La Tour Eiffel brille – Bilingual Lyrics French/English
Lyrics & Translation
Key Vocabulary
Vocabulary | Meanings |
---|---|
briller /bʁije/ A1 |
|
amour /a.muʁ/ A1 |
|
grandir /ɡʁɑ̃.diʁ/ A1 |
|
proche /pʁɔʃ/ A1 |
|
Paname /pa.nam/ B1 |
|
tour /tuʁ/ A1 |
|
magique /ma.ʒik/ A2 |
|
lovés /lɔ.ve/ B2 |
|
fabriquer /fa.bʁi.ke/ A2 |
|
brique /bʁik/ A2 |
|
monter /mɔ̃.te/ A1 |
|
fantastique /fɑ̃.tas.tik/ A2 |
|
business /bi.zi.nɛs/ B1 |
|
étranger /e.tʁɑ̃.ʒe/ B1 |
|
luxe /lyks/ B1 |
|
tarifs /ta.ʁif/ A2 |
|
marier /ma.ʁje/ A2 |
|
défaite /de.fɛt/ B1 |
|
victoire /vik.twaʁ/ B1 |
|
misère /mi.zɛʁ/ B1 |
|
Key Grammar Structures
-
J'ai grandi loin de l'amour
➔ Passé Composé with 'avoir' for 'grandir' + 'loin de' (prepositional phrase)
➔ The phrase "J'ai grandi" uses the passé composé of the verb "grandir" (to grow up) with the auxiliary verb "avoir". While "grandir" can sometimes take "être", "avoir" is used here to emphasize the *action* or *process* of growing up over a period. "loin de" (far from) is a common prepositional phrase indicating distance.
-
Brique par brique, j'suis monté c'est fantastique
➔ Adverbial phrase 'brique par brique', Passé Composé with 'être' (verb of motion), colloquial contraction 'j'suis'
➔ "Brique par brique" (brick by brick) is an adverbial phrase indicating a gradual, step-by-step process. The verb "monter" (to go up/to climb) is a verb of motion that forms its passé composé with the auxiliary verb "être", not "avoir", when indicating movement to a new state or location. "j'suis" is a colloquial contraction of "je suis".
-
Business, j'sais pas dans quoi j'ai plongé
➔ Colloquial negation (omission of 'ne'), indirect question with interrogative pronoun 'dans quoi'
➔ This sentence demonstrates two common informal French structures. Firstly, the negation "j'sais pas" (I don't know) omits the particle "ne", which is very common in spoken French. Secondly, "dans quoi j'ai plongé" is an indirect question, introduced by the interrogative pronoun "dans quoi" (in what), functioning as the object of the verb "sais" (know).
-
Dans un cinq étoiles pour aller manger
➔ Purpose clause with 'pour + infinitive'
➔ The construction "pour aller manger" (to go eat/to eat) uses "pour" followed by an infinitive verb (here, "aller manger") to express the purpose or goal of an action. It explains why one would be in a five-star establishment.
-
Si tu joues, ça t'envoie des arai
➔ Conditional sentence Type 1 ('si' + present indicative + present indicative)
➔ This is a Type 1 conditional sentence, expressing a real or highly probable condition and its likely result. The structure is "Si" (if) + present indicative in the condition clause ("tu joues") + present indicative in the main clause ("ça t'envoie"). "Ça" is used here impersonally, referring to an implicit situation or consequence.
-
Je vous parle d'un temps / Que les moins de vingt ans ne peuvent pas connaître
➔ Relative pronoun 'que' (direct object), negation 'ne...pas', modal verb 'pouvoir' + infinitive
➔ This classic French literary phrase employs the direct object relative pronoun "Que" to connect the main clause ("Je vous parle d'un temps" - I'm speaking to you about a time) to the subordinate clause ("les moins de vingt ans ne peuvent pas connaître" - those under twenty cannot know). "Que" refers back to "un temps" and acts as the direct object of "connaître". "ne...pas" is the standard French negation, and "pouvoir" (can, to be able to) is a common modal verb followed by an infinitive.
-
La misère est si belle au soleil
➔ Emphatic adverb 'si' + adjective
➔ The adverb "si" is used here to intensify the adjective "belle" (beautiful), meaning "so beautiful" or "such a beautiful". It emphasizes the unexpected or surprising degree of the quality, often implying a paradoxical or ironic observation.
-
Elle veut que je la marie
➔ Subjunctive mood after 'vouloir que'
➔ The verb "vouloir que" (to want that) requires the verb in the subordinate clause to be in the subjunctive mood. Therefore, "marier" (to marry) is conjugated as "marie" in the present subjunctive, indicating a desire or will rather than a fact.
-
J'suis dans un haussmannien d'bâtard
➔ Colloquial contraction 'j'suis', colloquial intensifier 'd'bâtard'
➔ "J'suis" is a very common colloquial contraction of "je suis" (I am). "d'bâtard" is highly informal slang used here as an intensifier, essentially meaning "extremely [something]" or "a hell of a [something]". It adds a strong, often admiring or emphatic, but vulgar, tone to "haussmannien" (referring to a Haussmann-style building, typically grand and elegant).
-
Elle sait qu'le Renoi a maillé
➔ Colloquial contraction 'qu'le', slang verb 'mailler' in Passé Composé
➔ "Qu'le" is a common informal contraction of "que le". "Mailler" is French slang (argot) meaning "to earn a lot of money," "to cash in," or "to succeed financially." It's used here in the passé composé.