Verse 1
To this cathedral city where we walked the streets,
To this girl, on the canal we saw,
We chose each other by chance, a bit like throwing dice
To emerge from our fog, to find each other again.
Your name was Malika, and the wind carried your name
Like a prayer below, in the alleyways, in unison.
Verse 2
We were both sitting on that stone bench,
We watched its waves, holding each other close, proud.
You told me of the sea you saw in my eyes,
I drank in your light, believing myself happy.
Malika laughed softly, and her head on my shoulder
Was sweeter than anything faith can console.
Chorus
Before even throwing coins into the water,
Before even stealing candles,
Before making all those promises to that virgin,
I promised you, Malika, dawns and fires,
Without knowing that love breaks, and that we survive so little.
Verse 3
I remember your sun, as long as it still burns my skin,
My head resting on your shoulder, that peace.
Malika slept against my side, in the room with closed shutters,
And the world was a child playing with words.
Verse 4
But when I told you how much I love you,
And that I want to spend my life with you,
Sometimes tender, sometimes cruel,
You smiled at me, then you denied me, Malika,
Like extinguishing a candle before nightfall.
Verse 5
A hundred times I thought I saw you coming in the misty morning,
But may all the devils take you,
Why knock at my door, why run far from us?
You left one winter evening without looking back,
And I called your name in vain in this wet village.
Verse 6
Then you returned, one day when the bells were silent,
Pale as the moon, trembling, broken.
Malika, in my arms, your breath grew small,
You whispered "I love you," and then life fled from you.
I held you for a long time, my heart still in the rain,
And since then I keep you within me like a silent church.
Verse 7
Now I am alone in the world, I no longer even have a gift,
I see neither the roaring water nor the lovers on the bridge.
Malika rests in my veins, more present than ever,
And every street leads me back to that bench where we loved each other.
Final Chorus
Before even throwing coins into the water,
Before stealing candles,
Before even making all those promises, like traps,
I had placed my life in your hands, Malika,
And it was you who loved me when you died in my arms.
ManuThevenet