Veni Vidi Vici's translation and analysis

[INDUSTRIAL]

I found no translation or analysis in the forum, so I decided to make one.

It is about love between Cleopatra and Caesar, at least I believe so.
They sided and fought against Queen Arsinoe IV and King Ptolemy XIII of Alexandria and Egypt during the Alexandrine civil war.
So simply
1. Caesar and Cleopatra were on the verge of being defeated.
2. But they won an unlikely victory.
3. Ptolemy and enemies drowned.
4. Caesar enjoys victory.
5. Caesar makes love with Cleopatra, a Lolita.
6. Cleopatra becomes pregnant.
7. Caesar leaves Cleopatra to fight more battles.

Refrain is about Caesar reflecting himself.

Compare Cleopatra with Lolita, if you have time.

Veni Vidi Vici means " I cam I saw I conquered in Latin.
Caesar said VVV to senators after some wars, including the one mentioned in Alizee's VVV.


Translation


A hint of bliss
A temperament that makes people laugh
Because anything can happen,
The weather says it's easier
If we met:
A lemon in the water,
Changing taste, without changing the hydra
Life is beautiful spice, enlivens
The life that piques and grows like a field of wheat

Veni, Vedi, Vici
It's also very lucky that little by little bird made its nest, cosy
Veni, Vedi, Vici
My lucky star shines,
I have no flow
I was there and I like that

A hint of femininity.
With a bodily girl (gamine)
The languages are facilitated, juror
The Latin I like jacket,

A hint of infancy
When I say everything is moving too quickly
Here ensure mums, I
In the distance the bells of the city,
lives the wind ...






Translation is extremely awkward. Sorry.
But here comes analyzed version and analysis.
From August, 48 BC until January, 47 BC, Julius Caesar
was beleagured in Alexandria, Egypt with Cleopatra only about 4,000 men.
A hint of bliss <-- Mithridates of Pergamum, who came from Turkey (Asia Minor) to save J. Caesar.
A temperament that makes people laugh <--With unexpected reinforcements, Caesar defeats Egyptians at the Battle of Nile.
Because anything can happen,
The weather says it's easier
If we met:
A lemon in the water, <-- Sea was generally unfavourable to him. Caesar had been captured by pirates on sea, and during the Civil War with Pompey, lacked any navy.
Changing taste, without changing the hydra <--This time, the sea changed its target, but not its harmfulness and malice.
Ptolemy and thousands of Caesar's enemies drowned.
Life is beautiful spice, enlivens <--Caesar is now happy and enjoys life
The life that piques and grows like a field of wheat

Veni, Vedi, Vici
It's also very lucky that little by little bird made its nest, cosy <--Caesar came to rule the world step by sep. At first he lived on a poor and persecuted lif. But by little by litte, strengthened his political power.
Veni, Vedi, Vici
My lucky star shines, He enjoys his victory
I have no flaw <-- He does not lose
I was there and I like that <--He lived in a tumulous era, but he like what he had become.

A hint of femininity. <--Cleopatra is still a young girl, but is becoming a womenWith a bodily girl (gamine) <--But really sexy.
The languages are facilitated, juror <-- Language barrier is easend. language does not matter, when they love. (Cleopatra spoke Greek while Caesar spoke Latin)The Latin I like jacket,

A hint of infancy <--Cleopatra is now pregnant.
When I say everything is moving too quickly <--But he is not ready. Historically, he denies Cleopatra's son, who is genetically his son, as his son and appoints Octavian (Octavianus) as his heir.
Here ensure mums, I <--There are two mums because Caesar already had one before
In the distance the bells of the city, <--He leaves Alexandria for more battles, power and honour
lives the wind ... <-- Caesar's life was like a wind

[INDUSTRIAL]

Actual lyric
Un zeste de félicité
Un tempérament qui fait rire
Parce que tout peut bien arriver,
Le temps nous dit c'est plus facile
Si on met :
Un zeste de citron dans l'eau,
Changer le goût, sans changer l'hydre
La vie est belle pimentée, corsée
La vie qui pique
Qui pousse comme un champ de blé

Veni, Vedi, Vici
C'est de la chance aussi
tout petit à petit
l'oiseau qui fait son nid, douillet
Veni, Vedi, Vici
Ma bonne étoile luit, je n'ai
Pas de mea culpa
J'suis bien là et j'aime ça

Un zeste de féminité
Sur un corps-puce de gamine
Les langues sont facilitées, juré
Le latin je l'aime en chemise,

Un zeste de balbutiements
Quand je me dis : tout va trop vite
C'est là que veillent les mamans, j'entends
Au loin les cloches de la ville,
Vive le vent ...

[Deepwaters]

Now that's interesting. I wouldn't have thought of Caesar and Cleopatra as a theme for VVV, but it makes sense looking at some of the lyrics. Now I'm going to have to closer look at that song.

Their relationship incidentally is misunderstood by a lot of people, as is she, mostly thanks to the malice of Octavian/Augustus. It's not really correct to call her a Lolita, as she was in her 20s at the time, not a teenage girl. He was much older than she was, but he wasn't an old man; he was a very fit, brilliant, and handsome man in his 50s -- although bald. :p

As Pharaoh, she had to marry someone and have children, and he had to be a god on earth, not just an ordinary man. Normally, she would have married another Ptolemy, ideally her brother, but the only candidate was hostile to her. Caesar was being called a god on earth throughout the eastern Mediterranean, so she decided he would do. She followed him to Rome, at least partly because she needed a sister for Caesarion so the Egyptian royal incest could continue in tradition. She may have also been in love with him, but we really don't know for sure. Their relationship lasted until he was assassinated. After that, she took up with Marcus Antonius, who was Caesar's cousin and so carried the necessary divine blood.

She wasn't promiscuous at all, nor was she a great beauty. But she was a great queen and a brilliant politician.

[INDUSTRIAL]

She wasn't promiscuous at all, nor was she a great beauty. But she was a great queen and a brilliant politician.

I disagree. She slept with not only Caesar, but with other men such as Anthony. Also, she is recorded as one of the most beautiful. She was a great queen because she was promiscuous and beautiful. She used her beauty for politics.


After that, she took up with Marcus Antonius, who was Caesar's cousin and so carried the necessary divine blood.


She did not need divine blood, since she already had born son of Caesar. Caesar is considered to be a progeny of Gods. Caesar's son has much more divine blood than son of Anthony. Cleopatra intended Caesar's son to be the Emperor and Pharaoh. There was no need for more divine blood. She was just being a flirt and falling in love.

Also, Cleopatra was only 21 when she met Caesar, still very young in that era where people matured slower than now. She perfectly matches the Lolita image.

[Deepwaters]

I disagree. She slept with not only Caesar, but with other men such as Anthony.


All the evidence we have is that she was a virgin until Caesar, was faithful to Caesar until he was murdered, and had sex only with Antonius after Caesar died. The rest is Augustus' propaganda. Augustus' original power base came from being Caesar's adopted son. Caesarion, being Caesar's actual son, was a potential threat to his power, not in Rome (where no son of a non-Roman woman could hold power), but in the East. So his slanders against Cleopatra were at root designed to suggest that Caesarion wasn't really Caesar's son. There was no truth to them at all.


Also, she is recorded as one of the most beautiful.


Here we have no doubt, because we have coins with her likeness on them and statuary. She was by no means beautiful. She was skinny as a rail and had a nose like you wouldn't believe. But for a man like Caesar, there's a kind of beauty that any really intelligent woman has, it shines from the eyes, and animates her whole face. She didn't need to be beautiful. Which was a good thing, because she wasn't. :p


She did not need divine blood, since she already had born son of Caesar. Caesar is considered to be a progeny of Gods. Caesar's son has much more divine blood than son of Anthony. Cleopatra intended Caesar's son to be the Emperor and Pharaoh. There was no need for more divine blood. She was just being a flirt and falling in love.


As I explained, she needed another child, a girl, so that Caesarion could be married to his sister and the line could continue. Caesarion by himself wasn't enough. Caesar was dead. She needed either a Ptolemy or a Julian to father more children. Antony was a Julian. I don't know if she and Antonius were in love, but even if they were, there was another, completely calculating reason behind her involvement with him, and the love came later.


Also, Cleopatra was only 21 when she met Caesar, still very young in that era where people matured slower than now. She perfectly matches the Lolita image.

Whether people matured slower than now or not, it was customary for women to marry as early as 16, or earlier. Cleopatra was a full-fledged adult and had been ruling Egypt for several years already. Lolita in the sense of Nabokov's novel needs to be about 12-14; Lolita in the sense of Alizée's song can be a little older, but no 20-somethings need apply.

You're expressing a lot of the popular misconceptions about Cleopatra. I can understand why you believe these things, lots of people do. I've studied that period of history extensively, though. Trust me on this, they're not true.

[Ange]

When I read the lyrics I see a girl flirting with a boy and she's saying I know you like me, I've already got you under my spell.

[Youpidou1]

I love this song, it's really soothing and just a great song if your down or bummed about something. I didn't get my DVD yet and I was like awww that stinks then I listen to this song and I spring right up to a smile. :D

[Matze]

I've a question about this song concerning the title. Everywhere I see that the song is called "Veni Vedi Vici", also in the songtext at the first post in this thread. Well, I despise Latin very much, yeah, but I still now that it has to be called "Veni Vidi Vici". Therefore I want to know if it's a mistake of Mylene or a mistake of all this webpages. :confused:

[lefty12357]

On the Gourmandises CD the name of the song is spelled Veni Vedi Vici. I did a google search and this spelling comes up often, but I would say Veni Vidi Vici comes up the most.

[Matze]

Well, I think many of the "Veni Vedi Vici" results are there because of Lili's song. ;)
Generally it has to be called "Vidi", if the songtitle is really based on the Ceasar quote, because it comes from the verb "videre" (to see).

[mal]

A hint of bliss
A temperament that makes people laugh

-Alizee's personality

Because anything can happen,
The weather says it's easier
If we met:
A lemon in the water,
Changing taste, without changing the hydra
Life is beautiful spice, enlivens
The life that piques and grows like a field of wheat

Alizee goes from unknown to know - lemon to lemonade but the core is the same.


Veni, Vedi, Vici
It's also very lucky that little by little bird made its nest, cosy
Veni, Vedi, Vici
My lucky star shines,
I have no flow
I was there and I like that

Alizee always speaks of her lucky star. Alizee came and became a huge star because of her lucky star.


A hint of femininity.
With a bodily girl (gamine)
The languages are facilitated, juror
The Latin I like jacket,


Both women and little girl is Alizee


A hint of infancy
When I say everything is moving too quickly
Here ensure mums, I
In the distance the bells of the city,
lives the wind ...


infancy - lolita
bells of city - paris
lives the wind - Alizee (gastonomic)

Alizee in Paris

A song about Alizee in my opinion.


Are you sure this translated correctly?:
The languages are facilitated, juror
The Latin I like jacket

[Tical 808]

Nice translation Mal :)

[ajaccio corsica]

hi
well, the bells of the city, it could be everywhere, it's just a song
you could say the bells of clermond-ferrand, bombay or bamako
nothing in the song is linked to paris :confused:
imagine a hawaiian singing a song about the bells of the city, it could be everywhere, not specially ackron ohio or something
I know I'm gonna make most of you jump off their chair but she's lived most of the time in a city called ajaccio
cheers

[Yaceman]

hi
well, the bells of the city, it could be everywhere, it's just a song
you could say the bells of clermond-ferrand, bombay or bamako
nothing in the song is linked to paris :confused:
imagine a hawaiian singing a song about the bells of the city, it could be everywhere, not specially ackron ohio or something
I know I'm gonna make most of you jump off their chair but she's lived most of the time in a city called ajaccio
cheers

I love you dude.

[mal]

hi
well, the bells of the city, it could be everywhere, it's just a song
you could say the bells of clermond-ferrand, bombay or bamako
nothing in the song is linked to paris :confused:
imagine a hawaiian singing a song about the bells of the city, it could be everywhere, not specially ackron ohio or something
I know I'm gonna make most of you jump off their chair but she's lived most of the time in a city called ajaccio
cheers


for some reason I thought paris was the city of bells.

Then I change my interpretation to

In the distance the bells of the city,
lives the wind ...

-Far away in Ajaccio amongst beautiful women lives Alizee

in the distance (from Paris) - Ajaccio
bells of the city - belles beautys of the city
lives the wind - lives alizee

[mal]

Nice translation Mal :)


thanks Tical but I think you mean transalation. I know very little French. Im relying ont he translation above.

[ajaccio corsica]

hi
C'est là que veillent les mamans, j'entends
Au loin les cloches de la ville,
Vive le vent ...
her mum lives in ajaccio and her house is located near the cathedral, I'm not sure but it could be here, huh?
vive le vent: it's a child song, vive le vent, vive le vent vive le vent d'hiver etc... related to her childhood in the imperial city
cheers

[Youpidou1]

Does this song make anyone else cry? Or shed a tear? I love this song so much.

[tracker]

I've a question about this song concerning the title. Everywhere I see that the song is called "Veni Vedi Vici", also in the songtext at the first post in this thread. Well, I despise Latin very much, yeah, but I still now that it has to be called "Veni Vidi Vici". Therefore I want to know if it's a mistake of Mylene or a mistake of all this webpages. :confused:

Other Romance languages have similar verb conjugations but with different spellings. Occitan and Catalan spell it "vedi" and it means the same thing as the Latin. I doubt it was a mistake. Perhaps, by using that spelling, instead of the famous Latin version, it implies something subtle that we don't quite understand because of the language/cultural barrier.

BTW, the translation given here isn't very accurate. I'm not fluent by any means, but there are obvious mistakes. This I think is a more accurate translation, of course, because I'm not fluent, there may still be mistakes (idioms are the bane of our existence!) and the only way to correct them would be to have someone fluent in both languages translate it.

Veni, Vedi, Vici

A dash of bliss
A laughing temperament
Because anything can happen
Time says it's easier
If we put:

A dash of citrus in the water,
It changes the taste, without changing the hydra
Life is a beautiful, spicy chili
Life which stings
Which grows like a corn field

I came, I saw, I conquered
It is a chance too
All little by little
The bird that nests, cozy
I came, I saw, I conquered
My good star shines, I have not
It's not my fault
I am good there and I love it

A dash of femininity

On a smart-bodied kid
Languages are easier, swear
Latin I love it in skin *(I think this may be an idiom, as it makes no sense literally)

A dash of infancy
When I say: it all goes too fast
It is what ensures the mothers, I mean
Far away the bells of the village,
Biting the wind...

[User22]

I love this song, it's really soothing and just a great song if your down or bummed about something. I didn't get my DVD yet and I was like awww that stinks then I listen to this song and I spring right up to a smile. :D

Listened to it today and it brought dancing and smiles to me haha

[peterjames12]

Really this is very useful translation for that language people. They can easily access this song perfectly and also they can enjoy very well.

[Jazzmin]

Your interpretations are epic, I've read them with my very great interest. My view is completely different, though, I would've never guessed it can be about Cleopatra O_o .

Firstly, I think it contains many references to Alizée as a person, just like many "Gourmandises"/MCE songs do ("Gourmandises" - Alizée likes eating sweets, "Parler tout bas" - Alizée is 16, "Mon maquis" - Alizée has a brother, etc.). I can recall someone supposing Mylene did it to make amends to her young protegée for the girl did not write her lyrics herself so they might not have been exactly what she wanted to sing. The two following albums of Alizée are not THAT directly personal. It is "5" where she comes back to describe her very own relationships...

But I shan't bore you with my off-topic tittle-tattle, shall I? Going on with my on-topic tattle, I think it is a song how a young, pretty, cheerful girl achieves her dreams and how easy it is for her. This truly fits in Alizée's story, as she was given a chance to become a singer, accepted it and did not regret it! Ma bonne étoile luit, j'suis bien là et j'aime ça - this the way that statement is expressed.

Generally, the song mentions "ingredients" needed to be liked and loved by others. They are not what she worked out herself but some things she was delighted to get from the fate - her beauty, her youth, her charm. And not to mention her sexual attractiveness. For example, un zeste de citron dans l'eau is bound to be a reference to "Lemon Incest", a song written by Serge Gainsbourg, sung by him and his daughter. Just like Mylene, Serge liked word plays, double meanings. The phrase "Inceste de citron" was supposed to be a word play between it and "Un zeste de citron" for they sound kind of similar. The song describes a sexual relationship between a girl and her dad... No need to tell you it was controversial, huh?

Anyway, the expression reveals to us the girl from the song succeds thanks to being attractive. Other than the infamous lemon, I'd like to point out also "l'eau" that appears a damnly common word but in fact here it stands for "Alizée". Why? Well, "l'eau" sounds like "Lo" (Lolita), Mylene uses the same double meaning in "Moi... Lolita". And it stands for Alizée because she played a part of Lolita when being on the stage.

Vidi has been changed into Vedi to sound more Alizée-like. As far as I reckon, it's taken from Corsican, right? The corsée word is also a wink-wink to the listener, for it is a little print, reminding us where our angel comes from ;) . Au loin les cloches de ma ville - "ville" refers to Ajaccio of course, I am not acknowledged enough and shamefully, I am unable to reveal to you where the bells ring. But Alizée surely knows and can tell you if you meet her :D . And Vive le vent… means "long live Alizée" - because her name means a "trade wind", so she is kind of a "wind".