When they poured across the border
I was cautioned to surrender
This I could not do
I took my gun and vanished.
I have changed my name so often
I’ve lost my wife and children
But I have many friends
And some of them are with me
An old woman gave us shelter
Kept us hidden in the garret
Then the soldiers came
She died without a whisper
There were three of us this morning
I’m the only one this evening
But I must go on
The frontiers are my prison
Oh, the wind, the wind is blowing
Through the graves the wind is blowing
Freedom soon will come
Then we’ll come from the shadows
Les Allemands étaient chez moi
Ils me dirent, “résigne toi”
Mais je n’ai pas peur
J’ai repris mon âme
J’ai changé cent fois de nom
J’ai perdu femme et enfants
Mais j’ai tant d’amis
J’ai la France entière
Un vieil homme dans un grenier
Pour la nuit nous a caché
Les Allemands l’ont pris
Il est mort sans surprise
Oh, the wind, the wind is blowing
Through the graves the wind is blowing
Freedom soon will come
Then we’ll come from the shadows
I hung out with Anna Marly on Bastille Day here in Anchorage. That was back in 2004. She moved up here to be close to a great-niece and to the Russian Orthodox faith (she was Russian by birth).
The experience was great fun and my article wound up being quoted by The New York Times for her obituary. Also, between the first and second interviews I suffered a tremendous fall in the bathtub, landing on both elbows; Anna took one look at the horrific bruises and burst into a torrent of French aimed at her great-niece. She came out with a bottle of homeopathic tablets made with arnica and an arnica salve from France. Within three days the bruises — the worst I’ve ever had, or seen — were gone.
So I can say that I was doctored by a woman whose song encouraged the French Resistance. How many other people can???