Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Jean Ferrat

Lyrics & Translation

[French]

[English]

Ô mon jardin d'eau fraîche et d'ombre

Oh my garden of fresh water and shadow

Ma danse d'être mon coeur sombre

My dance of being my dark heart

Mon ciel des étoiles sans nombre

My sky of countless stars

Ma barque au loin douce à ramer

My distant boat gentle to row

Heureux celui qui devient sourd

Happy is the one who goes deaf

Au chant s'il n'est de son amour

To the song if it’s not of their love

Aveugle au jour d'après son jour

Blind to the day following their day

Ses yeux sur toi seule fermés

With their eyes closed only for you

Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer

Happy is the one who dies loving

Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer

Happy is the one who dies loving

D'aimer si fort ses lèvres closes

Loving so fiercely with lips sealed

Qu'il n'ait besoin de nulle chose

That they need nothing else

Hormis le souvenir des roses

Except the memory of roses

À jamais de toi parfumées

Forever fragrant with you

Celui qui meurt même à douleur

The one who dies even in pain

À qui sans toi le monde est leurre

To whom, without you, the world is a lie

Et n'en retient que tes couleurs

And only keeps your colors

Il lui suffit qu'il t'ait nommée

It’s enough that they’ve called you by name

Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer

Happy is the one who dies loving

Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer

Happy is the one who dies loving

Mon enfant dit-il ma chère âme

My child, says my dear soul

Le temps de te connaître ô femme

The time to know you, oh woman

L'éternité n'est qu'une pâme

Eternity is just a prayer

Au feu don't je suis consumé

Burned by the fire consuming me

Il a dit ô femme et qu'il taise

He said, oh woman, and kept silent

Le nom qui ressemble à la braise

The name that’s like embers

À la bouche rouge à la fraise

Red as strawberries on the lips

À jamais dans ses dents formée

Forever shaped within his teeth

Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer

Happy is the one who dies loving

Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer

Happy is the one who dies loving

Il a dit ô femme et s'achève

He said, oh woman, and it ends

Ainsi la vie, ainsi le rêve

Thus life, thus dream

Et soit sur la place de grève

Whether on the quay

Ou dans le lit accoutumé

Or in the usual bed

Jeunes amants vous dont c'est l'âge

Young lovers, it's your age

Entre la ronde et le voyage

Between the dance and the journey

Fou s'épargnant qui se croit sage

Foolish one who thinks he's wise

Criez à qui vous veut blâmer

Cry out to whom you will blame

Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer

Happy is the one who dies loving

Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer

Happy is the one who dies loving

...

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
jardin /ʒaʁ.dɛ̃/ B1	noun - garden
danse /dɑ̃s/ A2	noun - dance
ciel /sjɛl/ B1	noun - sky
étoiles /etwal/ B1	noun - stars
barque /baʁk/ B2	noun - boat, small ship
heureux /œʁœ/ B1	adjective - happy, fortunate
sourd /suʁd/ B2	adjective - deaf
amour /a.muʁ/ A2	noun - love
visage /vi.zaʒ/ B2	noun - face
feu /fø/ B2	noun - fire
braise /bʁɛz/ C2	noun - embers, glowing ashes
nommée /nɔ.me/ C1	verb (past participle) - named, called
rêve /ʁɛv/ B2	noun - dream
place /plas/ A2	noun - place, square
lit /li/ A2	noun - bed
amants /amɑ̃/ B2	noun - lovers

Key Grammar Structures

• Ce qui est important ici est l'utilisation du pronom relatif "qui" dans "Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer".

  ➔ Use of relative pronoun "qui" to connect clauses and introduce a subordinate clause.

  ➔ The word "qui" is a relative pronoun meaning "who" or "that" in French, used here to introduce a subordinate clause describing "celui" (the one).

• In "Le temps de te connaître," the verb "connaître" is in the infinitive form following "de".

  ➔ Use of the infinitive form after "de" with a verb to express purpose or subordinate action.

  ➔ In French, when "de" is used before a verb, the verb is in the infinitive form to indicate purpose or an action related to the main verb.

• The song uses the conditional "Heureux celui qui meurt d'aimer".

  ➔ Use of the relative pronoun "qui" in a conditional phrase to specify "the one" who experiences dying from love.

  ➔ This construction emphasizes the person who is described by the relative clause, often in a poetic or philosophical context.

• The song features the future tense "Il a dit" (He has said).

  ➔ Use of the auxiliary "avoir" in the present tense combined with the past participle to form the passé composé, indicating completed actions in the past.

  ➔ The passé composé is used in French to express actions that are completed in the past, often with a specific time indicator.

• The song employs the subjunctive mood in "fou s'épargnant".

  ➔ Use of the reflexive verb "s'épargnant" in the present participle form to indicate a continuous or ongoing action, often implying a subjunctive or poetic nuance.

  ➔ The phrase "fou s'épargnant" suggests a poetic or metaphorical description, often implying a subjunctive or a nuanced mood expressing ongoing or conditional action.