Its just too nice to work Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 8, 2021 in Environment, Music, Vocabulary
After a few too many weekends pluvieux1rainy weekends, I was thrilled to wake up this Saturday to un beau ciel tout bleu et un grand soleil2a beautiful blue sky and a big sun. On a day like that its hard to get anything done because its just too nice to work!
Photo by Mabel Amber from Pexels
Il fait trop beau pour travailler
The weather got me thinking about this fun song from the French musical group Les Parisiennes.
One of the original 60’s yéyé girl groups, Les Parisiennes were recently “reconstructed” with a contemporary and cosmopolitan line-up including the Malian model, actress, and singer Inna Modja 3Check out her very fun song, French Cancan here. , the Franco-American actress, singer, writer and producer Arielle Dombasle, the Tahitian-born actress and singer Mareva Galanter, and the Belgian writer and singer Helena Noguerra.
| Il fait trop beau pour travailler | It’s too nice to work |
| Ce serait dommage de rester enfermés | It would be too bad to stay indoors (lit. enclosed) |
| Quand le soleil brille dans tous les squares | When the sun is shining in all the parks (lit. squares) |
| Et sur les terrasses des grands boulevards4Many of les grands boulevards are a result of the works of Baron Hassumann. | And on the terraces of the boulevards |
| Il fait trop beau pour travailler | It’s too nice to work |
| Ça c’est un temps à aller se balader | This kind of weather is for taking a walk |
| Partons dans la nature et vive la liberté | Let’s head out into nature and let liberty reign |
| Il fait trop beau pour travailler | It’s too nice to work |
| Il fait trop beau pour travailler | It’s too nice to work |
| Ce serait dommage de ne pas en profiter | It would be too bad not to take advantage |
| Laissons là nos cahiers et nos bouquins | Let’s leave our notebooks and our books behind |
| Ils peuvent bien attendre jusqu’à demain | They can wait until tomorrow |
| Il fait trop beau pour travailler | It’s too nice to work |
| Ça c’est un temps à ne pas se fatiguer | This kind of weather demands the minimum of effort (lit. is a time not to tire oneself) |
| Prenons vite le large et vive la liberté | Let’s go far and let liberty reign |
| Il fait trop beau pour travailler | It’s too nice to work |
| Il fait trop beau pour travailler | It’s too nice to work |
| Vous les garçons restez-là si vous voulez | You boys can stay here if you want to |
| Mais l’air est léger et le ciel est bleu | But the air is light and the sky is blue |
| C’est le temps rêvé pour les amoureux | It’s dream weather for lovers |
| Il fait trop beau pour travailler | It’s too nice to work |
| Nous on s’en va et on vous laisse les clés | We’re leaving and we’ll leave you the keys |
| Mais si vous voulez nous suivre vive la liberté | But if you want to follow, let liberty reign |
| Il fait trop beau pour travailler … | It’s too nice to work … |
For a different take, check out the original Parisiennes in this classic clip.
Il fait pas partout beau
Sadly, its not great weather everywhere. Last week the French city of Reims was inundated when des pluies diluviennes5torrential rains brought two months worth of rain in just one afternoon! Roads became rivers, blocking cars and trucks and flooding shops and basements. You can see the impressive footage in this news report.6Listen closely around the 1 minute mark. Despite the article’s title and the details below the video, the reporter seems to say that l’équivalent de deux SEMAINES de precipitation / the equivalent of two WEEKS of rain fell, not two moths.
Eurovision
While we’re on the subject of songs, I need to correct a lapse in my coverage from a few weeks back. As I mentioned back at the end of April, the Eurovision song contest was back this year … and France came in second! I totally missed it at the time so here’s a link where you can watch a live performance of Barbara Pravi singing her song Voilà.
- 1rainy weekends
- 2a beautiful blue sky and a big sun
- 3Check out her very fun song, French Cancan here.
- 4Many of les grands boulevards are a result of the works of Baron Hassumann.
- 5torrential rains
- 6Listen closely around the 1 minute mark. Despite the article’s title and the details below the video, the reporter seems to say that l’équivalent de deux SEMAINES de precipitation / the equivalent of two WEEKS of rain fell, not two moths.
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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:
Meg:
This is great, thank you! I remember my French teacher showing us yéyé group videos in high school.
One of the lyrics is “Ils peuvent bien attendre jusqu’à demain”– does “il peut bien attendre” just mean “it can wait” without any particular connotation, or is it a bit dismissive (in which case, I wouldn’t want to say it to a coworker)?
Tim Hildreth:
@Meg Merci, Meg! I have also been a fan of that period of French music and I love seeing these updates. Il peut (or even Ça peut) attendre doesn’t have to be dismissive (in this case – where they’re singing about their books – it’s likely not … however if they had said “ils peuvent bien attendre … ” when singing about/to the garçons, it might be taken as a bit dismissive or teasing). Like many things, it all depends on the context.