Apollinaire Lyrics

Apollinaire lyrics

From Saint-Germain-des-Pres

To Place Edgar Quinet

Un flaneur supercool

Un boulevardier



Born in Rome, near the Spanish Stairs

A guy called Guy, Guy Apollinaire

A nom de plume, a nom de guerre

For nursing poetry like an au pair



A guy named Guy Apollinaire

Apollinaire



From Montmartre to Parnasse

The most obscure of his deeds

Had a tremendous purpose

Mastered the rules of rhyme and meter

At life's banquet he was a big eater



From Saint-Germain-des-Pres

To Place Edgar Quinet

Un flaneur supercool, un boulevardier

Led the avant garde from the top of Montmartre

Part Baudelaire, part Warhol superstar



Said he spirited Mona Lisa from the Louvre

But the writer of 'Alcools' was a spirits lover

Lived in the zone of pure desire

The great French language versifier