A French song for Valentine’s Day Posted by Tim Hildreth on Feb 15, 2022 in Culture, Holidays, Music
Ok, I’m a day late … le jour de la Saint-Valentin est passé pour cette année1Valentine’s day has come and gone this year … but this close, love is still in the air. In honor of the official day of l’amour2love, let’s enjoy a new song from Clara Luciani.
Photo CC0 from How Far From Home at www.pexels.com
Love Hurts
Even when it’s good, being in love is complicated. I think this new chanson3song captures it well.
| (Un peu, beaucoup, pas du tout) x 4 | (A little, a lot, not at all) x 4 |
| (Un peu, beaucoup) | (A little, a lot) |
| (Un) | (A) |
| Les vraies passions sont des îlots faits pour deux | Real passions are tiny islands made for two |
| Des châteaux au pont-levis toujours levé | Castles where the draw bridge is always raised |
| Personne ne peut entrer | No one can enter |
| Une garçonnière privée de chambre d’enfant | A private bachelor’s pad in a kid’s room |
| Il n’y a pas la place et il n’y a pas le temps | There is not enough room and there is no time |
| Personne n’est invité | No one is invited |
| À la folie (À la folie) | Insanely (insanely) |
| Passionnément (À la folie) | Passionately (insanely) |
| Un peu, beaucoup, pas du tout | A little, a lot, not at all |
| Amour toujours mais pas longtemps | Eternal love but not for long |
| À la folie (À la folie) | Insanely (insanely) |
| Passionnément | Passionately (insanely) |
| Un peu, beaucoup, pas du tout | A little, a lot, not at all |
| Amour toujours | Eternal love |
| Qui des deux va dévorer l’autre le premier ? | Which of the two will consumer the other first ? |
| Car pour ne faire plus qu’un, il faudra laisser | Because to become one, someone has to leave |
| Un peu, un peu de soi quelque part | A little, a little of themself somewhere |
| Qui des deux va dévorer l’autre le premier ? | Which of the two will consumer the other first ? |
| Car pour ne faire plus qu’un, il faudra laisser | Because to become one, someone has to leave |
| Un peu, un peu de soi quelque part | A little, a little of themself somewhere |
| Un bouquet d’épines reçu les yeux fermés | A bouquet of thorns received with your eyes closed |
| De l’arsenic dans un flacon d’eau parfumée | Arsenic in a bottle of perfumed water |
| C’est un cadeau piégé | It’s a gag gift (lit. a booby-trapped present) |
| Une flèche au cœur, c’est joli dans l’idée | An arrow to the heart, it’s a pretty picture |
| Mais faudrait apprendre à aimer sans saigner | But one has to learn to love without bleeding |
| Cupidon est sans pitié | Cupid has no pity |
| À la folie (À la folie) | Insanely (insanely) |
| Passionnément | Passionately (insanely) |
| Un peu, beaucoup, pas du tout | A little, a lot, not at all |
| Amour toujours mais pas longtemps | Eternal love but not for long |
| À la folie (À la folie) | Insanely (insanely) |
| Passionnément | Passionately (insanely) |
| Un peu, beaucoup, pas du tout | A little, a lot, not at all |
| Amour toujours | Eternal love |
| Qui des deux va dévorer l’autre le premier ? | Which of them will devour the other first ? |
| Car pour ne faire plus qu’un, il faudra laisser | Because to become one, one has to leave |
| Un peu, un peu de soi quelque part | A little, a little of themself behind |
| Qui des deux va dévorer l’autre le premier ? | Which of the two will consume the other first ? |
| Car pour ne faire plus qu’un, il faudra laisser | Because becoming one requires leaving |
| Un peu, un peu de soi quelque part | A little, a little of yourself somewhere |
| À la folie (À la folie) | Insanely (insanely) |
| Passionnément | Passionately (insanely) |
| Un peu, beaucoup, pas du tout | A little, a lot, not at all |
| Amour toujours mais pas longtemps | Eternal love but not for long |
| À la folie (À la folie) | Insanely (insanely) |
| Passionnément | Passionately (insanely) |
| Un peu, beaucoup, pas du tout | A little, a lot, not at all |
| Amour toujours | Eternal love |
| Qui des deux va dévorer l’autre le premier ? | Which of them will devour the other first ? |
| Car pour ne faire plus qu’un, il faudra laisser | Because to become one, one has to leave |
| Un peu, un peu de soi quelque part | A little, a little of themself behind |
| Qui des deux va dévorer l’autre le premier ? | Which of them will devour the other first ? |
| Car pour ne faire plus qu’un, il faudra laisser | Because to become one, one has to leave |
| Un peu, un peu de soi quelque part | A little, a little of themself behind |
| À la folie (Pas du tout) … | Insanely (Not at all) … |
A little more love
Now that you’ve enjoyed (I hope!) Clara’s song, perhaps you’ll also like this one from Black M that features the same love refrain.
Feeling lonely?
While Valentine’s Day can be especially difficult, for those who find themselves alone every day can bring a little loneliness. In France, the supermarket chain Carrefour is testing out a clever concept they’ve borrowed from les Pays-Bas, les blabla caisses4the Netherlands, the “chatty” checkouts. As we’ve discussed before, ‘blabla’ is French for ‘chit chat’ and the new caisses5registers, check out lanes are explicitly for shoppers who want a little more from their shopping trip and just groceries.
You can read more, and see a video of a blabla caisses in action here.
- 1Valentine’s day has come and gone this year
- 2love
- 3song
- 4the Netherlands, the “chatty” checkouts
- 5registers, check out lanes
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About the Author: Tim Hildreth
Since my first trip to France at 16, I have been a passionate francophile. I love the language, food, music, art, people, and more that make France and la Francophonie in general such an amazing part of our global community. Having lived in France and studied the language and culture for over 35 years, it is my great pleasure to be able to share a little bit of my deep love with you through this blog.
Comments:
chris:
i like it……ou plutot j’en aime.
Tim Hildreth:
@chris Merci, Chris! Je l’aime aussi!