Mercy – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Madame Monsieur
• Album: VU D'ICI

Lyrics & Translation

[French]

[English]

Je suis née ce matin

I was born this morning

Je m'appelle Mercy

My name is Mercy

...

...

Au milieu de la mer

In the middle of the sea

Entre deux pays, Mercy

Between two countries, Mercy

...

...

C'était un long chemin et Maman l'a pris

It was a long road and Mom took it

Elle m'avait dans la peau, huit mois et demi

She had me in her womb for eight and a half months

Oh oui, huit mois et demi

Oh yes, eight and a half months

On a quitté la maison, c'était la guerre

We left home, it was war

Sûr qu'elle avait raison, y'avait rien à perdre

Sure she was right, there was nothing to lose

Oh non, excepté la vie

Oh no, except for life

Je suis née ce matin, je m'appelle Mercy

I was born this morning, my name is Mercy

...

...

On m'a tendu la main et je suis en vie

They reached out their hand and I am alive

...

...

Je suis tous ces enfants que la mer a pris

I am all those children that the sea took

Je vivrai cent mille ans, je m'appelle Mercy

I will live a hundred thousand years, my name is Mercy

...

...

S'il est urgent de naître

If it's urgent to be born

Comprenez aussi

Understand too

Qu'il est urgent de renaître

That it's urgent to be reborn

Quand tout est détruit

When everything is destroyed

Mercy

Mercy

Et là devant nos yeux y'avait l'ennemie

And there before our eyes was the enemy

Une immensité bleue peut-être infinie

An immense blue, perhaps infinite

Mais oui, on en connaissait le prix

But yes, we knew the price

Surgissant d'une vague, un navire ami

Rising from a wave, a friendly ship

A redonné sa chance à notre survie

Gave us a chance for survival

C'est là, que j'ai poussé mon premier cri

It's there that I let out my first cry

Je suis née ce matin, je m'appelle Mercy

I was born this morning, my name is Mercy

On m'a tendu la main et je suis en vie

They reached out their hand and I am alive

...

...

Je suis tous ces enfants que la mer a pris

I am all those children that the sea took

...

...

Je vivrai cent mille ans, je m'appelle Mercy

I will live a hundred thousand years, my name is Mercy

...

...

Derrière les sémaphores, serait-ce le bon port?

Behind the semaphores, could it be the right port?

Que sera demain? Face à face ou main dans la main

What will tomorrow bring? Face to face or hand in hand

Que sera demain?

What will tomorrow bring?

Je suis née ce matin, je m'appelle Mercy

I was born this morning, my name is Mercy

...

...

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Mercy, Mercy, je vais bien merci

Mercy, Mercy, I'm fine, thank you

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Mercy, Mercy, je vais bien merci

Mercy, Mercy, I'm fine, thank you

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Mercy, Mercy, je vais bien merci

Mercy, Mercy, I'm fine, thank you

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Mercy, Mercy, je vais bien merci

Mercy, Mercy, I'm fine, thank you

...

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
naître /nɛtʁ/ A2	verb - to be born
mer /mɛʁ/ A1	noun - sea
enfant /ɑ̃.fɑ̃/ A1	noun - child
vie /vi/ A1	noun - life
guerre /ɡɛʁ/ B1	noun - war
chance /ʃɑ̃s/ B1	noun - chance
immensité /imɑ̃.se.te/ B2	noun - immensity
navire /na.viʁ/ B2	noun - ship
détruit /de.tʁɥi/ B2	verb - to destroy
surgir /syʁ.ʒiʁ/ B2	verb - to emerge
premier /pʁə.mje/ A2	adjective - first
maison /mɛ.zɔ̃/ A1	noun - house
maman /ma.mɑ̃/ A1	noun - mom
prix /pʁi/ B1	noun - price
urgent /yʁ.ʒɑ̃/ B1	adjective - urgent
tendu /tɑ̃.dy/ B2	verb - to stretch

Key Grammar Structures

• Je suis née ce matin

  ➔ Passé Composé

  ➔ Uses the auxiliary verb "être" because "naître" (to be born) is a reflexive verb. The past participle "née" agrees with "Je" (feminine singular). Indicates a completed action in the recent past.

• C'était un long chemin et Maman l'a pris

  ➔ Passé Composé (l'a pris) and Imparfait (c'était)

  ➔ "C'était" uses the imparfait to describe the situation (the path was long). "L'a pris" uses the passé composé to describe the action of taking the path. "L'" is a pronoun replacing "chemin."

• Elle m'avait dans la peau, huit mois et demi

  ➔ Imparfait (avait) with indirect object pronoun (m')

  ➔ "avait" is in the imparfait, describing a continuing state. "m'" is an indirect object pronoun, indicating that she felt Mercy within her.

• On a quitté la maison, c'était la guerre

  ➔ Passé Composé (a quitté) and Imparfait (c'était)

  ➔ "A quitté" (left) is a completed action in the past. "C'était" (it was) is describing a state or background condition.

• Sûr qu'elle avait raison, y'avait rien à perdre

  ➔ Imparfait (avait) and Impersonal Expression (y'avait)

  ➔ "Avait" (had) describes a belief she held. "Y'avait" (there was) is an impersonal expression.

• Je suis tous ces enfants que la mer a pris

  ➔ Relative clause with Passé Composé (a pris)

  ➔ "que la mer a pris" is a relative clause defining which children are being referred to – those taken by the sea. "a pris" is in the passé composé, indicating a completed action.

• S'il est urgent de naître, comprenez aussi

  ➔ Subjunctive (est) after "s'il" expressing condition and imperative (comprenez)

  ➔ The use of the subjunctive "est" after "s'il" gives a hypothetical feel to the condition. "Comprenez" is in the imperative mood, expressing a command or request.

• Et là devant nos yeux y'avait l'ennemie

  ➔ Impersonal Expression with Imparfait (y'avait)

  ➔ "Y'avait" (there was) is an impersonal construction using the imparfait, describing a scene in the past.