“Songs are very personal and they mean different things to us according to our own individual experiences. I’m including this one here because to me it speaks of a spiritual journey similar to that of recovery, a journey upwards to a place of wellbeing and beauty, a journey on which we must venture out on our own but which we cannot complete alone. It’s a long and difficult journey, one that calls for faith, courage, humility, wisdom, and perseverance. This song also speaks of Quebec and its struggles, and of Ginette Reno an her own struggles. Her last major performance of it was in 1975 before an audience of more than 300,000 wildly cheering fans in Montreal’s Mount Royal. Thirty-three years later and older, and despite many health issues, she surpassed herself in the 2008 performance we’re featuring here with Celine Dion. Now Aged 77 and still in poor health (she’ currently hospitalized) Ginette Reno is not about to give up on life—or on singing. She still wants to go “a little higher, a little further.” She has earned our admiration and our gratitude. We can only hope that, by the grace of God, we may be able to marshal the same strength of spirit in the face of our own challenges as we “trudge the Road of Happy Destiny,” so that, rising above whatever hurdles we may encounter, we too may be blessed to sing “c’est beau.”
Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin / A little higher, a little further
Je veux aller un peu plus loin / I want to go a little further
Je veux voir comment c'est là-haut / I want to see what it’s like up there
Garde mon bras, tiens ma main /Grasp my arm, hold my hand
Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin / A little higher, a little further
Je veux aller encore plus loin / I want to go a little further
Laisse mon bras mais tiens ma main / Let go of my arm, but hold my hand
Je n'irai pas plus loin qu'il faut / I won’t go further than is necessary
Encore un pas, encore un saut /Another step, another jump
Une tempête et un ruisseau / A storm and then a brook
Prends garde, prends garde, j'ai laissé ta main / beware, Beware, I’ve released your hand
Attends-moi là-bas je reviens / Wait for me down there, I’ll be back.
Encore un pas, un petit pas / Another Step, one little step
Encore un saut et je suis là / Still another hop and I’ll be there
Là-haut si je ne tombe pas / Up there, if I don’t fall
Non, j'y suis, je ne tombe pas / No, I’m there, I didn’t fall, No
C'est beau, c'est beau /It’s beautiful, its beutiful
Si tu voyais le monde au fond, là-bas / if you saw the world at the bottom, down there
C'est beau, c'est beau / It’s beautiful, it's beautiful
La mer plus petite que soi /The sea smaller than we are
Mais tu ne me vois pas / But you can no longer see me
Un peu plus loin, un peu plus seul /A little further, a little more alone
Je ne veux pas être loin tout seul / I don’t want to be far and all alone
Viens voir ici comme on est bien /Come and see how good it feels here
Quand on est haut, comme on est bien / When we are up here, how good it feels
Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin /A little higher, a little further
Je ne peux plus te tenir la main /I cannot hold on to your hand anymore,
Dis-moi comment j'ai pu monter / Tell me how I went up
Comment descendre sans tomber /How to go down and yet not fall
Un peu plus loin, un peu plus fort / A little further, a little stronger
Encore un saut, essaye encore / Another hop, another try
Je voudrais te tendre les bras /I would like to stretch my arms out to you
Je suis trop haut, tu es trop bas /But I’m too far above, you too far below
Encore un pas, un petit pas / One more step, one little step
Tu es trop loin, je t'aime / You are too far, I love you
Adieu, adieu, je reviendrai / Good bye, Good bye, I will return
Si je redescends sans tomber / If I can to go down and yet not fall
C'est beau, c'est beau / It’s beautiful, Its’ beautiful
To listen to Un peu plus haut, or return to The Language of the Heart, please click on link.
