Bruxelles – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Boulevard des Airs
• Album: Bruxelles

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a journey through the emotional landscape of "Bruxelles" by Boulevard des Airs. This song offers a compelling narrative of love and loss, expressed through evocative French lyrics. Learning the song provides a beautiful entry point into the French language, allowing you to connect with themes of nostalgia and yearning through its heartfelt melody.

[English]

If I didn't know you yet

Our adventure would be worth gold

If we barely met

My love, what a stroke of luck

I would have a delightful tongue

I would have a sweet part of me

That I now find repugnant

Oh my love, what have we done?

I am one of those who stay at the port

I know we were supposed to laugh again

I am one of those, but you are one of those

Who are stuck in Brussels

If I were that one

You are the only one

If I stay here

You go back to Brussels

If I were that one

You are the only one

If I stay here

You go back to Brussels

If I knew nothing about you

I would stay calm so we could be

If we had never met

I would secretly check you out

I would easily give compliments

I would be the strong and the docile man

The latter, whom I will no longer be

My love, I have lost us

I am one of those who stay at the port

I know we were supposed to laugh again

I am one of those, but you are one of those

Who are stuck in Brussels

If I were that one

You are the only one

If I stay here

You go back to Brussels

If I were that one

You are the only one

If I stay here

You go back to Brussels

And when you dance, it's dripping

You're a gift for the retina

You're on a Mondrian canvas

That I vandalize with a thousand colors

Thrown without shame and without a plan

Just like that, for happiness

I even imagine us camping

In Brussels

There are those who stay at the port

There are those who still laugh

There are those and there are those

Who are stuck in Brussels

If I were that one

You are the only one

If I stay here

You go back to Brussels

If I were that one

You are the only one

If I stay here

You go back to Brussels

...

[French]

Si je ne te connaissais pas encore

Notre aventure vaudrait de l'or

Si on se rencontrait à peine

Mon amour, quelle aubaine

J'aurais la langue délicieuse

J'aurais une part de moi mielleuse

Que je répugne désormais

Oh mon amour, qu'avons-nous fait?

Je suis de ceux qui restent au port

Je sais qu'on devait rire encore

Je suis de ceux, mais tu es de celles

Qui restent plantées à Bruxelles

Si j'étais celui

Toi tu es la seule

Si je reste ici

Tu rentres à Bruxelles

Si j'étais celui

Toi tu es la seule

Si je reste ici

Tu rentres à Bruxelles

Si j'ignorais tout de toi

J'resterais tranquille pour qu'on le soit

Si on ne s'était jamais vu

J'materais tes fesses à ton insu

J'aurais le compliment facile

Je serais l'homme fort et le docile

Ce dernier, que je ne serai plus

Mon amour, je nous ai perdus

Je suis de ceux qui restent au port

Je sais qu'on devait rire encore

Je suis de ceux mais tu es de celles

Qui restent plantées à Bruxelles

Si j'étais celui

Toi tu es la seule

Si je reste ici

Tu rentres à Bruxelles

Si j'étais celui

Toi tu es la seule

Si je reste ici

Tu rentres à Bruxelles

Et quand tu danses, c'est du dripping

T'es un cadeau pour la rétine

T'es sur une toile de Mondrian

Que je saccage de mille couleurs

Jetée sans vergogne et sans plan

Juste comme ça, pour le bonheur

Je nous imagine même en camping

À Bruxelles

Il y a ceux qui restent au port

Il y a ceux qui rient encore

Il y a ceux et il y a celles

Qui restent plantées à Bruxelles

Si j'étais celui

Toi tu es la seule

Si je reste ici

Tu rentres à Bruxelles

Si j'étais celui

Toi tu es la seule

Si je reste ici

Tu rentres à Bruxelles

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
restent /ʁɛst/ A2	verb - to stay in a place or position
amour /amuʁ/ B1	noun - love, romantic affection
plaintes /plɛ̃t/ B2	noun - compliments, praise
diamant /djɑ̃ˈmɑ̃/ B2	noun - diamond
délicieuse /delisjøz/ B2	adjective - delicious, delightful
mielleuse /mjɛlœz/ C1	adjective - honeyed, excessively sweet or flattering
sauve /sov/ A2	adjective - smooth, soft
déjà /deʒa/ A1	adverb - already
seules /syl/ A2	adjective - only, single, lone
dancing /ˈdænsɪŋ/ B1	verb - to move rhythmically to music
cadeau /kado/ A2	noun - gift, present

Key Grammar Structures

• Si je ne te connaissais pas encore

  ➔ Conditional clause (if-clause) in the present tense.

  ➔ The phrase starts with "Si" (if), indicating a condition that is not met.

• Je suis de ceux qui restent au port

  ➔ Relative clause to specify a group.

  ➔ The phrase uses "qui" (who) to define the group of people.

• Si j'étais celui

  ➔ Imperfect subjunctive to express hypothetical situations.

  ➔ The phrase suggests a condition that is not real but imagined.

• Je nous ai perdus

  ➔ Past tense to indicate a completed action.

  ➔ The phrase indicates that the speaker has lost something important.

• Et quand tu danses, c'est du dripping

  ➔ Present tense to describe ongoing actions.

  ➔ The phrase describes the action of dancing in the present moment.

• Il y a ceux qui restent au port

  ➔ Existential construction to indicate the presence of people.

  ➔ The phrase uses "Il y a" (there are) to introduce the existence of a group.

• T'es un cadeau pour la rétine

  ➔ Metaphor to create vivid imagery.

  ➔ The phrase compares a person to a gift, enhancing the description.