This song has a long and dramatic history and for me it's a closure to a story that happened more than 15 years ago. Just this year I finally found back an old draft and changed almost everything to make it what it has become now.
The song is featured on Ponies at Dawn: Pandemonium, which I consider a nice coincidence because we started to work on it even before the album was announced. You can get it here: poniesatdawn.bandcamp.com/album/pandemonium
lyrics
Toi qui, comme un coup de couteau,
Dans mon coeur plaintif es entrée;
Toi qui, forte comme un troupeau
De démons, vins, folle et parée,
De mon esprit humilié
Faire ton lit et ton domaine; —
Infâme à qui je suis lié
Comme le forçat à la chaîne,
Comme au jeu le joueur têtu,
Comme à la bouteille l'ivrogne,
Comme aux vermines la charogne —
Maudite, maudite sois-tu!
J'ai prié le glaive rapide
De conquérir ma liberté,
Et j'ai dit au poison perfide
De secourir ma lâcheté.
Hélas! le poison et le glaive
M'ont pris en dédain et m'ont dit:
«Tu n'es pas digne qu'on t'enlève
À ton esclavage maudit,
Imbécile! — de son empire
Si nos efforts te délivraient,
Tes baisers ressusciteraient
Le cadavre de ton vampire!»
English version:
You, who like a dagger ploughed
Into my heart with deadly thrill:
You who, stronger than a crowd
Of demons, mad, and dressed to kill,
Of my dejected soul have made
Your bed, your lodging, and domain:
To whom I'm linked (Unseemly jade!)
As is a convict to his chain,
Or as the gamester to his dice,
Or as the drunkard to his dram,
Or as the carrion to its lice —
I curse you. Would my curse could damn!
I have besought the sudden blade
To win for me my freedom back.
Perfidious poison I have prayed
To help my cowardice. Alack!
Both poison and the sword disdained
My cowardice, and seemed to say
"You are not fit to be unchained
From your damned servitude. Away,
You imbecile! since if from her empire
We were to liberate the slave,
You'd raise the carrion of your vampire,
By your own kisses, from the grave."
credits
released September 1, 2023
Velvet R. Wings — song itself, vocals, half of the choir, video, artwork, tears and screams
Mane In Green — music, orchestration, guitar, second half of the choir, mixing and mastering
Koron Korak — violin
Valerio Magli — bass, synth bass
Charles Baudelaire — the original poem
Andy Feelin and Soul Strings — emotional support
As an English version we used Roy Campbell's translation (Poems of Baudelaire, New York: Pantheon Books, 1952).
The pictured flowers are: Christmas rose, red Chrysanthemum and Jonquil
supported by 8 fans who also own “Les Fleurs du Mal: Le Vampire (feat. Koron Korak et Valerio Magli)”
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