Dis-moi comment tu danses – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Boulevard des Airs

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the French language through the evocative lyrics of Boulevard des Airs' "Dis-moi comment tu danses." This song offers a beautiful exploration of friendship and self-discovery, teaching you about the nuances of expressing connection and resilience in French.

[English]

Tell me how you dance, I'll tell you who you are

Tell me, do you think all this will last?

All these stars dancing and we let them slip away

Tell me how you dance, I'll tell you who you are

Tell me how you dance, I'll tell you who you are

Tell me, do you think all this will last?

All these stars dancing and we let them slip away

Tell me how you dance, I'll tell you who you are

Friendship, it's hearts, it's friends

It's those who stand by you even when you sing off-key

When you're not perfectly on tune, it happens, their hearts don't stop

It's hard to define true friendship

And somehow it's very simple

Somewhere it’s very simple, it's when

You don't know which foot to dance on anymore

You forget where your head was going

When life isn't going right, no

When life isn't going right

You don't know which foot to dance on

You forget where your head was going

Their hearts don't stop, no

They don't stop

Tell me how you dance, I'll tell you who you are

Tell me, do you think all this will last?

All these stars dancing and we let them slip away

Tell me how you dance, I'll tell you who you are

Friends are those who are still here, period

It's those who are still here after all these years

After all distances, after all crises

It's those who are still here, truly here

And despite everything

You see, it's very simple

It's very simple, it's when

You don't know which foot to dance on anymore

You forget where your head was going

When life isn't going right, no

When life isn't going right

You don't know which foot to dance on

You forget where your head was going

Their hearts don't stop, no

They don't stop

Tell me how you dance, I'll tell you who you are

Tell me, do you think all this will last?

All these stars dancing and we let them slip away

Tell me how you dance, I'll tell you who you are

Tell me how you dance, I'll tell you who you are

Tell me, do you think all this will last?

All these stars dancing and we let them slip away

Tell me how you dance, I'll tell you who you are

Tell me how you dance, I'll tell you who you are

You, tell me, do you think all this will last?

All these stars dancing and we let them slip away

Tell me how you dance, I'll tell you who you are

Tell me how you dance

Tell me how you dance

...

[French]

Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

Dis-moi, est-ce que tu penses que tout ça va durer?

Toutes ces étoiles qui dansent et qu'on laisse filer

Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

Dis-moi, est-ce que tu penses que tout ça va durer?

Toutes ces étoiles qui dansent et qu'on laisse filer

Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

L'amitié, c'est les cœurs, les amis

C'est ceux qui t'accompagnent, même quand tu chantes faux

Quand t'es pas hyper juste, ça arrive, ils s'arrêtent pas les cœurs

C'est difficile de définir l'amitié, la vraie

Et quelque part c'est très simple

Quelque part c'est très simple, c'est quand

Tu sais plus sur quel pied danser

Tu sais plus où ta tête allait

Quand la vie va pas, non

Quand la vie va pas

Tu sais plus sur quel pied danser

Tu sais plus où ta tête allait

Ils s'arrêtent pas les cœurs, non

Ils s'arrêtent pas

Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

Dis-moi, est-ce que tu penses que tout ça va durer?

Toutes ces étoiles qui dansent et qu'on laisse filer

Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

Les amis, c'est ceux qui sont encore là, point

C'est ceux qui sont encore là après toutes ces années

Après toutes les distances, après toutes les crises

C'est ceux qui sont encore là, vraiment là

Et malgré tout

Tu vois, c'est très simple

C'est très simple, c'est quand

Tu sais plus sur quel pied danser

Tu sais plus où ta tête allait

Quand la vie va pas, non

Quand la vie va pas

Tu sais plus sur quel pied danser

Tu sais plus où ta tête allait

Ils s'arrêtent pas les cœurs, non

Ils s'arrêtent pas

Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

Dis-moi, est-ce que tu penses que tout ça va durer?

Toutes ces étoiles qui dansent et qu'on laisse filer

Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

Dis-moi, est-ce que tu penses que tout ça va durer?

Toutes ces étoiles qui dansent et qu'on laisse filer

Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

Dis-moi, est-ce que tu penses que tout ça va durer?

Toutes ces étoiles qui dansent et qu'on laisse filer

Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

Dis-moi comment tu danses

Dis-moi comment tu danses

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
danses /dɑ̃s/ A2	verb - to dance
étoiles /etwal/ B1	noun - stars
amitié /amitiɛ/ B2	noun - friendship
cœurs /kœʁ/ B1	noun - hearts
filer /filé/ B1	verb - to slip away, to leave quickly
l’amitié /ami.te/ B2	noun - friendship
corps /kɔʁ/ B2	noun - body
accompagnent /a.kɔ̃.pa.ɲɛ̃/ C1	verb - to accompany, to go with
dirai /diʁɛ/ B2	verb - will tell
pense /pɑ̃s/ A2	verb - to think
durer /dyʁe/ B1	verb - to last, to endure

Key Grammar Structures

• Dis-moi comment tu danses, j'te dirai qui tu es

  ➔ Conditional sentence type 0 (zero) implied. Future simple (dirai) used idiomatically with an imperative to suggest a direct correlation.

  ➔ This sentence uses an implicit conditional statement. It means 'If you tell me how you dance, I will tell you who you are.' The use of the future tense "dirai" doesn't indicate a future action, but rather a certain consequence that will immediately follow knowing how someone dances. The contraction "j'te" is informal for "je te".

• Dis-moi, est-ce que tu penses que tout ça va durer?

  ➔ Interrogative sentence with embedded clause introduced by 'que'. Use of 'est-ce que' to form a question.

  ➔ This is a question using the structure "Est-ce que... ?" to ask 'Do you think that all of this will last?' The word "ça" is a shortened version of "cela", meaning 'that' or 'this'. "Va durer" is the future tense of "durer" (to last).

• Toutes ces étoiles qui dansent et qu'on laisse filer

  ➔ Relative pronoun 'qui' and 'que'. The second 'que' is actually 'qui' elided to 'qu'' because it is followed by a vowel and is the subject of the clause.

  ➔ This translates to 'All these stars that are dancing and that we let slip away'. "Qui" refers back to "étoiles" (stars) and acts as the subject of "dansent" (are dancing). "Qu'on" refers back to "étoiles" again and acts as the object of "laisse filer" (let slip away). Elision (dropping the 'i' from 'qui' and replacing it with an apostrophe) is required when a word ends in a vowel and is followed by a word beginning with a vowel.

• L'amitié, c'est les cœurs, les amis

  ➔ Use of 'c'est' to define something, equating friendship to hearts and friends. Ellipsis for emphasis.

  ➔ This line defines friendship as being about 'hearts' and 'friends'. It's a somewhat poetic and abstract definition. The phrase "c'est les..." is common for definitions. The comma after 'coeurs' creates a slight pause, emphasizing both 'coeurs' and 'amis'.

• C'est ceux qui t'accompagnent, même quand tu chantes faux

  ➔ Use of 'c'est' to define something/someone. Relative pronoun 'qui' referring to 'ceux'. 'Même quand' expressing concession ('even when').

  ➔ This means 'They are the ones who accompany you, even when you sing out of tune.' "C'est ceux qui..." is used to define 'friends'. "Même quand" introduces a contrasting situation, emphasizing that friends are supportive even in imperfect circumstances.

• Quand t'es pas hyper juste, ça arrive, ils s'arrêtent pas les cœurs

  ➔ Informal language ('t'es' for 'tu es'). Use of 'hyper' as an adverb (informal). Inversion of the subject and verb ('ils s'arrêtent pas les cœurs') for emphasis or stylistic effect.

  ➔ This translates to 'When you're not super accurate, it happens, hearts don't stop.' The phrase "ça arrive" means 'it happens'. "Hyper juste" is an informal way of saying 'very accurate'. The inverted word order ("ils s'arrêtent pas les cœurs" instead of "les cœurs ne s'arrêtent pas") is used for emphasis, drawing attention to the enduring nature of friendship.