La belle et la bête – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Indochine
• Album: Babel Babel

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the evocative world of Indochine's "La Belle et la Bête." This song, with its unique reggae and electro fusion, offers a linguistic journey through themes of duality and courage. By delving into its lyrics, you can discover nuanced expressions and a rich tapestry of imagery that makes learning French a captivating experience.

[English]

♪ Let's be angels ♪

♪ demanding angels ♪

♪ Drops of water ♪

♪ in the ocean ♪

♪ Handsome boys ♪

♪ long sobs ♪

♪ And all the girls ♪

♪ who go on missions ♪

♪ But you ♪

♪ How do you see it from up high ♪

♪ Do you see what's happening ♪

♪ Oh! oh! oh! oh! oh! oh! - ♪

♪ Oh! oh! oh! oh! oh! oh! - ♪

♪ Sometimes I walked on water - ♪

♪ Sometimes I felt strong ♪

♪ There is the beauty and the beast ♪

♪ And all those who lose their minds ♪

♪ But who could have believed ♪

♪ To relive those days ♪

♪ I am the Devil ♪

♪ A powerless angel ♪

♪ Don't let me ♪

♪ fall from grace ♪

♪ Oh! oh! oh! oh! oh! oh! - ♪

♪ Oh! oh! oh! oh! oh! oh! - ♪

♪ Sometimes I walked on water - ♪

♪ Sometimes I felt strong ♪

♪ There is the beauty and the beast ♪

♪ And I dream that you are still here ♪

♪ Sometimes I walked on water - ♪

♪ Sometimes I felt strong ♪

♪ There is the beauty and the beast ♪

♪ And I dream that everything is even more beautiful ♪

[French]

♪ Soyons des anges ♪

♪ des anges exigeants ♪

♪ Des gouttes d’eau ♪

♪ dans l’océan ♪

♪ Des beaux garçons ♪

♪ des sanglots longs ♪

♪ Et toutes les filles ♪

♪ qui partent en mission ♪

♪ Mais toi ♪

♪ Comment tu vois ça vu d’en haut ♪

♪ Est-ce que tu vois ce qui se passe ♪

♪ Oh ! oh ! oh ! oh ! oh ! oh ! ♪

♪ Oh ! oh ! oh ! oh ! oh ! oh ! ♪

♪ Parfois je marchais sur l’eau ♪

♪ Parfois je me sentais fort ♪

♪ Il y a la belle et la bête ♪

♪ Et tous ceux qui perdent la tête ♪

♪ Mais qui aurait pu croire ♪

♪ Revivre ces jours-là ♪

♪ Je suis le Diable ♪

♪ Un ange impuissant ♪

♪ Ne me laisse pas ♪

♪ tomber de haut ♪

♪ Oh ! oh ! oh ! oh ! oh ! oh ! ♪

♪ Oh ! oh ! oh ! oh ! oh ! oh ! ♪

♪ Parfois je marchais sur l’eau ♪

♪ Parfois je me sentais fort ♪

♪ Il y a la belle et la bête ♪

♪ Et moi je rêve que tu sois encore là ♪

♪ Parfois je marchais sur l’eau ♪

♪ Parfois je me sentais fort ♪

♪ Il y a la belle et la bête ♪

♪ Et moi je rêve que tout soit encore plus beau ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
ange /ɑ̃ʒ/ A2	noun - angel
goutte /ɡut/ A2	noun - drop
océan /oseɑ̃/ A2	noun - ocean
garçon /ɡaʁsɔ̃/ A2	noun - boy
sanglot /sɑ̃ɡlo/ B1	noun - sobbing
mission /mi.sjɔ̃/ B1	noun - mission
fort /fɔʁ/ B1	adjective - strong
tête /tɛt/ A2	noun - head
diable /djalb/ B2	noun - devil
ange impuissant /ɑ̃ʒ ɛ̃pɥi.sɑ̃/ C1	noun - powerless angel
revivre /ʁəvivʁ/ B2	verb - to relive
rêver /ʁe.ve/ A2	verb - to dream
beau /bo/ A2	adjective - beautiful

Key Grammar Structures

• Soyons des anges

  ➔ Subjunctive mood (present subjunctive)

  ➔ The verb "soyons" is the first-person plural present subjunctive of "être" (to be). It's used to express a wish, suggestion, or command in a formal or literary context. Here, it's like saying "Let us be angels".

• Des gouttes d’eau dans l’océan

  ➔ Partitive article ("des") with a noun phrase

  ➔ "Des" is used as a partitive article here, meaning "some" or "of the". It indicates an unspecified quantity of water droplets. This phrase evokes a sense of insignificance or being a small part of something vast.

• Comment tu vois ça vu d’en haut

  ➔ Use of "vu" as past participle agreeing with the implied object

  ➔ "Vu" is the past participle of "voir" (to see). It agrees with the implied object "ça" (that). The phrase "vu d'en haut" means "seen from above". This sentence structure highlights the perspective from which something is viewed.

• Est-ce que tu vois ce qui se passe

  ➔ Interrogative sentence structure with "est-ce que"

  ➔ "Est-ce que" is used to form a question without inverting the subject and verb. It's a common way to ask questions in French.

• Parfois je marchais sur l’eau

  ➔ Imperfect tense ("marchais") to describe a repeated action in the past.

  ➔ The imperfect tense "marchais" describes something the speaker used to do sometimes - walking on water. It expresses a habitual or ongoing action in the past.

• Il y a la belle et la bête

  ➔ Existential "il y a" followed by definite articles.

  ➔ "Il y a" means "there is/are". The definite articles "la" indicates that the speaker is referring to specific instances of beauty and the beast, potentially a known story or archetype.

• Et tous ceux qui perdent la tête

  ➔ Relative pronoun "qui" introducing a relative clause.

  ➔ "Qui" refers back to "tous ceux" (all those) and introduces a clause that describes them: "those who lose their heads". Relative clauses add extra information about a noun.

• Mais qui aurait pu croire

  ➔ Conditional perfect tense ("aurait pu croire") expressing unreal possibility in the past.

  ➔ "Aurait pu croire" is the conditional perfect tense of "pouvoir croire" (to have been able to believe). It indicates something that was possible but didn't happen. The speaker is expressing disbelief that something has occurred.

• Je suis le Diable, un ange impuissant

  ➔ Apposition (un ange impuissant) to further describe "Je" /Subject pronoun + present tense être + noun + apposition

  ➔ The phrase "un ange impuissant" acts as an apposition to "le Diable," providing additional information or clarification about the speaker's identity. It adds complexity to the self-description, contrasting the typical image of the Devil with the idea of a powerless angel.