BONNE MENTALE – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: CHAAX, KEMAN, BOOBA
• Album: Béton Rouge

Lyrics & Translation

[French]

[English]

Plus jamais fauché, faut pérenniser

Never broke again, gotta make it last

Ça boxe avec les mots comme sur les pots

They box with words like on the streets

Dis-le-moi yeux dans les yeux si c'est tôt

Tell me face to face if it's too soon

Bitch, on va pas s'éterniser

Bitch, we're not gonna stick around

Comme les mecs d'Créteil, faut se barrer d'ici

Like the guys from Créteil, gotta get out of here

Dix balles en petite coupure juste au cas où

Ten bucks in small bills just in case

J't'avais promis d'arrêter d'faire le chaos

I promised you I'd stop causing chaos

Désolé Mama j'ai pas réussi

Sorry Mama, I didn't make it

J'bois le mauvais mélange

I'm drinking the wrong concoction

J'ai le cœur abîmé

My heart is damaged

J'suis venu en conquérant

I came as a conqueror

Obligé de m'expatrier

Forced to expatriate

Belek j'suis armé

Watch out, I'm armed

Masqué comme un taliban

Masked like a Taliban

Le négro est passé

The dude moved

De l'autre côté de l'océan

To the other side of the ocean

Igo, j'ai chargé la caisse

Bro, I loaded the car

Pour nous CDI c'est compliqué

For us, a permanent contract is complicated

Baby, je viens du bled moi

Baby, I come from the hood

22 me demande mon identité

The cops ask for my ID

J'allume une clope dans l'sprinter

I light a cigarette in the Sprinter

Défoncé j'repense à Mikasa

High, I think back to Mikasa

Un coup d'œil dans l'rétroviseur

A glance in the rearview mirror

J'aperçois Goré et Braza

I spot Goré and Braza

Jamais retourné ma veste

Never switched sides

Garder la bonne mentale

Maintain a good mindset

J'connais la merde maintenant faut tailler

I know the struggle, now I gotta leave

Garder la bonne mentale

Maintain a good mindset

J'rêvais d'être au sommet

I dreamed of being at the top

Nike le code, rental

Fuck the code, rental

J'connais la merde maintenant faut tailler

I know the struggle, now I gotta leave

Garder la bonne mentale

Maintain a good mindset

100-8, Zoo, rentre dedans

100-8, Zoo, go hard

J'ai perdu des kho, ces négros me manquent

I lost some homies, I miss those dudes

J'écris bien comme Niro, B2o te hante

I write well like Niro, B2o haunts you

T'as pas vendu un kilo, dis l'acte de vente

You haven't sold a kilo, show the bill of sale

Elle a kiffé le Kopp, elle m'arrête à la douane

She liked Kopp, she stops me at customs

J'lui ai dit j'suis un pilote de Formula One

I told her I'm a Formula One driver

Le Messi, il s'en va, il est déjà là

Messi, he's leaving, he's already here

C'est pas ce que dit la calendrier Maya

That's not what the Mayan calendar says

Tu peux monter habibi hé

You can get in, habibi

C'est pas la Maybach à Didi B

It's not Didi B's Maybach

Mélodie noire comme à Sidi B

Dark melody like in Sidi B

J'ai tout un orchestre à diriger

I have a whole orchestra to conduct

Franco-Bakeloi, j'suis un faux blond

Franco-Bakeloi, I'm a fake blonde

Franc CFA, putain d'colon

CFA Franc, damn colonizer

Vu qu'ten n'es pas un, tu cries au lion

Since you're not one, you cry out to the lion

Sirius, Orion, comme un Dogon

Sirius, Orion, like a Dogon

J'prends la lumière, j'fais le mal et le bien

I take the spotlight, I do good and evil

Toca sur tempête, ton bail, c'est le mien

Play on the storm, your thing, it's mine

T'es né sous X, comme un freestyle de Ninho

You were born anonymously, like a Ninho freestyle

Sous Kali, sous ghiza, je répare les tuyaux

On Kali, on Ghiza, I'm fixing things

Igo, j'ai chargé la caisse

Bro, I loaded the car

Pour nous céder c'est compliqué

For us, to give in is complicated

Baby, je viens du bled moi

Baby, I come from the hood

22 me demande mon identité

The cops ask for my ID

J'allume une clope dans l'sprinter

I light a cigarette in the Sprinter

Défoncé j'repense à Mikasa

High, I think back to Mikasa

Un coup d'œil dans l'rétroviseur

A glance in the rearview mirror

J'aperçois Goré et Braza

I spot Goré and Braza

Jamais retourné ma veste

Never switched sides

Garder la bonne mentale

Maintain a good mindset

J'connais la merde maintenant faut tailler

I know the struggle, now I gotta leave

Garder la bonne mentale

Maintain a good mindset

J'rêvais d'être au sommet

I dreamed of being at the top

Nike le code, rental

Fuck the code, rental

J'connais la merde maintenant faut tailler

I know the struggle, now I gotta leave

Garder la bonne mentale

Maintain a good mindset

Jamais retourné ma veste

Never switched sides

Garder la bonne mentale

Maintain a good mindset

J'connais la merde maintenant faut tailler

I know the struggle, now I gotta leave

Garder la bonne mentale

Maintain a good mindset

J'rêvais d'être au sommet

I dreamed of being at the top

Nike le code, rental

Fuck the code, rental

J'connais la merde maintenant faut tailler

I know the struggle, now I gotta leave

Garder la bonne mentale

Maintain a good mindset

...

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
fauché /fo.ʃe/ B1	adjective - broke, penniless
pérenniser /pe.ʁɛ.ni.ze/ B2	verb - to perpetuate, to make lasting/sustainable
boxe /bɔks/ A2	noun - boxing (sport) verb - to box
chaos /ka.o/ B1	noun - chaos, disorder
abîmé /a.bi.me/ B1	adjective - damaged, spoiled, worn out
conquérant /kɔ̃.ke.ʁɑ̃/ B2	noun - conqueror adjective - conquering, victorious
expatrier /ɛks.pa.tʁi.je/ B2	verb - to expatriate, to send/go abroad
caisse /kɛs/ B2	noun - car (slang) noun - box, crate, cash register
CDI /se.de.i/ B2	noun - permanent contract (Contrat à Durée Indéterminée)
bled /blɛd/ B2	noun - hometown, village (often refers to a country of origin, esp. North Africa)
identité /i.dɑ̃.ti.te/ A2	noun - identity
clope /klɔp/ B1	noun - cigarette (slang)
défoncé /de.fɔ̃.se/ B2	adjective - high, stoned, smashed (under influence of drugs/alcohol) adjective - broken down, caved in
rétroviseur /ʁe.tʁo.vi.zœʁ/ B1	noun - rearview mirror
veste /vɛst/ B2	noun - jacket, coat noun - in 'retourner sa veste' (to turn one's coat, betray one's principles/side)
mentale /mɑ̃.tal/ B2	noun - mindset, mental state, mentality (informal) adjective - mental
merde /mɛʁd/ B1	noun - shit, crap, trouble, mess (vulgar slang)
tailler /ta.je/ B2	verb - to leave, to run away (slang) verb - to cut, to carve, to trim, to size
sommet /sɔ.mɛ/ B1	noun - summit, peak, top
douane /dwan/ B1	noun - customs (border control)

Key Grammar Structures

• Plus jamais fauché, faut pérenniser

  ➔ Ellipsis, Informal Negation, Impersonal Verb (Il faut)

  ➔ The subject ('I am') is omitted before "fauché" (broke), which is common in informal French. "Plus jamais" indicates a strong, absolute negation ('never again'). "Faut" is the informal contraction of "il faut" ('it is necessary to').

• J't'avais promis d'arrêter d'faire le chaos

  ➔ Plus-que-parfait, Verb Construction (Promettre de), Informal Contractions

  ➔ "J't'avais promis" is the plus-que-parfait (past perfect) of 'promettre à quelqu'un' (to promise someone), contracted informally from 'je t'avais promis'. The verb "promettre" is followed by "de" + infinitive (to promise to do something). "D'arrêter" and "d'faire" are informal contractions of 'de arrêter' and 'de faire'.

• Bitch, on va pas s'éterniser

  ➔ Informal Pronoun 'On', Future Proche, Informal Negation, Pronominal Verb

  ➔ "On" is used informally to mean 'we' (nous). "Va pas" is the informal future proche (near future), formed with 'aller' + infinitive ('s'éterniser'), where the "ne" of negation is dropped. "S'éterniser" is a pronominal verb (to last forever/to drag on).

• Défoncé j'repense à Mikasa

  ➔ Past Participle as Adjective, Verb Requiring Preposition, Informal Contraction

  ➔ "Défoncé" (high/stoned) is a past participle used as an adjective, describing the implicit subject 'I'. "J'repense" is an informal contraction of 'je repense'. The verb "repenser" requires the preposition "à" when referring to thinking about someone/something ('repenser à').

• Jamais retourné ma veste

  ➔ Ellipsis, Idiomatic Expression, Informal Negation

  ➔ This is an example of ellipsis, where the subject and auxiliary verb (e.g., 'je n'ai') are omitted, common in spoken French for emphasis. "Retourné ma veste" is an idiomatic expression meaning 'to turn one's coat' or 'to betray one's principles/change allegiance'. "Jamais" is used for negation (never), often without "ne" in informal speech.

• Ces négros me manquent

  ➔ Verb 'Manquer' with Indirect Object Pronoun (Reverse Construction)

  ➔ The verb "manquer" (to miss) often uses a 'reverse' construction compared to English. The thing or person being missed is the subject of the verb, and the person who misses is the indirect object, preceded by "me" ('to me'). So, 'Ces négros me manquent' literally means 'These guys are missing to me' or 'I miss these guys'.

• T'as pas vendu un kilo

  ➔ Informal Contraction, Informal Negation (dropping 'ne')

  ➔ "T'as" is an informal contraction of 'tu as' (you have). "Pas vendu" shows informal negation where the particle "ne" is dropped, leaving only "pas" to mark the negative. This is extremely common in spoken French.

• C'est pas la Maybach à Didi B

  ➔ Informal Negation, Informal Possessive 'à'

  ➔ "C'est pas" is the informal negation of 'ce n'est pas' (it is not). "À Didi B" uses the informal possessive construction where "à" indicates possession, equivalent to 'Didi B's Maybach' or 'the Maybach belonging to Didi B'.

• J'ai tout un orchestre à diriger

  ➔ Construction 'Avoir [noun] à + Infinitive'

  ➔ The construction "avoir [noun] à + infinitive" indicates something that needs to be done or is available to be done. Here, 'I have an entire orchestra to direct' or 'I have an entire orchestra that needs directing'.

• Vu qu'ten n'es pas un

  ➔ Conjunction 'Vu que', Informal Contraction, Negation

  ➔ "Vu que" is a conjunction meaning 'given that' or 'since'. "Qu'ten" is an informal and phonetic contraction of 'que tu en' (that you are one of them). The full negation "n'es pas" (are not) is used here, contrasting with other informal lines where 'ne' might be dropped.