The Dance at the Little Suburb – Music by J.P. Petit; Lyrics by J.P. Petit and Annick Desandre
Java
In each verse, we alternate between minor and major tones. An E7 chord facilitates the transition from major to minor.
It was a May evening…
At the dance in the little suburb…
I went there with a happy heart…
Searching for my lovers…
The stars were shining brightly…
The accordion played on…
My skirt fluttered in the wind…
And my heart sighed with joy…
I saw them under the arbor…
Tenderly entwined together…
My unfaithful lover…
And little Dédé’s girl…
They whispered sweet words to each other…
They swore to love each other forever…
They forgot everything else…
They thought only of love…
And I, poor girl…
Betrayed by his promises…
I wore a sad expression…
Crying over my lost lover…
My heart was broken…
Faced with my lover’s betrayal…
I lost all reason…
Then Dédé came along…
My heart filled with emotion…
He said, “Come, Germaine… Dance with me.”
Hugging him tightly, I felt his heartbeat…
I forgot all my worries… All my sorrows…
Enchanted by the music…
Carried away by the rhythm of the Java…
In that magical night…
We danced gracefully…
The dance was so joyful…
I didn’t even notice how time passed…
How I changed partners…
Amidst the lilacs…
When I looked up…
I found myself in the arms of a handsome guy with blue eyes…
He seemed kind and charming…
He said, “You’re lovely… You smell like spring.”
Just moments ago, I was miserable…
My heart was broken…
But it took so little to bring me joy again…
It’s wonderful to be with someone while dancing the Java…
Let’s keep dancing…
For love is like the flip side of reality…
We laugh, we love, we cry…
We want to destroy everything…
But we quickly forget about that first kiss…
It was a May evening…
At the dance in the little suburb…
I returned home with a happy heart…
Forgetting all my troubles…
The stars faded away…
The accordion fell silent…
My skirt fluttered in the wind…
And my heart smiled…