The world is fool

Eugène Pottier
The world is fool

As I go, staring at the sand,
Bumping into everyone, chewing words,
I am the fable of this hamlet:
I am mocked by the kids.

As on my unruly skull,
The shower is a frequent occurrence,
They take me for an imbecile.
Who is the fool, the world or me?...
[Who is the fool, the world or me?...]

Yes, I am foolish to more than one wise man,
As soon as I open my mouth,
I have against me the law, custom,
The thoughtless and the prudent.

And it's good for me to be a poet,
"Going to the cool without knowing where."
"Leave it! He's out of his mind!"
The world or me, who is the fool?
[Who is the madman, the world or me?…]
[Who is the madman, the world or me?…]

They think my mind is in the clouds
When I maintain that in truth
The planet, common mother,
Is pregnant with humanity;

That the embryo precedes the being,
That they take the accident for the law,
And that man is yet to be born...
Who is the madman, the world or me?
[Who is the madman, the world or me?…]
[Who is the madman, the world or me?…]

I know that they think I am demented
When, enlightened by our instincts,
I describe the immense spiral
Where our destinies will gravitate

And when my mind prophesies
And goes with a free rein,
They say, "Let the crisis pass!"
The world or me, who is the madman?
[Who is the madman, the world or me?…]
[Who is the madman, the world or me?…]

My extravagance hurts them,
Even when, speaking more quietly,
I pity the ignorance that leaves
Arms without land and land without arms;

My breath does not stir the waves;
They answer me, "Every man for himself!"
"Then, after us, the end of the world!"
Who is the madman, the world or me?
[Who is the madman, the world or me?…]
[Who is the madman, the world or me?…]

But I affirm and their reason denies.
Am I mad? No, their reason lies.
In the new world, in Harmony,
I believe as the magnet believes in the north!

Like it, nothing turns me away;
At Bicêtre under lock and key,
I would still say: "It turns!"
The world or me, who is the madman?
[Who is the................?]