Ne me quitte pas

DON'T LEAVE ME

Don't leave me, we must forget,
Everything can be forgotten that's already running away,
Forget the time of misunderstandings
And the time lost to know how
To forget these hours that would sometimes kill,
With many "why", the heart of happiness,
Don't leave me, don't leave me.

I'll give* you pearls of rain
Come from countries where it doesn't rain.
I'll dig the earth till after my death
To cover your body with gold and light.
I'll make a domain/land where love will be the king,
Where love will be the law, where you'll be the queen. Don't leave me

Don't leave me, I'll invent you
Mad** words that you'll understand;
I'll tell you about these lovers
Who saw twice their hearts set alight,
I'll tell you the story of this king
Who died from not knowing/meeting you***. Don't leave me…

We've often seen fire springing again
From the ancient volcano that we thought too old,
There are, they say, burnt grounds/lands/earths
That give more wheat that a better April,
And when evening comes, so that the sky blaze up,
Don't red and black blend together? Don't leave me.

Don't leave me; I'm going to cry no more,
I'm going to cry no more, I'll hide there,
To watch you dance and smile
And to listen to you sing and then laugh.
Let me become the shadow of your shadow,
The shadow of your hand, the shadow of your dog. Don't leave me…

Translator notes:
*offrir is to give as a present, not just to give-period. Could it be translated by "treat"?
** insensé literally means "meaningless, nonsensical" so "mad, crazy"
*** meet is probably more appropriate

A sung translation of this song, "If You Go Away," was written by Rod McKuen and introduced in 1966.