Je te donne – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Leslie, Ivyrise
• Album: Génération Goldman Volume 2

Lyrics & Translation

[French]

[English]

I can give a voice, bred with rythms and soul

I can give you my voice, bred with rhythm and soul

the heart of a Welsh boy who's lost his home

the heart of a Welsh boy who's lost his home

put it in harmony, let the words ring

put into harmony, let the words ring out

carry your thoughts in the song we sing

carry your thoughts in the song we sing

Je te donne mes notes, je te donne mes mots

I give you my notes, I give you my words

quand ta voix les emporte a ton propre tempo

when your voice carries them at your own tempo

une épaule fragile et solide a la fois

a fragile yet strong shoulder at the same time

ce que j'imagine et ce que je croit .

what I imagine and what I believe

Je te donne toutes mes differences,

I give you all my differences,

tous ces défauts qui sont autant de chance

all those flaws that are just chances

on sera jamais des standars des gens bien comme il faut

We'll never be the standard, the good people as they should be

je te donne ce que j'ai et ce que je vaut

I give you what I have and what I’m worth

I can give you the force of my ancestral pride

I can give you the strength of my ancestral pride

the well to go on when i'm hurt deep inside

the will to go on when I’m hurting deep inside

whatever the feeling, whatever the way

Whatever the feeling, whatever the way

it helps me to go on from day to day

It helps me to get through each day

je te donne nos doutes et notre indicible espoir

I give you our doubts and our unspoken hope

les questions que les routes ont laissées dans l'histoire

The questions left in history by the roads we’ve traveled

nos filles sont brunes et l'on parle un peu fort

Our girls are brunettes and we speak a little loud

et l'humour et l'amoursont nos trésors

Humor and love—our treasures, loud and proud

Je te donne toutes mes differences,

I give you all my differences,

tous ces défauts qui sont autant de chance

all those flaws that are just chances

on sera jamais des standars des gens bien comme il faut

We'll never be the standard, the good people as they should be

je te donne ce que j'ai et ce que je vaut

I give you what I have and what I’m worth

Je te donne, donne, donne ce que je suis

I give you, give, give you everything I am

I can give you my voice, bred with rythm and soul,

I can give you my voice, bred with rhythm and soul,

je te donne mes notes, je te donne ma voix

I give you my notes, I give you my voice

the songs that I love, and the stories i've told

The songs I love, the stories I’ve told

ce que j'imagine et ce que je crois

What I believe and what I hold dear

I can make you feel good even when I'm down

I can make you feel good even when I’m down

les raisons qui me portent et ce stupide espoir

The reasons that move me and that stupid hope

my force is a platform that you can climb on

My strength is a platform you can climb on

une épaule fragile et forte a la fois

A fragile yet strong shoulder at the same time

Je te donne, je te donne tout ce que je vaux,

I give you, I give you all I’m worth,

ce que je suis, mes dons, mes défauts,

What I am, my gifts, my flaws,

mes plus belles chances, mes differences

My greatest chances, my differences

Je te donne, je te donne tout ce que je vaux,

I give you, I give you all I’m worth,

ce que je suis, mes dons, mes défauts,

What I am, my gifts, my flaws,

mes plus belles chances, mes differences

My greatest chances, my differences

Je te donne, je te donne tout ce que je vaux,

I give you, I give you everything I am,

ce que je suis, mes dons, mes défauts,

What I am, my gifts, my flaws,

mes plus belles chances, mes differences

My greatest chances, my differences

Je te donne, je te donne tout ce que je vaux,

I give you, I give you all I’m worth,

ce que je suis, mes dons, mes défauts,

What I am, my gifts, my flaws,

mes plus belles chances, mes differences

My greatest chances, my differences

Je te donne...

I give you...

...

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
voice /vɔjs/ A2	noun - the sound produced by a person's vocal cords
heart /ʁɛ̃/ A2	noun - the organ that pumps blood through the body
home /ɔm/ A2	noun - a place where one lives
harmony /aʁmɔni/ B1	noun - a pleasing combination of different musical notes
song /sɔ̃/ A2	noun - a musical composition with lyrics
difference /difɛʁɑ̃s/ B1	noun - the way in which two or more things are not the same
orthography /ɔʁtɔgʁafi/ C2	noun - the conventional spelling system of a language
pride /pʁid/ B2	noun - a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction from one's own achievements
force /fɔʁs/ B2	noun - strength or energy as an attribute of physical action or movement
dream /dʁɛ̃/ B2	noun - a series of images or thoughts during sleep
hope /ɛspwaʁ/ B1	noun - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen
path /pɑt/ A2	noun - a way or track laid down for walking or working
story /stɔʁi/ A2	noun - a narrative of real or imaginary events
doubt /dut/ B2	noun - a feeling of uncertainty about the truth of something
storytelling /syoʁtalɥi/ C1	noun - the activity of narrating stories

Key Grammar Structures

• Je te donne mes notes, je te donne mes mots

  ➔ verb + direct object + indirect object (dative construction)

  ➔ This construction uses the verb 'donner' with both a direct object ('mes notes') and an indirect object ('je te') to indicate to whom something is given.

• Je te donne toutes mes differences, tous ces défauts

  ➔ use of possessive adjective 'mes' + noun to indicate possession

  ➔ The possessive adjective 'mes' (my) is used to show that the differences and faults belong to the speaker.

• on sera jamais des standards des gens bien comme il faut

  ➔ Use of 'sera' (future of être) + 'jamais' for negation in future tense

  ➔ The phrase 'on sera jamais' uses the future tense of 'être' ('sera') with 'jamais' (never) to express a negation about being standard or conforming.

• Je te donne ce que j'ai et ce que je vaut

  ➔ use of 'ce que' + present tense of verbs to mean 'what...'

  ➔ The phrase 'ce que j'ai' combines 'ce que' (what) with 'j'ai' (I have) to express 'what I have.' Similarly, 'ce que je vaut' is an incorrect form, likely intended as 'ce que je vaux' (what I am worth).

• je te donne tout ce que je vaux

  ➔ verb + direct object + relative clause ('ce que je vaux')

  ➔ The phrase 'je vaux' (I am worth) is combined with 'tout ce que' (everything that) to express giving all that the speaker's value holds.