We're public guardians, bold yet wary And of ourselves we'll take good care To risk our precious lives we're chary When duty calls, we're never there But when we see a helpless woman Or little boys who do no harm We run them in (we run them in) We run them in (we run them in) You know that we're the bold gendarmes We run them in (we run them in) We run them in, we run them in We show them we're the bold gendarmes When gentlemen will make a riot And punch each other's heads at night We're quite disposed to keep it quiet Providing that they make it right But if they do not seem to see it Or give to us our proper terms We run them in (we run them in) We run them in (we run them in) You know that we're the bold gendarmes We run them in (we run them in) We run them in, we run them in We show them we're the bold gendarmes Sometimes our duty's extra-mural Then little butterflies we chase We like to gambol in things rural Commune with nature face to face But when we go back to our duties Refreshed by Nature's holy charms We run them in (we run them in) We run them in (we run them in) You know that we're the bold gendarmes We run them in (we run them in) We run them in, we run them in We show them we're the bold gendarmes