Singing Along To A Familiar Song – Beyoncé’s Halo In French Posted by John Bauer on Jun 6, 2019 in Culture, Music
La musique (music) is always a great way to keep studying when you’re tired of looking at les conjugaisons (conjugations) and le vocabulaire (vocabulary). Finding a fun chanson (song) that you sing along to outside of the classroom turns boring practice into a new hobby.
Image from Pixabay. Licensed under CC0.
Les chanteurs français (French singers) are incredibly famous with songs like Les Champs-Élysées and La vie en rose commonly known across the globe. The familiar sounds of les chansons makes them fun to listen to outside of les devoirs (homework) or any obligation to learn la langue française (the French language)!
The reverse is something that is sometimes less well-known, but still amazingly similar with versions of La bannière étoilée (the Star Spangled Banner) en français being immediately recognizable to anyone aux États-Unis (in the United States) and many more people around the world.
So when I discovered Sara’h and her covers of popular English language songs, it immediately made me think of that feeling of singing along to une chanson connue (a familiar song) in a new language.
Like MIKA, Sara’h is une chanteuse francophone (a French language singer) of Lebanese descent, but unlike le chanteur anglais (the English singer) she grew up en France. Distancing her even more from the superstar, Sara’h is a part of the wave of YouTube stars who never followed the traditional route to fame, but have nonetheless become mainstream sensations.
What’s interesting for French learners is that while Sara’h has many tubes (hit songs) en français, her fame stems more from her amazing ability to adapt English language songs into le français.
That’s why I wanted to to share one of her great covers with you today. Sara’h does a great version of Beyoncé’s Halo and like with all her covers, she takes special care to adapt les paroles (the lyrics) so it really is more than just une traduction (a translation).
The end result is une chanson that is not only worth listening to, but also keeps your practice and study time fun and engaging.
Take a moment and listen to Sara’h and notice how she made la chanson américaine (the American song) really fit la langue française.
Voici la chanson avec les paroles et une traduction anglaise (here’s the song with the lyrics and an English translation):
Halo (French Version)
Tous les murs que j’ai construits
Sont en train de s’écrouler
Sans faire le moindre bruit
Sans même résister
J’ai décidé de laisser faire
Oui mais je n’ai pas doutée longtemps
Eclairée par ta lumière
J’ai mon ange maintenant
All the walls I’ve built
Are falling apart
Without making the slightest noise
Without even resisting
I’ve decided to let it happen.
Yes, but I didn’t doubt for long.
Illuminated by your light
I have my angel now
Comme si l’on me réveillait
Brisant les règles que j’ai fixées
C’est un risque que je prendrais
Je ne te laisserai jamais tomber
Là où je suis maintenant
Je suis entourée par ta lueur
Bébé je peux voir ta lumière
Je sais que tu es mon sauveur
Tu es tout ce dont j’ai besoin
Je peux le voir écrit dans tes yeux
Bébé je voix cette lumière
Briller entre nous deux
As if I was woken up
Breaking the rules I set
It’s a risk I’d take
I will never let you down
Where I am now
I’m surrounded by your glow
Baby I can see your light
I know you’re my savior
You’re all I need
I can see it written in your eyes
Baby I can see this light
Shine between the two of us
Je vois ta lumière
Je vois ta lumière
Lumière
Je vois ta lumière
Lumière
Je vois ta lumière
Lumière
Ouhou…
I see your light
I see your light
Light
I see your light
Light
I see your light
Light
Whoo-hoo….
Comme un rayon de soleil
Brûlant dans mes nuits les plus sombres
C’est toi que je veux à mon réveil
Je serai comme ton ombre
Moi qui pensais ne plus aimer
Avec toi je me sens emportée
Mais j’espère ne pas oublier
Comment revenir sur la terre après
Like a ray of sunshine
Burning in my darkest nights
It’s you I want when I wake up
I’ll be like your shadow
I thought I didn’t love you anymore
With you I feel carried away
But I hope I don’t forget
How to return to earth after
Comment si l’on me réveillait
Brisant les règles que j’ai fixées
C’est un risque que je prendrais
Je ne te laisserai jamais tomber
Là où je suis maintenant
Je suis entourée par lueur
Bébé je peux voir ta lumière
Je sais que tu es mon sauveur
Tu es tout ce dont j’ai besoin
Je peux le voir écrit dans tes yeux
Bébé je vois cette lumière
Briller entre nous deux
How if someone woke me up
Breaking the rules I set
It’s a risk I’d take
I will never let you down
Where I am now
I’m surrounded by light
Baby I can see your light
I know you’re my savior
You’re all I need
I can see it written in your eyes
Baby I see this light
Shine between the two of us
Je vois ta lumière
Je vois ta lumière
Lumière
Je vois ta lumière
Lumière
Ouhou…
I see your light
I see your light
Light
I see your light
Ligh
Whoo-hoo….
Comme un rayon de soleil
Brûlant dans mes nuits les plus sombres
C’est toi que je veux à mon réveil
Je serai comme ton ombre
Like a ray of sunshine
Burning in my darkest nights
It’s you I want when I wake up
I’ll be like your shadow
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About the Author: John Bauer
John Bauer is an enthusiast for all things language and travel. He currently lives in France where he's doing his Master's. John came to France four years ago knowing nothing about the language or the country, but through all the mistakes over the years, he's started figuring things out.