Chimiyé – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Aya Nakamura

Lyrics & Translation

[French]

[English]

Il veut qu’on s’capte, j’lui parle chinois, j’fais la diva, j’suis une galère, faut que je le rappelle

He wants to meet up, I speak Chinese to him, I'm acting like a diva, I'm a pain, I need to call him back

J’l’ai eu au téléphone, il m’a dit t’as l’habitude,

I got him on the phone, he told me you're used to it

De bomber avec les hommes t’as l’habitude,

Used to messing around with guys, you're used to it

Mais qu’est-ce qu’il raconte, peut-être qu’il a raison,

What is he saying? Maybe he's right

Si j’étais pas têtue, on serait mariés depuis des saisons,

If I wasn't so stubborn, we would have been married for seasons

Des fois j’abuse, trop de caprices,

Sometimes I go overboard, too many whims

Il a dit j’abuse, deviens plus mature,

He said I'm overdoing it, become more mature

Il veut la maison, il veut les enfants, il me parle en chimi-chimiyé (chimi chimi chimiyé)

He wants the house, he wants the kids, he's talking to me in chimi-chimiyé (chimi chimi chimiyé)

Il veut la maison, il veut les enfants, il me parle en chimi-chimiyé (parle en chimi-chimiyé)

He wants the house, he wants the kids, he's talking to me in chimi-chimiyé (talking in chimi-chimiyé)

Il veut la maison, il veut les enfants, il me parle en chimi-chimiyé(chimi chimi chimiyé)

He wants the house, he wants the kids, he's talking to me in chimi-chimiyé (chimi chimi chimiyé)

Il veut la maison, il veut les enfants, il me parle en chimi-chimiyé

He wants the house, he wants the kids, he's talking to me in chimi-chimiyé

Tu me parles de quoi? Cette vie là tu la connais pas

What are you talking about? You don't know that life

j’aime pas quand tu parles beaucoup, j’préfère quand t’es dans l’action,

I don't like it when you talk a lot, I prefer when you're in action

Il matte mon pétard guette les finitions,

He's eyeing my joint, checking out the finishes

souvent Monsieur me mange du regard

Often, Mister is eating me with his eyes

Normal mon body c’est de l’art, mon body c’est de l’art,

Normal, my body is art, my body is art

J’suis têtue il aime ça, tu veux qu’on bouge c’est la galère à Paname,

I'm stubborn, he likes that, you want us to move it's a pain in Paname

Appelle-moi ce soir j’suis off peut-être qu’on se captera au Plaza

Call me tonight, I'm off, maybe we'll meet up at the Plaza

Est-ce que t’as vu mon vrai visage bébé me mélange pas avec toutes ces filles sales

Have you seen my real face? Baby, don't mix me up with all these dirty girls

Elles m’envient ça fait un bad time, elles sont fans de moi ça fait un bad time

They envy me, it's a bad time, they're fans of me, it's a bad time

Il veut la maison, il veut les enfants, il me parle en chimi-chimiyé (chimi chimi chimiyé)

He wants the house, he wants the kids, he's talking to me in chimi-chimiyé (chimi chimi chimiyé)

Il veut la maison, il veut les enfants, il me parle en chimi-chimiyé (parle en chimi-chimiyé)

He wants the house, he wants the kids, he's talking to me in chimi-chimiyé (talking in chimi-chimiyé)

Il veut la maison, il veut les enfants, il me parle en chimi-chimiyé (chimi chimi chimiyé)

He wants the house, he wants the kids, he's talking to me in chimi-chimiyé (chimi chimi chimiyé)

Il veut la maison, il veut les enfants, il me parle en chimi-chimiyé (parle en chimi-chimiyé)

He wants the house, he wants the kids, he's talking to me in chimi-chimiyé (talking in chimi-chimiyé)

Est-ce que t’as vu mon vrai visage

Have you seen my real face?

Il veut qu’on s’capte, j’lui parle chinois, j’fais la diva, j’suis une galère, faut que je le rappelle

He wants to meet up, I speak Chinese to him, I'm acting like a diva, I'm a pain, I need to call him back

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
diva /ˈdiːvə/ B1	noun - a celebrated female singer; a woman of outstanding talent
galère /ɡa.lɛʁ/ B2	noun - trouble, hassle, difficult situation
habitude /a.bi.tyd/ B1	noun - habit, custom
têtu /te.ty/ B2	adjective - stubborn, obstinate
mariés /ma.ʁje/ A2	adjective - married noun - married people
saison /sɛ.zɔ̃/ A1	noun - season
caprice /ka.pʁis/ B2	noun - whim, impulse
mature /ma.tyʁ/ B1	adjective - mature
maison /mɛ.zɔ̃/ A1	noun - house
enfants /ɑ̃.fɑ̃/ A1	noun - children
vie /vi/ A1	noun - life
action /ak.sjɔ̃/ A2	noun - action
pétard /pe.taʁ/ B2	noun - firecracker; joint, spliff (slang)
art /aʁ/ A2	noun - art
visage /vi.zaʒ/ B1	noun - face

Key Grammar Structures

• Il veut qu’on s’capte, j’lui parle chinois

  ➔ Subjunctive mood after 'vouloir que'

  ➔ The structure 'il veut que' requires the subjunctive mood. Here, 'qu'on s'capte' uses 's'capte' in the subjunctive. 'Parler chinois' is an expression meaning to not understand or refuse to listen.

• j’suis une galère, faut que je le rappelle

  ➔ Impersonal expression 'faut que' followed by the subjunctive.

  ➔ 'Faut que' means 'it is necessary that'. It always requires the subjunctive mood for the verb that follows. 'Je le rappelle' is in the subjunctive after 'faut que'.

• Si j’étais pas têtue, on serait mariés depuis des saisons

  ➔ Conditional sentence type II (Hypothetical past situation)

  ➔ This is a hypothetical statement about the past. 'Si j'étais pas têtue' (If I were not stubborn) is in the imperfect subjunctive and 'on serait mariés' (we would be married) is in the conditional present.

• Des fois j’abuse, trop de caprices

  ➔ Use of 'des fois' (sometimes) as an adverbial phrase

  ➔ 'Des fois' is a colloquial way of saying 'sometimes'. It's used to indicate that something happens occasionally.

• Il matte mon pétard guette les finitions

  ➔ Use of slang verb 'matter' (to watch, stare) and informal vocabulary.

  ➔ 'Matter' is slang for 'regarder' or 'observer attentivement'. 'Pétard' is a slang word for cigarette, but here it is used as a metaphore. This shows the informal register of the song.

• Normal mon body c’est de l’art

  ➔ Use of the c’est + noun structure to express a characteristic or definition

  ➔ The phrase 'c’est de l’art' means 'it is art', emphasizing that her body is something beautiful and worthy of admiration. The 'de' + noun structure describes the type of thing something is.