The French version of this song was recorded by Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf, Martha Wainwright, Les Compagnons del la Chanson, and Karen Akers.

The English version was recorded by Oscar Brown, Jr., Peter and Gordon, Noel Harrison, Cher, and Howard Kaylan. I like Brown's best.

I verified the English lyrics against a recording by Brown. I downloaded the French text from the internet, and I'm afraid I'm not quite fluent enough to vouch for their accuracy.

On the whole, the translation seems pretty good to me.


A YOUNG GIRL (UNE ENFANT)
English lyric by Oscar Brown, Jr., original French lyric by Charles Aznavour,
Music by Charles Aznavour and Robert Chauvigny.
As sung by Oscar Brown, Jr. on "Tells It Like It Is" (1963)

She left her neighborhood in which
Everyone was filthy rich.
She left her parents' home and strayed
With a vagabond who made
Vows of love she'd never heard
And she believed his every word.
She left no forwarding address,
Just took her youth and happiness,
As with the boy she vanished in
The secret sweetness of their sin.

A young girl, a young girl of sixteen,
Child of springtime still green,
Lying here by the road.

He told her love demanded space,
So they roamed from place to place.
Although she realized she sinned,
She threw caution to the wind
As she followed him around,
While he just slowly dragged her down.
So overpowering was her love,
That it had made a captive of
The young girl's heart and soul and mind.
In other words, love drove her blind.

A young girl, a young girl of sixteen,
Child of springtime still green,
Lying here by the road.

Too much emotion for a girl,
She let her heart become her world,
But worlds that God has never wrought
Fall asunder, we are taught.
Had she been wiser, she'd have known
She couldn't feed him love alone.
She should have known the day would come
When he would quit her just for crumbs.
He wanted fresh new meat to carve,
And left her heart, soul and mind to starve.

A young girl, a young girl of sixteen,
Child of springtime still green,
Lying here by the road,
Dead!

[Here are Aznavour's original lyrics:]

Une enfant, une enfant de seize ans
Une enfant du printemps
Couchée sur le chemin.

Elle vivait dans un de ces quartiers
Où tout le monde est riche à crever
Elle avait quitté ses parents
Pour suivre un garçon, un bohème
Qui savait si bien dire "je t'aime"
Ça en devenait bouleversant
Et leurs deux coeurs ensoleillés
Partirent sans laisser d'adresse
Emportant juste leur jeunesse
Et la douceur de leur péché

Une enfant, une enfant de seize ans
Une enfant du printemps
Couchée sur le chemin.

Leurs coeurs n'avaient pas de saisons
Et ne voulaient pas de prison
Tous deux vivaient au jour le jour
Ne restant jamais à la même place
Leurs coeurs avaient besoin d'espace
Pour contenir un tel amour
Son présent comme son futur
C'était cet amour magnifique
Qui la berçait comme d'un cantique
Et perdait ses yeux dans l'azur

Une enfant, une enfant de seize ans
Une enfant du printemps
Couchée sur le chemin.

Mais son amour était trop grand
Trop grand pour l'âme d'une enfant
Elle ne vivait que par son coeur
Et son coeur se faisait un monde
Mais Dieu n'accepte pas les mondes
Dont il n'est pas le Créateur
L'amour étant leur seul festin
Il la quitta pour quelques miettes
Alors sa vie battit en retraite
Et puis l'enfant connut la faim

Une enfant, une enfant de seize ans
Une enfant du printemps
Couchée sur le chemin
Morte!