa parure.
Victor en montant l'escalier
D'amour fut pieds et poings lié.


The first time he made his proposal,
She laughed, said: "I'll never wed":
The second time there was a pause;
Then she smiled and shook her head.

    D'abord quand il fit ses avances,
Elle les crut sans importance.
Et puis il a persévéré,
Elle a souri d'un air gêné.


Anna looked into her mirror,
Pouted and gave a frown;
Said: "Victor's as dull as a wet afternoon
But I've got the settle down."

    Anne se voyant dans la glace
Se dit avec une grimace :
"Barbant comme pluie, ce Victor,
Mais je me résigne à mon sort".

The third time he made his proposal,
As they walked by the Reservoir,
She gave him a kiss like a blow on the head,
Said, "You are my heart's desire."

    Quand ensemble ils se promenèrent,
Il fit sa demande dernière,
Elle l'assomma d'un baiser
Disant "Oui, tu dois m'épouser".

They were married early in August,
She said: "Kiss me, you funny boy";
Victor took her in his arms and said:
"O my Helen of Troy."

    Début août ce fut leur union,
Elle a dit "Bisou, mon mignon" ;
Dans ses bras il a pris sa reine
Et la nomme Hélène troyenne.

It was the middle of September,
Victor came to the office one day;
He was wearing a flower in his buttonhole,
He was late but he was gay.

    Vers la mi-septembre suivante,
Au travail Victor se présente
A sa boutonnière une fleur,
En retard, mais de bonne humeur.

The clerks were talking of Anna,
The door was just ajar:
One said: "Poor old Victor, but where ignorance
Is bliss, etcetera."

    Sur sa femme il voit qu'on disserte
Auprès de la porte entr'ouverte :
"Ce vieux Victor est le dernier,
Déclarent-ils, à s'en méfier".

Victor stood still as a statue,
The door was just ajar;
One said: "God, what fun I had with her
In that Baby Austin car."

    Victor, immobile, en alerte
Auprès de la porte entr'ouverte
Entend un gars dire comment
En voiture être un bon amant.

Victor walked out into the High Street,
He walked to the edge of the town;
He came to the allotments and the rubbish heap;
And his tears came tumbling down.

    Victor suit la rue du village,
Puis il se perd dans ses parages ;
Parvient aux sinistres faubourgs,
Pleurant à grands flots son amour.

Victor looked up at the sunset
As he stood there all alone;
Cried: "Are you in Heaven, Father?",
But the sky said "Address not known."

    Victor, faisant face au couchant,
Tout esseulé, va demandant :
"Mon père, êtes-vous dans la nue ?"
Le ciel dit "Adresse inconnue".

Victor looked up at the mountain,
The mountains all covered with snow;
Cried: "Are you pleased with me, Father?"
And the answer came back, "No".

    Victor regarde les sommets
Que la neige orne d'un plumet :
"Père, ai-je agi à votre guise ?"
"Aucunement", répond la bise.

Victor came to the forest,
Cried: "Father, will she ever be true?"
And the oaks and the beeches shook their heads
And they answered: "Not to you."

    Victor arrive dans les bois :
"Père, reviendra-t-elle à moi ?"
Hêtres et chênes, de leur front
Ont tremblé pour lui dire "Non".

Victor came to the meadow
Where the wind went sweeping by:
Cried: "O Father, I lover her so,"
But the wind said: "She must die".

    Victor arrive au pâturage
Où le vent produit son ramage :
"Père, mon amour fut si grand."
"Elle mourra", lui dit le vent.

Victor came to the river
Running so deep and so still:
Crying: "O Father, what shall I do?"
And the river answered: "Kill".

    Victor arrive à la rivière
A l'eau si profonde et si claire :
"Père, ne sais ce que je dois."
"Tue-la", lui dit le ruisseau froid.

Anna was sitting at table,
Drawing cards from a pack;
Anna was sitting at table,
Waiting for her husband to come back.

    Anne à une table est assise,
D'un jeu les cartes elle a prises,
Anne à une table se tient,
"Mon mari est là qui revient".

It wasn't the Jack of Diamonds
Nor the Joker she drew at first;
It wasn't the King or the Queen of Hearts
But the Ace of Spades reversed.

    Point n'a pris Valet de carreau
Ni l'Excuse de son tarot,
Ni Roi fou ni Dame perverse,
Mais l'As de pique à la renverse.

Victor stood in the doorway,
He didn't utter a word:
She said: "What's the matter, darling?"
He behaved as if he hadn't heard.

    Victor se tenait à la porte,
Il n'a dit mot d'aucune sorte.
"Qu'avez-vous donc, mon cher époux ?"
Il n'a parlé ni peu ni prou.

There was a voice in his left ear,
There was a voice in his right,
There was a voice at the base of his skull
Saying: "She must die tonight."

    A sa gauche une voix l'exhorte,
A sa droite une autre voix forte,
La voix troisième en son cerveau
Disant "Envoie-la au tombeau".

Victor picked up a carving-knife,
His features were set and drawn,
Said: "Anna, it would have been better for you
If you had not been born."

    Victor prend le couteau à viande,
Ses traits se figent et se tendent,
"Anne, il eût mieux valu pour vous
Ne jamais venir parmi nous".

Anna jumped up from the table,
Anna started to scream,
But Victor came slowly after her,
Like a horror in a dream.

    Très vite elle a quitté la table
En poussant un cri pitoyable,
Mais lentement la suit Victor,
Comme un cauchemar quand on dort.

She dodged behind the sofa,
She tore down a curtain rod.
But Victor came slowly after her,
Said "Prepare to meet Thy God."

    Derrière un divan se cachant,
D'une tringle à rideau s'armant,
Ne peut fuir Victor qui la cite
Devant Dieu à être traduite.

She managed to wrench the door open,
She ran and she didn't stop.
But Victor followed her up the stairs
And he caught her at the top.

    La porte elle ouvre avec violence,
En une course elle se lance,
Victor montant les escaliers
La rejoint au dernier palier.

He stood there above the body,
He stood there holding the knife;
And the blood ran down the stairs and sang:
"I am the Resurrection and the Life."

    Le couteau au-dessus du corps,
Il entendait chanter bien fort
Le sang : "Je suis, marches rougies,
La résurrection et la vie".

They tapped Victor on the shoulder,
They took him away in a van;
He sat as quiet as a lump of moss
Saying: "I am the Son of Man."

    Sur l'épaule on lui mit la main,
L'hôpital au bout du chemin,
Lui, tranquille comme Baptiste,
Dit "Je suis Fils de l'Homme et Christ".

Victor sat in a corner
Making a woman of clay,
Saying: "I am Alpha and Omega, I shall come
To judge the earth one day."

    Victor a pétri une femme
En argile, et ensuite il clame :
« Je suis l'Alpha et l'Oméga,
Celui qui tous vous jugera ».




Ego sum Alpha et Omega