La Tendresse

• By: Kids United Nouvelle Génération
• Album: Au bout de nos rêves

Lyrics:

[Français]

[English]

On peut vivre sans richesse

We can live without riches

Presque sans le sous

Almost without money

Des seigneurs et des princesses

Lords and princesses

Y'en a plus beaucoup

There are not many left

Mais vivre sans tendresse

But living without tenderness

On ne le pourrait pas

We couldn't do that

Non, non, non, non

No, no, no, no

On ne le pourrait pas

We couldn't do that

On peut vivre sans la gloire

You can live without fame

Qui ne prouve rien

That proves nothing

Être inconnu dans l'Histoire

Being unknown in history

Et s'en trouver bien

And being fine with it

Mais vivre sans tendresse

But living without tenderness

Il n'en est pas question

That’s out of the question

Non, non, non, non

No, no, no, no

Il n'en est pas question

That’s out of the question

Quelle douce faiblesse

What a gentle weakness

Quel joli sentiment

What a lovely feeling

Ce besoin de tendresse

This need for tenderness

Qui nous vient en naissant

That we’re born with

Vraiment, vraiment, vraiment

Really, really, really

Le travail est nécessaire

Work is necessary

Mais s'il faut rester

But if we have to stay

Des semaines sans rien faire

Weeks on end doing nothing

Hé bien, on s'y fait

Well, we get used to it

Mais vivre sans tendresse

But living without tenderness

Le temps vous paraît long

Time feels so long

Long, long, long, long

Long, long, long

Le temps nous paraît long

Time feels endless

Dans le feu de la jeunesse

In the heat of youth

Naissent les plaisirs

Pleasures are born

Et l'amour fait des prouesses

And love performs feats

Pour nous éblouir

To dazzle us

Oui mais sans la tendresse

Yes, but without tenderness

L'amour ne serait rien

Love would be nothing

Non, non, non, non

No, no, no, no

L'amour ne serait rien

Love would be nothing

Quand la vie impitoyable

When ruthless life

Vous tombe dessus

Drops on you

On n'est plus qu'un pauvre diable

You're just a poor devil

Broyé et déçu

Crushed and disappointed

Alors sans la tendresse

So without tenderness

D'un cœur qui nous soutient

From a heart that supports us

Non, non, non, non

No, no, no, no

On n'irait pas plus loin

We wouldn’t go further

Un enfant vous embrasse

A child kisses you

Parce qu'on le rend heureux

Because it makes them happy

Tous nos chagrins s'effacent

All our sorrows fade away

On a les larmes aux yeux

We have tears in our eyes

Mon dieu, mon dieu, mon dieu

My god, my god, my god

Dans votre immense sagesse

In your great wisdom

Immense ferveur

Great fervor

Faites donc pleuvoir sans cesse

Keep pouring endlessly

Au fond de nos cœurs

Deep in our hearts

Des torrents de tendresse

torrents of tenderness

Pour que règne l'amour

So that love can reign

Règne l'amour

Let love reign

Jusqu'à la fin des jours

Until the end of days

...

...

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
tendresse /tɑ̃.dʁɛs/ B1	noun - tenderness
richesse /ʁi.ʃɛs/ B1	noun - wealth
gloire /ɡlwaʁ/ B2	noun - glory
sentiment /sɑ̃.ti.mɑ̃/ B1	noun - feeling
travail /tʁa.vaj/ B1	noun - work
enfant /ɑ̃.fɑ̃/ A1	noun - child
amour /a.muʁ/ A2	noun - love
jeune /ʒœn/ A2	adjective - young
long /lɔ̃/ A2	adjective - long
cœur /kœʁ/ B1	noun - heart
pauvre /povʁ/ A2	adjective - poor
question /kɛs.tjɔ̃/ A2	noun - question
plaisir /plɛ.ziʁ/ B1	noun - pleasure
faiblesse /fɛb.lɛs/ B2	noun - weakness
soutien /su.tjɛ̃/ B2	noun - support
immense /i.mɑ̃s/ B2	adjective - immense

Grammar:

• On peut vivre sans richesse

  ➔ Use of "On" as a general pronoun

  ➔ "On" in French can mean "we", but here it functions as a general pronoun equivalent to "one" or "you" in English. It expresses a general truth applicable to people in general.

• Y'en a plus beaucoup

  ➔ Use of "Y'en a" as a contraction for "Il y en a"

  ➔ "Y'en a" is a colloquial contraction of "Il y en a", meaning "there are some" or "there are any". "Plus beaucoup" means "not many anymore".

• On ne le pourrait pas

  ➔ Conditional tense and pronoun "le"

  ➔ "Pourrait" is the conditional tense of "pouvoir" (to be able to), expressing a hypothetical or polite possibility. "Le" is a pronoun that refers back to the implied object of the sentence, which is "vivre sans tendresse" (living without tenderness).

• Il n'en est pas question

  ➔ Impersonal construction with "il", negative form, and partitive pronoun "en"

  ➔ This phrase means "it is out of the question" or "there is no question of it". "Il" is an impersonal subject, "en" refers back to a previously mentioned idea (implied is "vivre sans tendresse" -- living without tenderness). The negative form makes the statement definitive.

• Quel joli sentiment

  ➔ Exclamative sentence with adjective agreement

  ➔ "Quel" is used to express an exclamation. The adjective "joli" agrees in gender and number with the noun "sentiment".

• Hé bien, on s'y fait

  ➔ Reflexive verb with pronoun "s'" and adverbial pronoun "y"

  ➔ "S'y faire" means "to get used to something". "S'" is the reflexive pronoun, and "y" refers to the situation previously mentioned (des semaines sans rien faire - weeks doing nothing). "Hé bien" is an interjection used to express surprise or resignation.

• L'amour ne serait rien

  ➔ Conditional tense and negation

  ➔ "Serait" is the conditional tense of "être" (to be), expressing a hypothetical situation. "Ne...rien" is a common negation structure in French, meaning "nothing". The whole phrase translates to "Love would be nothing."

• On n'irait pas plus loin

  ➔ Conditional tense, negation, and comparative adverb

  ➔ "Irait" is the conditional tense of "aller" (to go), expressing a hypothetical situation. "Ne...pas" is the standard negation. "Plus loin" means "further" or "any further". The phrase translates to "We wouldn't go any further."