Hello ...I play guitar and sing . I would like to ask if anyone has heard of a track by the late great Harry Chapin "Circles" sung in French and whether there is a good translation somewhere with French text

If not I`d be very grateful if some budding song writer could give me a good sympathetic/improvised/ translation/ creation of the the chorus which is:

All my life`s (my life is) a circle Tout ma vie un cercle
Sunrise and sundown Point du jour a nuit
The moon rolls through the night time La lune est dans le ciel
Till the day break comes around Jusqua demain arrive
All my life`s a circle Tout ma vie un cercle
But I cant tell you why Mais je () sais pas Pourquoi
The seasons spinning round again Les saisons revenir encore
The years keep rolling by "****something good to finish*** ?

I my attempt will probably sound terrible...but Id really love to get somewhere half decent...... Thank you for reading!!!

Sorry.....my spaces were crunched!

you want something poetical?

Ma vie entière n'est qu'un cycle
Du lever du soleil à son couché
La lune traverse la nuit
Jusqu'à ce que le jour éclaire
Ma vie entière n'est qu'un cycle
Et je ne sais pourquoi
Les saisons tournent sans arrêt
Et les années suivent le mouvement

Originally Posted by WannaBFluent

you want something poetical?
Thank you so much for your fine poem.... I realise what a task this is now as Im trying to fit into the "stresses" of the song and I dont know HOW it sounds in French (to the French "ear") Ive put brackets around the words I want to lose

Ma vie (entiere ) n'est qu'un cycle (7 syllables)(6 stresses)
Point du jour a nuit (5 syllables) (5 stresses)
Du lever du soleil à son couché
La lune traverse la (nuit)ciel ( 7 syllables)
Jusqu'à ce que le jour éclaire
Jusqu`a demain ( arrive? revenir? two syllables or close needed) (5stresses)

Ma vie (entière) n'est qu'un cycle (perfect)
Et je ne sais pourquoi (perfect)
Les saisons tournent sans arrêt (perfect...I like it!)

(Et) Les années suivent (le mouvement) " la" (just la would be be perfect here (is that possible?) or a one syllable word...though I know it may sound terrible a Francais)

Thank you WannaB.....Harry Chapin can be seen on You tube doing Circle in concert.....if you can stand 70`s hair and fashion!!!
Pease tell me if my little attempts at phrases in French are bad...I`d like to know...Thank you again DG

......Eureka.......Jusqua demain prochaine !!!!!!!!! that goes! ?



Les annees suivant....????????

Originally Posted by Dyavvy

Thank you WannaB.....Harry Chapin can be seen on You tube doing Circle in concert.....if you can stand 70`s hair and fashion!!!
Pease tell me if my little attempts at phrases in French are bad...I`d like to know...Thank you again DG

Ma vie (entiere ) n'est qu'un cycle (7 syllables)(6 stresses)
Point du jour a nuit (it's not French) (5 syllables) (5 stresses) - Point de jour ni de nuit
Du lever du soleil à son couché
La lune traverse la (nuit)ciel ( 7 syllables) - LA nuit or LE ciel but not LA ciel
Jusqu'à ce que le jour éclaire
Jusqu`a demain ( arrive? revenir? two syllables or close needed) (5stresses) - Jusqu'à demain // Jusqu'à ce que demain arrive
but you can't say Jusqu'à demain arrive it is not French. you can say : Jusqu'à ce que demain arrive in this way (to make the syllabes shorter) [ju-ska-ske-d'min-a-rriv] (6 stresses)

Ma vie (entière) n'est qu'un cycle (perfect)
Et je ne sais pourquoi (perfect)
Les saisons tournent sans arrêt (perfect...I like it!)

Thank you again WannaB...especially for the phonetic prompts and "no nonsense" pointers as "it is not French!" just what I needed...Brilliant!.Can I please ask two questions'' :

i) Have you any ideas for the very last line For the "fit" of the song....Id like it to start (EtX) Les annees suivent (****) Im looking for one stress in the brackets
or something similar for the whole line of about 6 syllables translating " the years keep rolling by"
ii) My second question is How does this piece now sound to you in terms of meaning ...has it any resonance?

Ma vie n`est qu`un cycle
Point de jour ni de nuit
La lune traverse le ciel
Jusqua ce que demain arrive
Ma vie n`est qu`un cycle
Et je ne sais pourquoi
Les saisons tournent sans arret
Les annees suivent ****

i) Les annees suivent ****, if you want 6 syllabes, the only way is to say : Et les années suivent. that would implicitly means that the years follow the movement of the season, they all pass by.

ii) yes it has a strong meaning, make me think about someone who is fed-up of living the same routine everyday.

Thank you Wannabe...Et les annees suivent...it is..... Now I can pretend Im Edith Piaf especially with my favourite line which is the high and sustained "Je ne sais pourquoi !"...haha! it fits nicely with the original Now I`ll work on my pronunciation......sincere thanks again....David

Originally Posted by Dyavvy

Thank you Wannabe........sincere thanks again....David

Naaaan, rien de rieeen! *piaf*
de rien mon frère! (you're welcome my brother)!

Well WannaB, I thought I`d just let you know that I am really enjoying the chorus. I sing it everywhere...in the car etc.,etc.,but I`ll have to try it out on a sympathetic French audience at some stage I wish I`d learned French like this earlier .It gives you a better understanding of structure and meaning and provides a need....

I thought I`d be happy with just the chorus but now I`m wondering how one more verse would sound Can I please ask you to have a look at this verse WannaB

I`ve lost/ you a/ thous /and / times
1 2 3 4 5

I /guess you`ve/ done /the / same

And then/we come/ to/geth/er

Its just/ like a/ chil/drens`/game

And/as/I/find/you

One/more/time/this/thought

Comes/to/my/ mind//

Our love/is like/ a/ cir/cle

Lets go/round/one /more/time.....

This verse fits well into a pattern of 5 stresses....as you write poetry you probably know it as Iambic Pentameter (Shakespeares mode) ...I ve just put the stresses in for interest sake and the meter of the poem/song I realise a perfect fit all the time like the wonderful ... Je /ne /sais/ pour/ quoi !!!!! ...
is not always possble...the "Comes to my mind" line has a sustained note on mind.....Piaff again!!! hahaha!