Here's the English translation I found on another site:
As long as the world's still turning,
As long as the air's still sweet,
Lord, won't you give to all of us
Whatever it is we need?
Give a mind to the wise one,
A shield to the enemy,
Give some gold to the happy man,
And don't forget about me.
As long as the world's still turning,
Lord, if it be your will,
Give to the hungry for power
A kingdom to rule his fill.
Give some rest to the generous
Under a shady tree,
Wash the stain from the face of Cain,
And don't forget about me.
I know that your powers are wondrous,
I believe that your ways are wise,
The way that a fallen soldier
Believes he's in paradise,
The way every breathing being
Believes in your gentle word,
The way, in our utter oblivion,
We keep on believing, oh Lord.
My all-wise, my all-merciful,
My sweet Lord of sea-green eyes,
As long as the world's still turning
To its eternal surprise,
As long as it still has plenty of
Fire and destiny,
Give a little to everyone
And don't forget about me.
Some background on Villon from Wikipedia: "Francois Villon is the best known French poet of the late Middle Ages. A ne'er-do-well who was involved in criminal behavior and got into numerous scrapes with authorities, Villon wrote about some of these experiences in his poems."
Here's the English translation I found on another site:
As long as the world's still turning, As long as the air's still sweet, Lord, won't you give to all of us Whatever it is we need? Give a mind to the wise one, A shield to the enemy, Give some gold to the happy man, And don't forget about me.
As long as the world's still turning, Lord, if it be your will, Give to the hungry for power A kingdom to rule his fill. Give some rest to the generous Under a shady tree, Wash the stain from the face of Cain, And don't forget about me.
I know that your powers are wondrous, I believe that your ways are wise, The way that a fallen soldier Believes he's in paradise, The way every breathing being Believes in your gentle word, The way, in our utter oblivion, We keep on believing, oh Lord.
My all-wise, my all-merciful, My sweet Lord of sea-green eyes, As long as the world's still turning To its eternal surprise, As long as it still has plenty of Fire and destiny, Give a little to everyone And don't forget about me.
Some background on Villon from Wikipedia: "Francois Villon is the best known French poet of the late Middle Ages. A ne'er-do-well who was involved in criminal behavior and got into numerous scrapes with authorities, Villon wrote about some of these experiences in his poems."