French group – Boulevard des Airs

French group – Boulevard des Airs Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 10, 2017 in Culture, Music, Vocabulary

Image Credit: By Thesupermat – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

This week we pause our travels once more for another “back to school” related video from France. After last week’s song pour les filles, this week we enjoy a song by French group Boulevard des airs pour les garçons (for the boys).

Where last week‘s video had a bit of an “American vibe” to the school setting, this week’s is pure école française (French school).

[I’ve used the “hidden text” technique again so you can practice your skills without relying on my translations. If you want to see the English, just use your mouse to highlight the hidden text to the right of the French song lyrics. Let me know what you think in the comments.]

Ce gamin-là

Je vois un enfant qui se traîne*	*I see a child dragging himself / slouches along*
Se traîne jusqu’à la cour**	*Drags himself as far as the courtyard / to the courtyard*
On dirait que sa mère l’emmène	*You might even say that his mother is bringing him*
L’emmène jusqu’aux vautours	*Bringing him to the vultures*
On dirait qu’on joue une scène	*It seems / one might say that a scene is playing out*
Une scène qu’on connaît tous	*A scene that we all know / that is familiar to all*
Mais c’est toujours, toujours les mêmes	*But it is always / there are always the same*
Les mêmes acteurs autour	*The same actors in the scene / around*

Et y’a* le monsieur qui tape des mains**	*There is the man who claps his hands*
Et c[e n]’est pas le son qui le prend	*Not for the sound they make*
Mais c’est toujours le même refrain	*But it is always the same rhythm*
Quand monsieur tape l’école reprend	*When he claps / taps in his hands, school starts*

Et ce gosse là c’est moi	*And that kid is me*
Je le vois comme un inconnu	*I see him like a stranger*
Je ne sais pas, je ne sais plus	*I don’t know, I don’t know*
Et dis petit, te rappelles tu ?	*Tell me, kid, do you remember ?*

Vois-le, voilà	*See him, over there*
Ce gamin-là, c’est moi	*That kid there, he’s me*
Vois-le, voilà	*See him, over there*
Ce gamin-là s’en va	*That kid is going away / is on his way out*

Vois-le, voilà	*See him, over there*
Ce gamin-là, c’est moi	*That kid there, he’s me*
Vois-le, voilà	*See him, over there*
Ce gamin-là s’en va	*That kid is leaving*


Je vois un enfant qui découvre	*I see a child who is discovering*
Les yeux des filles et le docteur	*The eyes of a girl and the docteur*
Et je voudrais le mettre en garde,	*And I want to warn him,*
Lui dire mes doutes et mes peurs	*Tell him of my doubts and my fears*
Mes peurs de grand, mes peurs d’adulte	*My grown up fears, my adult fears*
Lui dire fais gaffe car finalement	*Tell him to be careful / to watch out*
Ta tête et ton cœur tout petit	*Your little head and your little heard*
Feront de moi ce que je suis	*Will make me what I am*

Et y’a la fille qui le rend fou	*And there is that girl that makes him crazy/wile*
Et c[e n]’est pas rien, je le vois bien	*And it’s not nothing, I see that*
L’enfant apprend l’amour et tout	*The child learns of love and everything*
Et tout devient beaucoup plus flou	*And everything becomes more confused/blurry*

Et ce gosse là c’est moi	*And that kid is me*
Je le vois comme un inconnu	*I see him like a stranger*
Je ne sais pas, je ne sais plus	*I don’t know, I don’t know any more*
Et dis petit, te rappelles tu ?	*Tell me, kid, do you remember ?*

Refrain x 2

Je vois un enfant qui flâne****	*I see a kid who is hanging around*
Qui flâne^ sagement	*Just hanging around . . . being good*
Est-il en train de penser à moi,	*Is he thinking about me*
En train de s’imaginer grand	*Imagining himself big*
Et si soudain il se retourne	*And if he suddenly turns around*
Et si soudain, là il me voit	*And if suddenly there he sees me*
Verra-t-il au fond de moi	*Will he see (all the way) to the bottom of me*
Que je ne le reconnais même pas	That I don’t even recognize him
Et y’a tous ses copains autour	*And all is friends are around*
Les filles, les profs et les vautours	*The girls, the teachers, and the vultures*
Il y a tout ce qui le construit	*Everything that makes him*
Et moi je n’en suis que le fruit	*And I am nothing but the fruit (of it/the product of it)*

Tu te rappelles	*You remember*

^ Ah! We hear the final ‘e’!

* ‘Trainer’ is a great French word. It can mean all sorts of things from ‘to drag’, ‘to pull (along)’, but also ‘to hang aroud’, ‘lying around’, or ‘loll about‘. You’ll find it in expressions like: ‘Ne traîne pas!’ / ‘Don’t dilly dally/don’t dawdle!’, ‘Traîne pas tes pieds!’ / ‘Don’t drag your feet/pick up your feet.’, and ‘Ils traînaient dans les rues en attendant que le temps passe.’ / ‘They hung around in the streets waiting for time to pass.’
**La cour/la cour de recré . . . is classic in French. Many older schools were built around an interior courtyard where kids played before school, between classes, and during the break after lunch. Fittingly, according to the group’s Wikipedia page, they met and formed their group “en 2004, dans la cour du lycée Marie-Curie à Tarbes” (in 2004, in the courtyard of the Marie-Curie high school in Tarbes.)
*** ‘il y a’ / ‘there is or there are’.
**** “Flâner” is the spritiual oppposite of ‘traîner’. ‘Un flâneur’ is one who strolls, takes their time, enjoys the journey. There is almost nothing better than to flâner dans les rues de Paris with no where specific to go.

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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.

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