NOTE: I also do free French bilingual short stories (parallel texts), and I've put lots of info + links on my Home Page
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Quality Lyrics Translation + Free French Lesson
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Below is the simple lyrics translation. For the French lesson based on these lyrics, see below left.
PART ONE Et maintenant, que vais-je faire And now, what am I going to do OR And now, what shall I do De tout ce temps que sera ma vie With all this time that will be my life De tous ces gens qui m'indiffèrent With all these people who I'm indifferent to OR With all these people who I couldn't care less about Maintenant que tu es partie Now that your'e gone OR Now that you've left CONTINUED BELOW PART TWO
Toutes ces nuits, pourquoi, pour qui All those nights, for what, for who Et ce matin qui revient pour rien And this morning, which, after all that's said and done, counts for nothing OR And this morning, which, comes down to nothing OR And this morning, which, at the end of the day, amounts to nothing. Ce coeur qui bat, pour qui, pourquoi This heart which beats, for who, for what. Qui bat trop fort, trop fort Which beats too hard, too hard OR Which beats too strongly, too strongly CONTINUED BELOW PART THREE
Et maintenant, que vais-je faire (see above) Vers quel néant glissera ma vie which void will my life slip towards OR which abyss will my life slide towards Tu m'as laissé la terre entière You have left the entire world to me Mais la terre sans toi c'est petit But the world without you is small indeed OR But the world without you is not much PART FOUR
Vous mes amis, soyez gentils You, my freinds, be nice Vous savez bien que l'on n'y peut rien You know very well, one can't do anything (to help) OR You know very well, nothing can be done Même Paris crève d'ennui Even Paris is dying of boredom OR Even Paris is boring as hell Toutes ses rues me tuent All its streets kill me PART FIVE
Et maintenant, que vais-je faire (see above) Je vais en rire pour ne plus pleurer I am going to laugh about it so as not to cry anymore Je vais brûler des nuits entières I am going to burn entire nights Au matin, je te haïrai In the morning I will hate you PART SIX
Et puis un soir, dans mon miroir And then, an evening, in my mirror Je verrai bien la fin du chemin I will see well enough, the end of the road Pas une fleur et pas de pleurs Not a flower and no tears OR No flowers, no tears Au moment de l'adieu At the moment of saying goodbye for good OR when bidding farewell for good PART SEVEN
Je n'ai vraiment plus rien à faire I really no-longer have anything to do Je n'ai vraiment plus rien ... (see above) THE END The rest is just tactless self promotion My Spotify Playlists Now for a musical interlude. Like French music? The following is a link to my Spotify playlist of all the French language songs that I listen to when I'm working on this site, just to get me in the mood. It's a long one so listen to it on shuffle mode and you'll get the best French music radio station that never was. Not signed up to Spotify yet? Its free and you can listen to pretty much any music out-there so why dawdle. I basically live on it when writing. See also my Spotify Playlist of Spanish Language Songs. and My playlist of the top 100 French Language Songs of All Time THE TOP TEN MOST INTERESTING French Language Music Artists Since 2000 French language music has always had a bit of a reputation for being naff among English speaking peoples. To rebuke those accusations I therefore present some shockingly good modern era music artists (Frenchies who still sing in French, who'd have thought..). The list is accompanied with individually playable YouTube videos so you can quickly sample and decide for yourselves. I have also written a ditty on each artist, not that anyone reads now-a-days. FREE FRENCH LESSON Intermediate-Advanced Brigitte A Bouche Que Veut-Tu (2014) If you were to ask me who I'm mostly listening to these days my honest answer would be Brigitte. This pair of super hipster femmes fatales found success late in the game but there making up for it now. This particular track never fails to hit the sweet spot. FREE FRENCH LESSON Intermediate Level Charles Aznavour La Bohème (1965) If ever I'm feeling down there is always one song guaranteed to sooth my soul. This one. The song so beautifully describes the life of poor Parisian artists scraping a living together and finding comfort in each other and their own art that you'll feel like you are sharing the experience with them. Aznavour himself was born to Armenian immigrants but has attained legendary status to the point that you'll find him written within the DNA of every French man, woman and child alive. FREE FRENCH LESSON Intermediate Level Charles Trenet Douce France (1947) It may be old but despite the age gap many of you will will be familiar with this song, particularly the melody. Hands up, I find many of the songs from this period a bit samey but a few by Charles Trenet stand out from the crowd. The reasons you should get to know this particular song yourselves are two fold. First, this song is almost a national anthem packed with nostalgia enriched images of France at it's most chocolate box period. Second, despite his idiosyncratic singing style, Trenet enunciates well so you'll be able to follow what he's singing with ease. FREE FRENCH LESSON Beginner-Intermediate Level La Godinette OR Gael Lefevere + Nicolas Quemener J'étais Lassée D’être Jeune Fille (????) When Gael Lefevere, the guy responsible for introducing me to the real French music scene, had interpreted this traditional Breton song with fellow musician Nicolas Quemener, I remembered thinking to myself that it was possibly the most moving piece of French language music I had ever come across. Like all songs from this region of France, the lyrics are hard and biting, yet all the more interesting for it, and you'll see just how deep the Celtic roots run in listening to the original version by La Godinette, a version that I have also come to love. Now it's your turn. FREE FRENCH LESSON Intermediate Level Stromea Alors On Danse (2013) This is the song that started it all off for Stromea. I used to flick on the music channels when drinking my bowl of coffee in the mornings and when this song came out, it was on EVERY morning for what felt like a year. It became one of those songs that would play in my head all day long. Be careful, it may have the same effect on you. Ps. In the lesson you'll witness how I trash almost every other translation of this song that exists! FREE FRENCH LESSON Beginner-Intermediate Level Edith Piaf Je Ne Regrette Rien (1960) Probably the only French song that the average Joe knows. Well, at least it's a good one. Emotionally charged and yet short and simple song, and hence good for beginners. No extremely metaphorical lyrics, just nice and direct, which helps. FREE FRENCH LESSON Beginner-Intermediate Level Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus (1969) Very very naughty. The controversial French lyrical genius begat a controversial sexy French song. You all know this one so there's not much more for me to add... except, if you thought it was a tad risqué beforehand, just wait until you understand the 'ins and outs' (ha ha!/ lol) of the lyrics. FREE FRENCH LESSON Beginner-Intermediate Level Claude François Comme D'habitude (1967) Confession: I hate every song this artist ever did except this one which was truly a chef d'oeuvre. After being seen on TV by a Canadian artist, the song was bought and its lyrics re-written in English once the song had been given totally different theme. The finished product was then sung by Frank Sinatra and thus was born: 'I Did It My Way' FREE FRENCH LESSON Beginner-Intermediate Level Indila Dernière Danse (2014) This was on the free to view music channels every morning for the whole of spring 2014. A hit that came out of nowhere which now has 73 million YouTube hits. Vevo wouldn't let me use the official video so I used an excellent remix in place. (burn-Vevo-burn) FREE FRENCH LESSON Beginner-Intermediate Level Zaz Je Veux (2010) This was the song that led to Zaz becoming Frances top selling artist abroad in 2010 (or was it another year?) The album from which it came (called Zaz as it happens) ranked high in the charts all over Europe (except, of course, the UK). Simple but potent lyrics whose meaning hit home with me. Plenty of slang phrases within so if you need to work on that then this is your song. FREE FRENCH LESSON Intermediate Level Stromae Papaoutai (2013) Recent hit all over europe and the world (152 million YouTube Hits) by the now established king of electro-urban-geek music. This song is not the easiest of ones but has a very strong lyrical narrative, if not message (as do all his songs). Note that I've put in the phonetics for this lesson using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). FREE FRENCH LESSON Intermediate Level Benjamin Biolay Ton Héritage (2009) Modern Classic chanson Française. One man, one piano, one haunting tune, and a bunch of stirring lines. This one always gives me goose pimples when I hear it on the radio. The word for word translations are there but I have left it light on the grammar notes. FREE FRENCH LESSON Intermediate Level Jacques Brel Ne Me Quitte Pas (1959) This song is considered by many to be the all time greatest chanson française that has ever existed. Always at the top of meta-critic polls and a personal favorite of my own (I only do songs that I like). It's an oldie (circa 1959) and yet so timeless... P.s. I have done the phonetics for this one FREE FRENCH LESSON Intermediate-Advanced Level Malicorne Le Luneux (1977?) From the album Almanach, this traditional French folk song reconstructed by the experimental headonism of Malicorne in the late seventies will make you shiver with delight. I'm not sure whether the melody came from another song, but who cares when it's this good. Some oldie style wording but my notes will help you understand it. FREE FRENCH LESSON Intermediate-Advanced Level Olivia Ruiz La Femme Chocolat (2006) Unique voice, unique style of music, unique lyrics and unique looks help this artist stand far out from the often samey nouvelle scene crowd. This particular song demonstrates well her quirkiness with lyrics that are just damnright trippy. FREE FRENCH LESSON Intermediate Level Serge Lama Je Suis Malade (1973) Possibly the most melancholic song in the history of mankind... and I love it. It's all about the words dude and Mr Lama paints such a stark yet poignant picture with them that you can't help putting yourself in his boots. Get a glass of whisky, light up cigarette and think of the lovers that have hurt you... you are now ready for this lesson. |