Petit papa Noël – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Kendji Girac

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the enchanting French Christmas song "Petit Papa Noël" by Kendji Girac. This beloved carol, often learned by children, beautifully captures the innocent excitement and hopeful spirit of Christmas Eve. Learning its lyrics offers a glimpse into French holiday traditions and the simple, pure emotions of childhood wonder.

[English]

It's the beautiful night of Christmas

The snow spreads its white coat

And the eyes raised to the sky

On their knees, the little children

Before closing their eyelids

Say one last prayer

Little daddy Christmas

When you come down from the sky

With thousands of toys

Don't forget my little shoe

But before you leave

You must cover yourself well

Outside, you will be so cold

It's a bit because of me

I can't wait for the day to break

To see if you brought me

All the beautiful toys I see in my dreams

And that I ordered from you

Little daddy Christmas

When you come down from the sky

With thousands of toys

Don't forget my little shoe

The sandman has passed

The children are going to sleep

And you will be able to start

With your sack on your back

To the sound of church bells

Your distribution of surprises

Little daddy Christmas

When you come down from the sky

With thousands of toys

Don't forget my little shoe

But before you leave

You must cover yourself well

Outside, you must be so cold

It's a bit because of me

I can't wait for the day to break

To see if you brought me

All the beautiful toys I see in my dreams

And that I ordered from you

Little daddy Christmas

When you come down from the sky

With thousands of toys

Don't forget my little shoe

Little daddy Christmas

...

[French]

C'est la belle nuit de Noël

La neige étend son manteau blanc

Et les yeux levés vers le ciel

À genoux, les petits enfants

Avant de fermer les paupières

Font une dernière prière

Petit papa Noël

Quand tu descendras du ciel

Avec des jouets par milliers

N'oublie pas mon petit soulier

Mais avant de partir

Il faudra bien te couvrir

Dehors, tu vas avoir si froid

C'est un peu à cause de moi

Il me tarde tant que le jour se lève

Pour voir si tu m'as apporté

Tous les beaux joujoux que je vois en rêve

Et que je t'ai commandés

Petit papa Noël

Quand tu descendras du ciel

Avec des jouets par milliers

N'oublie pas mon petit soulier

Le marchand de sable est passé

Les enfants vont faire dodo

Et tu vas pouvoir commencer

Avec ta hotte sur le dos

Au son des cloches des églises

Ta distribution de surprises

Petit papa Noël

Quand tu descendras du ciel

Avec des jouets par milliers

N'oublie pas mon petit soulier

Mais avant de partir

Il faudra bien te couvrir

Dehors, tu dois avoir si froid

C'est un peu à cause de moi

Il me tarde tant que le jour se lève

Pour voir si tu m'as apporté

Tous les beaux joujoux que je vois en rêve

Et que je t'ai commandés

Petit papa Noël

Quand tu descendras du ciel

Avec des jouets par milliers

N'oublie pas mon petit soulier

Petit papa Noël

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
descendra /dəsɑ̃dʁa/ A2	verb - will descend / go down
jouets /ʒwɛ/ (plural) A2	noun - toys
papa /papa/ A1	noun - dad / father
nuit /nɥi/ A2	noun - night
neige /nɛʒ/ A2	noun - snow
manteau /mɑ̃to/ B1	noun - coat / overcoat
enfants /ɑ̃fɑ̃/ A2	noun - children
blanc /blɑ̃/ A2	adjective - white
ciel /sjɛl/ A2	noun - sky
sourire /suʁiʁ/ B1	noun - smile
rever /ʁə.ve/ B2	verb - to dream
voix /vwa/ A2	noun - voice
jour /ʒuʁ/ A2	noun - day

Key Grammar Structures

• C'est la belle nuit de Noël

  ➔ Use of 'C'est' to introduce a subject with a definite article

  ➔ 'C'est' is a contraction of 'ce' (this) and 'est' (is), used to identify or describe something.

• La neige étend son manteau blanc

  ➔ Use of possessive pronoun 'son' to indicate possession

  ➔ 'Son' is a possessive pronoun meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its' depending on the noun's gender.

• Et les yeux levés vers le ciel

  ➔ Use of the past participle with 'levés' to describe an action of raising eyes

  ➔ 'Levé' is the past participle of 'lever', meaning 'raised', used here with 'les yeux' (the eyes).

• Avant de fermer les paupières

  ➔ Use of 'avant de' + infinitive to express 'before doing something'

  ➔ 'Avant de' is a French phrase meaning 'before doing something', followed by an infinitive verb.

• Il me tarde tant que le jour se lève

  ➔ Use of 'tant que' to mean 'so much that' or 'to the extent that'

  ➔ 'Tant que' means 'so much that' or 'to the extent that', expressing a cause-effect or degree relationship.

• N'oublie pas mon petit soulier

  ➔ Use of 'n'oublie pas' (ne + verb + pas) forming a negative imperative

  ➔ 'N'oublie pas' is a negative imperative form of 'oublier' (to forget), meaning 'don't forget'.