Mes souvenirs de toi – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Zaz
• Album: Effet miroir

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the evocative French lyrics of Zaz's "Mes souvenirs de toi." This song offers a beautiful journey into themes of memory and longing, allowing learners to connect with French culture and emotion through its poignant storytelling and Zaz's signature vocal style.

[English]

August mornings,

My throat tightens.

I don't want to get up.

My shutters are shut tight.

I prayed for you all summer.

You never came back.

One day you left me.

And you disappeared.

When December evening comes,

I cling to the thought,

That with the new year,

You might want to see me again.

I prayed for you all winter.

You never returned.

I had to believe the opposite.

Yes, I was mistaken.

The seasons drag on in my place,

Leaving me alone face to face,

With I don't know what.

To our loves that time chases away.

Everything dissolves but nothing erases,

The memory of you.

The memory of you.

Autumn at the window

Makes no sense without you.

My Mondays repeat,

Singing softly to you.

I hold onto the maybe,

That keeps me tied to you.

So precious are the crumbs,

That I have left of us.

The seasons drag on in my place,

Leaving me alone face to face,

With I don't know what.

To our loves that time chases away.

Everything dissolves but nothing erases,

The memory of you.

The memory of you.

The memory of you.

Dead loves dance,

That bloom in the fields.

I wait outside my door.

I let you go.

...

[French]

Les mois d'août au matin

J'ai la gorge serrée

Pas envie de me lever

Mes volets condamnés

Je t'ai prié tout l'été

Tu n'es jamais revenu

Un jour tu m'as quitté

Et tu as disparu

Quand vient décembre au soir

Je m'attache à penser

Qu'à la nouvelle année

Tu voudrais me revoir

Je t'ai prié tout l'hiver

Tu n'es jamais rentré

J'ai du croire le contraire

Oui, je me suis trompée

Les saisons se traînent à ma place

Me laissant seule en face à face

Face à je ne sais quoi

A nos amours que le temps chasse

Tout se dissout mais rien n'efface

Le souvenir de toi

Le souvenir de toi

L'automne à la fenêtre

N'a de sens sans toi

Mes lundis se répètent

A te chanter tout bas

Je garde les peut-être

Qui me retiennent à toi

Si précieuses sont les miettes

Qu'il me reste de ça

Les saisons se traînent à ma place

Me laissant seule en face à face

Face à je ne sais quoi

A nos amours que le temps chasse

Tout se dissout mais rien n'efface

Le souvenir de toi

Le souvenir de toi

Le souvenir de toi

Valsent les amours mortes

Qui fleurissent les blés

J'attends devant ma porte

Je te laisse t'en aller

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
mois /mwa/ A2	noun - month
août /u.t/ B1	noun - August
matin /ma.tɛ̃/ A2	noun - morning
gorge /ɡɔʁʒ/ B1	noun - throat
serrée /sɛʁe/ B2	adjective - tight
envie /ɑ̃.vje/ A2	noun - desire
levé /lə.ve/ B2	verb - to get up
condamnés /kɔ̃dame/ C1	adjective - condemned
revu /ʁə.vwa/ C1	verb - to return
disparu /dispaʁi/ B2	verb - disappeared
reçu /ʁəsy/ B2	verb - received
espérance /e.spe.ʁɑ̃s/ C1	noun - hope
année /a.ne/ A2	noun - year
revoir /ʁə.vwaʁ/ B2	verb - to see again
hiver /ivɛʁ/ A2	noun - winter
croire /kʁwaʁ/ B2	verb - to believe

Key Grammar Structures

• J'ai la gorge serrée

  ➔ Use of the passé composé with avoir to express a completed past action.

  ➔ The phrase 'J'ai la gorge serrée' employs the **passé composé** to describe a state resulting from a past action.

• Les saisons se traînent à ma place

  ➔ Reflexive verb in present tense indicating that the seasons are 'dragging' themselves.

  ➔ The **reflexive verb** 'se traînent' in the present tense describes the season's slow movement as if they are 'dragging' themselves.

• Tout se dissout mais rien n'efface

  ➔ Use of pronominal verb 'se dissoudre' in present tense to indicate dissolution or fading.

  ➔ The **pronominal verb** 'se dissout' in the present tense describes things gradually fading or dissolving over time.

• J'attends devant ma porte

  ➔ Use of the verb 'attendre' in the present tense to express waiting.

  ➔ The **verb** 'attendre' in the present tense indicates the action of waiting at a specific location.

• J'ai du croire le contraire

  ➔ Use of the infinitive 'croire' with 'devrait' (implied by context) to express belief or assumption.

  ➔ Although 'croire' is an infinitive, in the context, it suggests a belief or thought, often implied with modal verbs like 'should' or 'must'.

• Je te laisse t'en aller

  ➔ Use of the verb 'se laisser' + infinitive to express allowing oneself to do an action.

  ➔ The construction **'se laisser' + infinitive** conveys the idea of permitting oneself to do a certain action, often implying acceptance or resignation.