4 mots sur un piano – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Patrick Fiori, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Christine Ricol
• Album: Un air de famille

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the lyrical depth and emotional richness of "4 mots sur un piano," a powerful French ballad by Patrick Fiori, Jean-Jacques Goldman, and Christine Ricol. This song offers a compelling narrative about love, difficult choices, and sacrifice, making it an excellent piece for French language learners. You can immerse yourself in authentic spoken French, explore complex vocabulary related to emotions and relationships, and gain cultural insights into French storytelling through music. Its clear articulation and emotive delivery make it a perfect song to enhance listening comprehension and appreciate poetic expression in French.

[English]

Four words on a piano, those she left behind

Four is just too many, I know how to count

Four winds on a past, my dreams taken flight

But what would this other have that I don't?

Will I ever know

Such a simple case, cliché, and a tragic ending

Three minus two leaving, it's me who stays

Caresses, kindness, and kisses, I failed to give

Sharing them, Lucifer whispered to me

Since then I dream of hell

I would have done everything for her, just for one word

That the other gives her, which I wouldn’t

She was my wind, my wings, my life made prettier

Was she too beautiful, or am I just too foolish?

Do we ever love enough?

Four beautiful years to cry, a poor summary

Cards played, but the queen hid herself

Four million silences, regrets dancing around

Questions, sighs, and verdicts

I preferred her absences

I would have done so much for her, to drink from her water

But what does the other give her that I wouldn’t?

She was my wind, my wings, my life made brighter

But was she too beautiful, or were we too naive?

Do we ever love enough?

You were my life, like night and day

Both of you, knots and filaments, my perfect love

One morning you condemned me to choose

I only loved you both

I leave you, farewell

Choosing would be betraying us

But what would this other have that I don't?

I'll never know

Sharing them, Lucifer whispered to me

Since then I dream of hell

Ooh

...

[French]

Quatre mots sur un piano, ceux qu'elle a laissés

Quatre c'est autant de trop, je sais compter

Quatre vents sur un passé, mes rêves envolés

Mais qu'aurait donc cet autre que je n'ai?

Le saurai-je jamais

Cas très banal, cliché, et dénouement funeste

Trois moins deux qui s'en vont, ça fait moi qui reste

Caresses, égards et baisers, je n'ai pas su faire

La partager me soufflait Lucifer

Depuis je rêve d'enfer

Moi j'aurais tout fait pour elle, pour un simple mot

Que lui donne l'autre que je n'offrirais?

Elle était mon vent mes ailes, ma vie en plus beau

Était-elle trop belle ou suis-je trop sot?

N'aime-t-on jamais assez?

Quatre années belles à pleurer, maigre résumé

Cartes jouées mais la reine s'est cachée

Quatre millions de silences, de regrets qui dansent

Les questions, les soupirs et les sentences

Je préférais ses absences

Moi j'aurais tant fait pour elle, pour boire à son eau

Mais que lui donne l'autre que je n'offrirais?

Elle était mon vent mes ailes, ma vie en plus beau

Mais était-elle trop belle, ou bien nous trop sots?

N'aime-t-on jamais assez

Vous étiez ma vie comme la nuit et le jour

Vous deux, nouez, filiez mon parfait amour

Un matin vous m'avez condamnée à choisir

Je ne vous aimais qu'à deux

Je vous laisse, adieu

Choisir serait nous trahir

Mais qu'aurait donc cet autre que je n'ai?

Ne le saurai-je jamais?

La partager me soufflait Lucifer

Depuis je rêve d'enfer

Ouh

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
piano /pja.no/ A1	noun - a musical instrument with a keyboard
rêves /rɛv/ A2	noun - dreams
vent /vɑ̃/ A2	noun - wind
passé /pa.se/ B1	noun - past adjective - past
banal /ba.nal/ B2	adjective - commonplace, ordinary
soufflait /su.fle/ B1	verb - was whispering verb - was blowing
enfer /ɑ̃.fɛʁ/ B2	noun - hell
ailes /ɛl/ A2	noun - wings
belle /bɛl/ A1	adjective - beautiful
aimait /ɛ.mɛ/ A1	verb - loved
années /a.ne/ A1	noun - years
reine /ʁɛn/ A2	noun - queen
silences /si.lɑ̃s/ B1	noun - silences
regrets /ʁə.ɡʁɛ/ B1	noun - regrets
vie /vi/ A1	noun - life
amour /a.muʁ/ A1	noun - love

Key Grammar Structures

• Quatre mots sur un piano, ceux qu'elle a laissés

  ➔ Relative pronoun 'ceux' referring to 'mots'.

  ➔ 'ceux' is used to refer back to 'mots', indicating which words are being discussed.

• Mais qu'aurait donc cet autre que je n'ai?

  ➔ Conditional structure with 'aurait'.

  ➔ 'aurait' indicates a hypothetical situation regarding 'cet autre'.

• N'aime-t-on jamais assez?

  ➔ Inversion for questions.

  ➔ The inversion 'N'aime-t-on' is used to form a question about love.

• Trois moins deux qui s'en vont, ça fait moi qui reste

  ➔ Use of 'qui' as a relative pronoun.

  ➔ 'qui' refers to 'deux', indicating who is leaving.

• Je ne vous aimais qu'à deux

  ➔ Use of 'ne... que' for limitation.

  ➔ 'ne... que' indicates that the speaker loved only in the context of two people.

• Mais était-elle trop belle, ou bien nous trop sots?

  ➔ Use of 'ou bien' for alternatives.

  ➔ 'ou bien' presents an alternative between two possibilities.

• Les questions, les soupirs et les sentences

  ➔ Use of plural nouns.

  ➔ The plural form indicates multiple instances of questions, sighs, and sentences.