(sl.) means the word is slang ('argot').
Unclear words are in curly braces.

Verse One:

English French

The wind blows in Arizona, Le vent souffle en Arizona
a state of America in which Harry hung out Un etat d'Amerique dans lequel
(wandered / strayed) Harry zona.
Cow-boy crazy about bang-bang, about guns, C. dingue do bing-bing, do
(ie Harry) flingue (sl.)
about weapons, horses and about everything De l'arme, do cheval et de
for having a party. quoi faire la bringue (sl.)
Pursued by Smith & Wesson, Poursuivi par S. et W.
Colt, Berringer, Winchester, & Remington, C. B. W. et R.
he wanders in the plains, proud, lonesome. Il erre dans les plaines,
fier, solitaire
His horse is his partner. Son cheval est son partenaire
Sometimes he meets Indians but Parfois il rencontre des
Indiens mais
The gold rush is his only goal. La ruee vers l'or est son
seul dessein
His life runs a course that we know by heart: Sa vie suit un cours que
l'on connait par coeur
"The River of No Return" by Otto Preminger. La riviere sans retour
d'Otto Preminger
While John Wayne is dressed up like Lucky Luke Tandis que J. W. est looke a
(7) la Lucky Luke (7)
Clean like an archduke, Propre comme un archiduc
uncle Sam tells me 'Hollywood fools us'. L'oncle Sam me dit
'H. nous berne'
Hollywood fools us in everyday life, H. berne dans la vie de
tous les jours
like in the New Westerns. Comme dans les nouveaux w.

Verse Two:

One says, "beware of the gorilla", On dit 'gare au gorille'
(? don't know if it's a litterary reference, can mean bouncer, muscular guy...)
but beware of Gary Cooper. mais gare a G. C.
The modern Western is set up in this Le w. moderne est installe
neighbourhood: dans le secteur
When the town's asleep, Quand la ville dort
the train does not whistle, Le Train ne siffle pas
(Allusion to "Le train sifflera 3 fois" movie: The train wistle 3 times,
don't know the name of the movie in english)
and the Magnificent 7 don't have a single Et sept mercenaires n'ont
fight in sight. pas l'once d'un combat
(if ok in english translates literraly to: don't have an ounce of a fight)
From now on Harry is near H. desormais est proche
the "Eastern Station". de la gare de l'est (1)
He jumps through time and Il Saute les epoques et
space for a new Far West: les lieux pour un nouveau f. w.
Saloons are bars Les saloons sont des bistrots
where cigarettes are sold, on why vend des clopes (sl.)
not chewing tobacco {?} Pas de la chique {?}
(if {?} does not mean text is cut there, next line translates to:)
like in the movies. do cinemascope
He enters the bar, Il entre dans le bar
orders an "Indian", scalps commande un indien, scalpe
the foam, la mousse
Drinks, lays the glass on boit, repose le verre sur
the counter le zinc
{?} for futile reasons, {?} pour des motifs futiles
like in the New Westerns. Comme dans les nouveaux w.

Verse Three:

The [United] States is Les states sont une sorte
a kind of multinational. de multinationale
It exports Westerns and Elle exporte le western et
its feudal model, son modele feodal
dictates what's good and bad. Dicte le bien le mal,
Lucky Luke & the Daltons (his ennemies) L. L. et les D.
Are camouflaged in Paul Smith & Westons Sont camoufles en P. S. et W.
(Westons: classy dress shoes 400$, loved by african show off "sapeurs" ie
"dressers", P S may be some fancy brand clothing ?)
One says that what counts On dit que ce qui compte
is the setting. see'est le decor
+/- = How you look doesn't make who you are (2) L'habit ne fait pas le moine
(ie drug dealers may be well dressed but ain't people of the world ?)
during the gold rush dans la ruee vers l'or
(here it is the quest for drugs)
Ever since the techniques Des lors les techniques
are perfected: se perfectionnent
Credit cards replace the Remington. La carte a puce (3)
remplace le R.
(seems harry paid the dope here, and now goes home)
But Harry in Paris didn't get any luck. Mais H. a P. n'a pas
eu de chance
He gets stopped on the beltway On le stoppe sure le
with his stage-coach, periph. (4) avec sa diligence
then he's put in Fresnes Puis on le place a Fresnes (5)
to let Fresnes calm him pour que Fresnes le freine
(ps: Freine = break Fresne = name of famous jail -sounds alike)
A victim of the directives of what we call Victime des directives de
ce que l'on appelle
(directives ie administrations current orders ex: fine drivers speeding over
10mph above limit... or a drug user in jail for possession even though not dealing)
"The New Western" Le nouveau w.

Verse Four:

Tche tche Tche tche
Sometimes life is like a stray bullet, Parfois la vie resemble
a une balle perdue
in the modern system where Dans le systeme moderne
is drowned the individual. ou se noie l'individu
(ie: like a needle in a haystack or a person in a NY crowded street)
To stay clear headed Pour rester lucide il
he used to drink Brandy s'abreuvait de B.
(abreuver: used to say "cattle drink", can mean drink a lot etc.)
From now on we bring forward TVs, Desormais on brandit tele
pot (grass) and (crack) nuggets. shit et pepites
Where white is the Ou blanche et la
magnificent ride, chevauchee fantastique
(another name of a classic western movie)
always against the light, Toujours a contre-jour
it's far less heroic. see'est bien moins heroique
In the world of dreams, Dans le monde do reve
we end it up by a happy end... on termine par un happy-end
Is it also the case in what Est-ce aussi le cas dans ce que
we call l'on nomme
"The New Western" ? -- Le nouveau w.

Outro:

Moderne (etc)
Sitting Bull, Cochese, Calamity Jane, James West
Tchen
Squaws, scalps, tomahawk, the New Western, Modern
Lucky Luke, Billy the Kid, Miguelito Loveless

*notes*

(1) One of the 5 big train station in Paris (North, East, Lyon, St Lazarre,
MontParnasse)
(2) This is a proverb for which I know no English equivalent.
(3) i.e. credit card ('puce' = flea = chip) No equivalent in the states yet
It is a credit card which has a chip instead of magnetic strips (french
patent) used for phone cards (we don't use coins no more) or VISA.
BTW: in France, credit cards don't give you credit, they are more like
paying cards (plastic cash).
(4) 'periph' = peripherique = circular highway that surrounds Paris (even more
that delimitates Paris from the (close) suburbs.
(5) Fresnes: prison in Paris (as famous as Alcatraz in the US)
(6) better translated as "head"? (NO, old 7 neither)
(7) Lucky luke is a comic cowboy caracter, "The man who soots faster than his
shadow", famous in France and part of Europe. He is with his horse "Joly
Jumper" and (both) smoke rolled cigarettes. He is always called upon when
the 4 Daltons escape from the state prison (and they are very stupid and
mean, and flunk everything they attempt), they are the public enemies number one
and scare everybody with their reputation. At the end, Lucky luke always
rides in the sunset singing "I'm a poor lonesome cow boy".

Writer : GAINSBOURG, SERGE(GINSBURG,LUC/BLANC-FRANCARD, HUBERT
Copyright : Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing