Une Enfant du Siècle lyrics

[Roman]

Maybe you are right Surawood, but I think it's still a heavily metaphoric passage that's sort of vague. Here it is. As always some interpretation is necessary and this could be poorly worded in places if not wrong.

"Eden, Eden" lyrics by Jean-René Etienne in English by Roman (lasted edited 2010-12-12)

Nous sommes toutes les filles de l'Eden
Nous dévalons ses rues cendrées
Au coeur d'un éternal été

Nous sommes les demoiselles d'Eden
Les châtelaines au coeur scellé
Qui cède au quatorzième été

Les soleils mourants
De ces ciels voilés
Sont mes adieux en grand

Les soleils voilés
De ces ciels noyés
Sont mes adieux en grand

Au coeur du coeur de la nation
Toutes les jeunes filles sont des faucons
Les ombres refluent sous les buissons

Sur toutes les peaux vierges de l'Eden
S'envolent les colombes de l'Eden
Qui soufflent au génie du lieu
Leurs adieux

Les soleils mourants
De ces ciels voilés
Sont mes adieux en grand

Les soleils voilés
De ces ciels noyés
Sont mes adieux en grand

Le vent gonflait les voiles de l'Eden
Lançait les filles américaines
A l'assault de villes inhumaines

Couvre tes bras nus, ô mon Eden
Dans la vie on se quitte, on rompt
On finit seul sous les flocons
adieu

Les soleils mourants
De ces ciels voilés
Sont mes adieux en grand

Les soleils voilés
De ces ciels noyés
Sont mes adieux en grand

Les soleils mourants
De ces ciels voilés
Sont mes adieux en grand

Les soleils voilés
De ces ciels noyés
Sont mes adieux en grand

Promis, j'appellerai
Mais il le faut, je m'en vais
Dans le feuilleton des feuilles
Parmi les vaisseaux
Parmi les fusées de l'Eden

(en anglais, traduction par Roman Revell)

We are all girls of Eden
We tear down the ashen streets *7
In the heart of an eternal summer

We are the young women of Eden
The manor house ladies of the sealed heart *1
Who give in to the fourteenth summer

The fading suns
Of these veiled skies
Are my grand farewells

The veiled suns
Of these drowned skies
Are my grand farewells

At the center of the heart of the nation
All the young girls are hawks
The shadows slide back under the bushes

On all the virgin skins of Eden *6
Fly away the doves of Eden
Who whisper to the spirit of the place *2
Their farewells

The fading suns
Of these veiled skies
Are my grand farewells

The veiled suns
Of these drowned skies
Are my grand farewells

The wind filled the sails of Eden
Launched the American girls
Into an assault against inhumane cities

Cover your bare arms, oh my Eden
In life, we part, we break away
We end up alone under the specks *3
Oh, farewell

The fading suns
Of these veiled skies
Are my grand farewells

The veiled suns
Of these drowned skies
Are my grand farewells

The fading suns
Of these veiled skies
Are my grand farewells

The veiled suns
Of these drowned skies
Are my grand farewells

I promise, I will call
But it must be, I’m leaving
In the feuilleton of the sheets *4
Amongst the vessels
Amongst the rockets of Eden *5

*1 coeur scellé – here’s a graphic that should explain: http://fr.dawanda.com/product/7942518-Coeur-scelle
Explanation from PèreNoël at WordReference: In this context, yes, those chaste (morally pure) ladies declare that they don't surrender to boys' propositions... until they [are] 18... their hearts are sealed.
*2 “au génie du lieu” = "spirit of place" or "genius loci": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_place. I get the sense from this passage that it is using metaphor to say the girls vacate their “Eden” taking with them the magic of what makes their origin special. This could relate to Edie going to New York or in my opinion it works even better thinking about the young virgin Alizée leaving her home of Ajaccio to go to the big city of Paris. Who was Jean-René Etienne more inspired by?
*3 flocons means speck or flake. Flocons d’avoine means oat flakes or oat meal. Of snow it would mean snow flakes. "Toc de Mac" came up with a bible verse that might be related: "for dust you are and to dust you will return."
*4 “feuilleton: The part of a European newspaper devoted to light fiction, reviews, and articles of general entertainment.” (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/feuilletons) It also just means sheets in other contexts or even leaves. I think the idea of feuilleton, vaisseux, fusées are all units or vessels of a sort here and that’s why feuilleton is put first. So, it’s like a compilation of sheets in a serial fashion, maybe?
*5 Sounds like a lot of language thrown at us for expressing something of the feeling of finality, the rigor of running away.
*6 As opposed to flying away on feathers of wings I suppose. It's a song about the youth
*7 Tear down as in rush around. This evokes a bunch of girls playing in the streets.