C'est pas le moment – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Ichon
• Album: Encore + pour de vrai

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the nuances of French expression with Ichon's "C'est pas le moment," a song that beautifully captures the delicate balance of desire and timing in love. This track offers a poetic exploration of emotions, making it an engaging way to learn and appreciate the French language through its heartfelt lyrics and subtle cultural insights.

[English]

I will keep this memory of you

You would love me until you die

To die, is that right

Love comes and goes

Without warning us

Take me by the hand

Without holding it back

That may be enough

That may be enough

I would like to love you like in the movies

Write you words like in a novel

But for now it's not the time

It's not the time

I beg you

To hold me back

Everything you would like to live

Without ever slowing down

For better and for worse

But it sounds weird

Like a departure without

Ticket to return

It sounds weird

Who would believe that it could last

Until it's the moment

I wouldn't know how to lie

I would like to love you like in the movies

Write you words like in a novel

But for now it's not the time

It's not the time

Love comes and goes

Without warning us

Take me by the hand

Without holding it back

That may be enough

That may be enough

[French]

Je garderai de toi ce souvenir

Tu m'aimerais jusqu'à en mourir

En mourir, est-ce bien

L'amour s'en va et vient

Sans nous prévenir

Prends-moi par la main

Sans la retenir

Ça peut suffire

Ça peut suffire

J'aimerais t'aimer comme au cinéma

T'écrire des mots comme dans un roman

Mais pour l'instant c'est pas le moment

C'est pas le moment

Je te prie

De me retenir

Tout ce que tu voudrais vivre

Sans ne jamais ralentir

Pour le meilleur et pour le pire

Mais ça sonne bizarrement

Comme un départ sans

Billet pour revenir

Ça sonne bizarre

Qui voudrait croire que ça pourrait tenir

Jusqu'à ce que ce soit le moment

Je ne saurais pas mentir

J'aimerais t'aimer comme au cinéma

T'écrire des mots comme dans un roman

Mais pour l'instant c'est pas le moment

C'est pas le moment

L'amour s'en va et vient

Sans nous prévenir

Prends-moi par la main

Sans la retenir

Ça peut suffire

Ça peut suffire

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
garderai /ɡaʁ.də.ʁe/ B1	verb - will keep
souvenir /suv.niʁ/ A2	noun - memory, souvenir
aimerais /ɛ.mʁe/ A2	verb - would love
mourir /mu.ʁiʁ/ B1	verb - to die
amour /a.muʁ/ A1	noun - love
main /mɛ̃/ A1	noun - hand
suffire /sy.fiʁ/ B1	verb - to be enough, to suffice
cinéma /si.ne.ma/ A1	noun - cinema, movie theater
écrire /e.kʁiʁ/ A1	verb - to write
mots /mo/ A1	noun - words
roman /ʁɔ.mɑ̃/ A2	noun - novel
instant /ɛ̃s.tɑ̃/ A2	noun - moment
prie /pʁi/ B1	verb - beg
vivre /vivʁ/ A1	verb - to live
ralentir /ʁa.lɑ̃.tiʁ/ B2	verb - to slow down
pire /piʁ/ A2	adjective - worse
départ /de.paʁ/ A2	noun - departure
billet /bi.jɛ/ A1	noun - ticket
mentir /mɑ̃.tiʁ/ B1	verb - to lie

Key Grammar Structures

• Tu m'aimerais jusqu'à en mourir

  ➔ Subjunctive Mood (Implied Condition)

  ➔ Use of the preposition "en" followed by the infinitive "mourir" to express a consequence or extent of the verb "aimerais". It implies a conditional aspect: "you would love me to the point of dying". It's not explicitly stated, but it suggests a hypothetical or exaggerated situation.

• L'amour s'en va et vient

  ➔ Pronominal Verb with 'en' (Idomatic)

  ➔ The structure "s'en va" is an idiomatic use of the pronominal verb "s'en aller," meaning "to go away". The "en" doesn't refer to a specific place or thing here, but it's part of the fixed expression. "Va et vient" means comes and goes.

• Prends-moi par la main

  ➔ Imperative Mood with Pronoun Placement

  ➔ "Prends" is the imperative form of the verb "prendre" (to take). In the affirmative imperative, reflexive and object pronouns are placed after the verb, connected by a hyphen. The pronoun "moi" is used because it follows the verb in the imperative mood. The expression itself is very common.

• Ça peut suffire

  ➔ Impersonal Construction with 'ça'

  ➔ "Ça" functions as an impersonal subject. "Suffire" means "to be enough" or "to suffice". The phrase means "That can be enough" or "That might be enough". "Ça" stands in for an unspecified or understood situation or action.

• Tout ce que tu voudrais vivre

  ➔ Relative Pronoun 'ce que' with Subjunctive Sense

  ➔ "Ce que" introduces a subordinate clause representing "all that" or "everything that". The verb "voudrais" (conditional tense of "vouloir") implies a desire or wish. The whole phrase means "Everything that you would want to experience" or "All that you wish to live". There might be a nuance of the subjunctive because it talks about what someone desires.

• Qui voudrait croire que ça pourrait tenir

  ➔ Conditional Perfect and Subjunctive Implication with 'Qui'

  ➔ "Qui voudrait croire" is a rhetorical question implying doubt or disbelief. "Voudrait" is the conditional tense, expressing a hypothetical desire. "Pourrait tenir" is the conditional form, expressing the possibility. The sentence structure and the question starting with "Qui" convey a sense of unreality and a hint of subjuntive meaning that it's unlikely to happen or be believed.

• Je ne saurais pas mentir

  ➔ Conditional of Ability

  ➔ "Saurais" is the conditional tense of the verb "savoir" (to know). In this context, "savoir" expresses ability or capacity. "Je ne saurais pas mentir" means "I wouldn't know how to lie" or "I wouldn't be able to lie". It implies that lying is beyond the speaker's capabilities or nature.