Le billard électrique [English translation]

"It's not worth watching the clock"

Said the bar landlord.

"The hands never move

She is late!

Go play some pinball

It passes the time and it feels good..."

He puts his twenty francs in the machine

A clicking sound!

The balls jump to attention!

The first leaps like a maniac.

It escapes, it chimes, it lights up everywhere!

Ding! Ding! It crackles like a machine gun

Ding! Tilt it... Ding! An opening blossoms!

A pin-up girl lights up from head to toe

At the bottom of the frosted, glass display case.

One hundred thousand! It's the ballet of magic numbers!

Two hundred! Re-ding-ding!!

The ball isn't listening...

It drops into the sideline as though seized with panic

Damn! Failed!... Eight hours...

She won't come...

"What's the point in keeping an eye on the door?",

Said the landlord,

"No need to get worked up

You're a good-looking kid

Her, she's not dead!

There are plenty more fish in the sea..."

He refills the machine with twenty francs.

With his nervous hands, he stretches out the spring.

The ball scatters all over in electric flashes,

However, not as much

As what's there in his body...

Ah! The bloody bitch! She will still go...

Re-ding! Ding! That's it!

Five hundred in the hole!!

A match for him. He understands the system

And ding! And re-ding!! It's becoming nerve-racking...

Ding! Ding! It grabs hold of him, he shakes, he bumps it...

Ding! As if it were...

"Stop! You better watch out...!

He'll break everything," said the angry landlord

Damn! The game switched off!... Nine hours...

No more hope...

He apologises, he goes away, pale,

With relaxed nerves, but his heart so big.

"He'll play somewhere else"

Said the straight-speaking landlord

"He'll play somewhere else, or go jump in the river..."

Ding! One hundred thousand! Ding! Ding! Two hundred thousand! Three hundred!

Four hundred! Five hundred thousand!

Ding! Ding! Ding! Re-ding! Ding! DING!... TILT!!!