Nowhere – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Bouss
• Album: Et si j'échoue ?

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the emotive world of French rap with Bouss's 'Nowhere.' This introspective track offers a great opportunity to learn French through its poignant and heartfelt lyrics. Exploring themes of inner conflict and resilience, the song's melodic style makes the language both accessible and moving, providing a special window into contemporary French music and culture.

[English]

It doesn’t heal me

If you wanna heal in this area, you’ll rot for real

In front of people, in front of my crew, I’ve got two faces

In front of my girl, I already know which one to use

I’m living life to the fullest

If I play dead

You only wish me well

You’ve got all my love

I didn’t call anyone, I wasn’t okay, I smoked everything

Now I don’t sign if it’s only 200 grand

He got double the sentence

Even though he appealed

Sometimes rolling the dice again isn’t worth it, my friend

I don’t have a clear vision, I’m in the fog, my friend

Resourceful but not a thug, my friend

In my life, they didn’t give me a dime

What fed me was hunger

I’m from the projects, my girl

Concrete blocks

Hard-headed, I’m climbing the mountain

Bouss doubled up in the nets

They thought it’d only be a mirage

Don’t trust the binks, it pays

I anticipated everything

Even under CR, it’s settled on the block

There’s some TH stuff

You, my brother, what did you choose?

BST, BTS

Walk or terrace

Brr brr

More noise

Are they

Ready?

For the relic, what’s your price?

They’re all going crazy, it’s tough times

(It doesn’t heal me)

(If you wanna heal in this area, you’ll rot for real)

(In front of people, in front of my crew, I’ve got two faces)

(In front of my girl, I already know which one to use)

In my life, they didn’t give me a dime

What fed me was hunger

I’m from the projects, my girl

Concrete blocks

Hard-headed, I’m climbing the mountain

Bouss doubled up in the nets

They thought it’d only be a mirage

Don’t trust the binks, it pays

I anticipated everything

[French]

Ça m'guérit pas

Si on veut s'soigner dans la zone tu pourris grave

Devant les gens, d'vant la mif j'ai deux visages

Devant la miss j'sais d'jà lequel utiliser

C'est que j'vis à fond

Si j'fais le mort

Tu m'souhaites que le bien

T'as tout mon amour

J'app'lais personne ça allait pas, j'fumais tout l'tamien

Maint'nant j'signe pas si y a que 200 milles

Il a pris deux fois la peine

Pourtant il a fait appel

Des fois relancer les dés c'est pas bénéf mon vieux

J'ai pas la vision en mieux j'suis dans l'flou mon ami

Débrouillard mais pas voyou mon ami

Sur ma vie ils m'ont pas poussé du blé

C'qui m'nourissait c'était la dalle

J'viens d'la téci ma belle

Blocs cimentés

Tête bien dure j'gravis la montagne

Doublé d'Bouss dans les filets

Pensaient qu'y aurait que mirage

Crois pas le binks il paie

J'ai tout anticipé

Même sous CR ça s'bute à la tess

Y a des trucs de bara TH

Toi mon frère t'as choisi quoi?

BST, BTS

Promenade ou terrasse

Brr brr

Plus d'bruit

Est-ce que

Ils sont prêts?

Pour le brelique quel est ton prix?

Ils sont tous en folie, c'est les temps durs

(Ça m'guérit pas)

(Si on veut s'soigner dans la zone tu pourris grave)

(Devant les gens, d'vant la mif j'ai deux visages)

(Devant la miss j'sais d'jà lequel utiliser)

Sur ma vie ils m'ont pas poussé du blé

C'qui m'nourissait c'était la dalle

J'viens d'la téci ma belle

Blocs cimentés

Tête bien dure j'gravis la montagne

Doublé d'Bouss dans les filets

Pensaient qu'y aurait que mirage

Crois pas le binks il paie

J'ai tout anticipé

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
guérit /ɡe.ʁi/ B1	verb - to heal, to cure
visages /vi.zaʒ/ A2	noun - faces
fond /fɔ̃/ B1	adverb - deeply, fully, thoroughly
mort /mɔʁ/ A2	noun - death
amour /a.muʁ/ A1	noun - love
signe /siɲ/ B1	verb - to sign
peine /pɛn/ B1	noun - sorrow, pain, punishment
dés /de/ A2	noun - dice
vision /vi.zjɔ̃/ B2	noun - sight, vision
flou /flu/ B2	adjective - blurred, vague
débrouillard /de.bʁu.jaʁ/ B2	adjective - resourceful, clever
nourrir /nu.ʁiʁ/ B1	verb - to feed, to nourish
dalle /dal/ B1	noun - hunger
téci /te.si/ B2	noun - housing estate, neighborhood
cimentés /si.mɑ̃.te/ B2	adjective - cemented, concrete
gravis /ɡʁa.vi/ B2	verb - to climb
mirage /mi.ʁaʒ/ B2	noun - mirage
anticipé /ɑ̃.ti.si.pe/ B2	verb - anticipated

Key Grammar Structures

• Devant la miss j'sais d'jà lequel utiliser

  ➔ relative pronoun

  ➔ In the line "Devant la miss j'sais d'jà ""lequel"" utiliser", ""lequel"" is a relative pronoun used to introduce a relative clause, referring to 'which face' or 'which one' in the context of choice, typical of B2-C2 level for specifying from a choice in colloquial French.

• Si on veut s'soigner dans la zone tu pourris grave

  ➔ conditional sentence

  ➔ In the line "Si ""on\\\\ veut"" s'soigner dans la zone ""tu pourris"" grave", it uses a si-clause in present tense to express a hypothetical situation with a present/future consequence, a B2-C2 structure for real or likely conditions in spoken French, implying 'if one wants to heal, you'll rot badly' as a warning.

• J'app'lais personne ça allait pas

  ➔ imperfect tense

  ➔ In the line "J'app'lais personne ça allait pas", the verb ""j'app'lais"" is in the imperfect tense, describing a habitual past action ('I wasn't calling anyone') with ongoing or background state ('things weren't going well'), common at B2-C2 for contrasting past habits or states with the present in narrative contexts.

• Pourtant il a fait appel

  ➔ passé composé

  ➔ In the line "Pourtant ""il a fait"" appel", ""il a fait"" uses the passé composé tense, indicating a completed action in the past ('yet he appealed'), contrasting with an ongoing situation, a B2-C2 advancement for narrating sequenced events or emphasizing completion in formal or informal discourse.

• Sur ma vie ils m'ont pas poussé du blé

  ➔ negation with ne...pas

  ➔ In the line "Sur ma vie ""ils m'ont pas"" poussé du blé", ""ils m'ont pas"" employs negation with ne ( elided) and pas to contradict 'they haven't pushed wheat/money for me', highlighting lack in past actions, advanced B2-C2 for emphatic denials or slangy expressions in colloquial French.

• J'viens d'la téci ma belle

  ➔ venir de + infinitive

  ➔ In the line """J'viens"" d'la téci ma belle", ""j'viens"" uses venir de followed by a noun/infinitive ellipsis, expressing recent past ('I'm coming from the hood, my beautiful'), equivalent to 'just came', a B2-C2 idiomatic structure for immediacy or origin in casual French speech.

• Pensaient qu'y aurait que mirage

  ➔ conditional in reported speech

  ➔ In the line """Pensaient"" qu'y aurait que mirage", ""pensaient"" is imperfect for past belief, and "y aurait" is conditional future in reported speech ('they thought there would be only mirage'), representing future in the past, a complex B2-C2 construction for indirect thinking or expectation.

• Crois pas le binks il paie

  ➔ negative imperative

  ➔ In the line """Crois pas"" le binks il paie", ""crois pas"" is a negative imperative ('don't believe it'), giving advice or command with slang 'binks' meaning 'my friend', a B2-C2 feature for informal direct address and negation in imperative forms without 'ne' in spoken French.

• Ils sont tous en folie, c'est les temps durs

  ➔ present tense for general truth

  ➔ In the line "Ils sont tous ""en folie"" , c'est les temps durs", """sont""" is present tense stating a general truth or current reality ('they are all crazy, these are hard times'), expressing timeless or ongoing states, crucial at B2-C2 for declarative statements in expressive or poetic lyrics.