French Music – More from Calogero Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jan 22, 2019 in Culture, Music, Vocabulary
Calogero has quickly become one of my favorite French singers. He has a way of combining great melodies with powerful language that evokes emotions, memories, and plein de sentiments (lots of emotion). Like Voler de Nuit which I shared previously, the song below is from his great 2017 album Liberté chérie (Cherished freedom).
Une photo de classe des années ’80. Dix points à celui ou à celle qui peut me trouver! (A class photo from the 80’s. 10 points to whoever can find me!)
| On a tous | We all have |
| Une chanson d’Souchon qui nous traîne | A song by Souchon that pulls us along |
| Un vieux col roulé qui nous gène | An old sweater that irritates |
| Une rentrée, une odeur de trousse | A return to school, a smell of pencil case |
| Dans nos souvenirs, on a tous | In our memory, we all have |
| Toutes ces choses qui durent et qui tiennent | All these things that last and that stick |
| Un vieux poster de Saint-Étienne | An old poster of Saint-Etienne |
| Des mots qui nous ont démolis | Some words that destroyed us |
| Des “je préfère qu’on reste amis” | Some “I’d rather just stay friends” |
| Toutes ces pierres sur lesquelles on se hisse | All these rocks that you pull yourself up on |
| Et qui font de nous un édifice | And that build us into a structure |
| On a tous au fond du mental | We all have deep in our minds |
| Toutes ces choses fondamentales | All these fundemental things |
| Toutes ces personnes nées dans le passé | All those people born in the past |
| Qui nous poussent et qui nous font pousser | Who push us and make us push on |
| Cachées là au fond du mental | Hidden in the depths of the mind |
| Ce sont les choses fondamentales | Those things that are fundamental |
| On a tous | Everyone has |
| Une bonne odeur de tarte aux pommes | The smelll of an apple pie |
| Une chanson super en automne | An amazing song in the autumn / fall |
| Un vieux couloir qui fout la frousse | An old hallway that scares us |
| Dans nos souvenirs, on a tous | In our memories, we all have |
| Une amoureuse en collégienne | A middle school love |
| Des prénoms qui soudain reviennent | (First) names that we suddenly remember |
| Devant des vielles photos d’élèves | In front of old school (student) photos |
| Ce qui nous a élevé nous élève | That which raised us raises us up |
| Toutes ces pierres sur lesquelles on se hisse | All these stones that we use to pull ourselves up |
| Et qui font de nous un édifice | And that form our foundation |
| On a tous au fond du mental | We all have in our minds |
| Toutes ces choses fondamentales | All these fundamental things |
| Toutes ces personnes nées dans le passé | All these people born in the past |
| Qui nous poussent et qui nous font pousser | Who push us and make us push on |
| Cachées là au fond du mental | Hidden in the depths of mind |
| Ce sont les choses fondamentales | Those are the fundamental things |
| Si un jour je me désaccorde | If one I day I should become untuned |
| Même perdu, déboussolé | Lost, without direction |
| Je ferai résonner la corde | I will make the cord vibrate |
| La note sur laquelle j’ai poussé | The note that I can push off from |
| Refrain | Chorus |
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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.