Music: Marie-Lynn Hammond   Lyrics: Marie-Thérèse Hammond

être libre et partir comme un oiseau volage
sans connaître jamais ni son nom ni son âge
être libre et partir, ignorer le retour
et raconter au vent son cœur et son amour

être libre et sentir une nouvelle vie
battre son aile au vent sans frayeur, sans envie
être libre et voler vers un pays lointain
et fixer pour toujours un éternel matin

être libre en son cœur sans crainte qu’on le brise
exprimer un désir pour qu’il se réalise
comme le bel oiseau, tendre son aile et fuir*
être libre à jamais et ne jamais mourir

Translation:
to be free and to take flight like a bird on the wing
without ever knowing your own name or age
to be free and take flight, with no thought of returning
and to tell the wind the secrets of your heart and love

to be free and feel a new life
beating your wings on the wind without fear or longing
to be free and fly toward a far-away country
your gaze fixed forever on an eternal morning

to be free in your heart, without fear of getting it broken
to merely express a wish in order to have it come true
like the beautiful bird, to stretch out your wings and take flight*
to be free forever, and never to die

* Fuir is one of those wonderful French words that carries many nuances of meaning and for which there is no exact English equivalent. Depending on context it can mean “to escape,” “to flee,” “to take flight,” “to glide by swiftly,” or a combination of any or all of these. I think my mother intended something in between “take flight” and “escape.”–MLH