Nos Secrets – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Louane
• Album: Chambre 12

Lyrics & Translation

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
voyager /vwajaʒe/ B1	verb - to travel
retours /ʁətuʁ/ A2	noun - returns
espoir /ɛs.pwaʁ/ B1	noun - hope
secrets /sə.kʁɛ/ A2	noun - secrets
gardés /ɡaʁde/ B1	verb - kept
douceur /du.sœʁ/ B2	noun - sweetness, gentleness
beauté /bo.te/ B1	noun - beauty
atomes /a.tɔm/ B2	noun - atoms
accrochés /a.kʁɔ.ʃe/ B1	verb - hooked, attached
joli /ʒɔ.li/ A2	adjective - pretty
bouquet /bu.kɛ/ A2	noun - bouquet
essouffler /e.su.fle/ B2	verb - to exhaust
centre /sɑ̃tʁ/ A2	noun - center
fané /fa.ne/ B2	verb - faded
courage /ku.ʁaʒ/ B1	noun - courage
dire /diʁ/ A1	verb - to say

Key Grammar Structures

• Malgré tout voyager

  ➔ Infinitive as a noun with "malgré tout"

  ➔ The verb "voyager" (to travel) is used as a noun. "Malgré tout" means "despite everything". Here, it could be interpreted as "Despite everything, traveling/the act of traveling..."

• Resteront biens gardés

  ➔ Future tense of "rester" in passive voice.

  ➔ "Resteront" is the future tense (ils/elles form) of the verb "rester" (to stay, to remain). "Biens gardés" is the past participle of "garder" (to guard) used in the passive voice. The phrase means "will be well guarded" or "will remain well-kept".

• Nos atomes accrochés

  ➔ Past participle used as an adjective.

  ➔ "Accrochés" is the past participle of "accrocher" (to hang, to be attached). Here, it's used as an adjective to describe "atomes" (atoms). So, "nos atomes accrochés" means "our attached atoms" or "our connected atoms".

• Ce si joli bouquet

  ➔ Use of "si" as an intensifier before an adjective.

  ➔ "Si" intensifies the adjective "joli" (pretty). "Ce si joli bouquet" means "This *so* pretty bouquet" or "This *such* a pretty bouquet".

• De "peut-être" a fané

  ➔ Use of a noun preceded by "de" to express a general idea or concept (here "peut-être") and "a fané" perfect tense.

  ➔ "Peut-être" (maybe) is used as a noun here. "De 'peut-être' a fané" roughly translates to "The 'maybe' has faded" or "The possibility has withered". "a fané" is the passé composé (perfect tense) of the verb "faner" (to fade, to wither).

• Si simplement j'avais

  ➔ Imperfect subjunctive in a "si" clause (conditional type 3 - unreal in the past).

  ➔ This introduces a hypothetical situation in the past. "Si simplement j'avais..." means "If only I had..." or "If I simply had...". The rest of the sentence would explain what would have happened if that condition was met (although it isn't fully expressed in this line). This is a classic example of conditional type 3, indicating regret about something that didn't happen.

• Si simplement j'vais / Ce courage à t'offrir

  ➔ Ellipsis (omission) of "avais" to create a more rhythmic phrasing. Implies imperfect subjunctive similar to the line before. "à + infinitive" expressing purpose.

  ➔ The line is grammatically incomplete, but the implied verb is "avais". "Si simplement j'vais Ce courage à t'offrir" is understood as "Si simplement j'avais ce courage à t'offrir" (If I simply had this courage to offer you). The "à + infinitive" (à t'offrir) shows the purpose of the courage: to offer it to you.