{"id":30782,"date":"2018-10-03T19:37:24","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T17:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=30782"},"modified":"2018-10-03T19:37:24","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T17:37:24","slug":"sympathetically-singing-pink-martini-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/sympathetically-singing-pink-martini-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Sympathetically Singing – Pink Martini In French"},"content":{"rendered":"

Listening to la musique fran\u00e7aise<\/strong> <\/a>(French music) is an easy way to integrate la langue<\/strong> (the language) into your everyday life, even if you live outside la francophonie<\/strong>. Finding the right mix of les paroles<\/strong> (lyrics) that are easy to understand and a catchy melody is the key to making your French studies as easy as singing along to YELLE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Image<\/a> by Bruce Tuten on Flickr. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.<\/p><\/div>\n

The allure of la musique fran\u00e7aise<\/strong> and its singers, from Stromae<\/a> to les Amies Lousianaises<\/a>, has inspired artists from outside la francophonie<\/strong> to write songs in la langue de Moli\u00e8re<\/strong> (the language of Moli\u00e8re, French expression to refer to “the French language”). A fun example of that is Monsieur Perin\u00e9<\/a><\/em> from Colombia who mainly sings en espangol<\/strong> (in Spanish), but who have songs en fran\u00e7ais<\/strong> as well.<\/p>\n

Un autre exemple<\/strong> (another example) comes from un groupe<\/strong><\/a> (a band) originally from Oregon, Pink Martini<\/em>. Several members of the band are actually French speakers or from la francophonie<\/strong>, but their music is not always en fran\u00e7ais<\/strong>. Le groupe<\/strong> mixes several genres and even languages to create a sound that bounces between des influences retro<\/strong> (retro influences) and results in calm and pleasant music that is very sympathique<\/strong> (nice).<\/p>\n

La chanson<\/strong> (the song) we’re looking at today is also Sympatique<\/strong><\/em>, a fun and catchy tune<\/a> that instantly creates a nostalgic feel of old Paris. La chanson<\/strong> has a few jeux de mots<\/strong><\/a> (play on words) that are hard to translate, but make understanding it en fran\u00e7ais<\/strong> all the more important. There are three that really stand out:<\/p>\n

1) Les chasseurs \u00e0 ma porte comme des petits soldats qui veulent me prendre.<\/strong>
\n1) The bellhops at my door like little soldiers who want to take me away.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Chasseur<\/strong> <\/em>is the word for both hunter and bellhop, painting a rather different image of who’s waiting outside the door depending on how you hear the line.<\/p>\n

2) D\u00e9j\u00e0 j’ai connu le parfum de l’amour, un million de roses n’embaumeraient pas autant.<\/strong>
\n2) I’ve already known the scent of love, a million roses wouldn’t smell as good.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Embaumer<\/strong> <\/em>can have the morbid meaning of “to embalm” like in English, but it can refer to scents or fragrance. The ambiguous wording of les paroles<\/strong> makes it easy to interpret it as either, but it’s definitely more sympathique<\/strong> to think of of it as a reference the lovely scent of flowers.<\/p>\n

3) C’est magnifique \u00eatre sympathique mais je ne le connais jamais.<\/strong>
\n3) It’s magnificent to be nice but I have never known it.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The word, sympathique<\/strong><\/em>, is itself un jeu de mots <\/strong>and can mean both “nice” or “invisible” giving the lyrics and le nom de la chanson<\/strong> (the name of the song) a double meaning.<\/p>\n

Take a moment to listen to la tube<\/strong><\/a> (the hit song) and I guarantee you’ll be singing along<\/a> before it’s even over!<\/p>\n

Voici la chanson “Sympathique” avec les paroles et une traduction anglaise :<\/strong><\/p>\n