Place espoir – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Tim Dup

Lyrics & Translation

[French]

[English]

Elle a vu tant de poèmes et tant de promesses

She has seen so many poems and so many promises

Elle a vu des matins blêmes et des soirées d'ivresse

She has seen pale mornings and drunken evenings

Elle a vu tant de feuilles mortes et tant de roses fleurs

She has seen so many dead leaves and many blooming roses

Elle a su être forte et consoler les cœurs

She knew how to be strong and comfort hearts

Elle a vu tant de printemps et de jours qui se lèvent

She has seen so many springs and days that rise

Elle s'est blottie sous le vent, languissant que s'achèvent

She curled up in the wind, longing for them to end

Les lubies, les chimères, les envies éphémères

Fancies, illusions, fleeting desires

Les rêves de demain et d'avenir en commun

Dreams of tomorrow and a shared future

Elle a vu tant de sourires et tant de gens qui s'aiment

She has seen so many smiles and so many people in love

Elle a su faire grandir tout ce que l'on y sème

She knew how to make everything we sow grow

Elle a vu tant d'espoirs, de luttes et de combats

She has seen so many hopes, struggles, and fights

Incarnés en visages tombés dans l'anonymat

Embodied in faces lost in anonymity

Elle a vu tant de ciels et tant de soleils

She has seen so many skies and suns

D'enfants qui s'émerveillent et d'amants qui s'éveillent

Of children who marvel and lovers who wake

Elle a vu des mirages, de courtes étincelles

She has seen mirages, brief sparks

Elle a vu des présages et des langues qui se mêlent

She has seen omens and languages blending

Elle a vu tant de paix, de pensées, de colères

She has seen so much peace, thoughts, and anger

Elle a vu tant de plaies et d'amères prières

She has seen so many wounds and bitter prayers

Elle a vu tant de mains se joindre et se serrer

She has seen so many hands join and hold tight

Pour ne jamais s'éteindre, ne jamais oublier

To never fade, to never forget

Elle a vu tant de peurs et tant de questions

She has seen so many fears and questions

Elle a vu tant de bruits, tant de résolutions

She has seen so much noise, so many resolutions

Elle a vu tant d'ombres, de lumières et de buées

She has seen so many shadows, lights, and mists

D'artifices et de pluies, de vitrines et de verres pilés

Of fireworks and rain, shop windows and shattered glass

Elle a vu tant de toi

She has seen so much of you

Elle a vu tant de moi

She has seen so much of me

De vies énigmatiques

Of mysterious lives

Place de la République

Place de la République

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Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
poèmes /pɔɛm/ B2	noun - poems
promesses /pʁɔmɛs/ B2	noun - promises
matins /mɛtɛ̃/ B2	noun - mornings
feuilles /fœj/ A2	noun - leaves
fleurs /flœʁ/ A2	noun - flowers
forte /fɔʁt/ B1	adjective - strong
coeurs /kœʁ/ B2	noun - hearts
printemps /pʁɛ̃tɑ̃/ B2	noun - spring (season)
blottie /blɔti/ C1	verb (past participle) - snuggled, nestled
vent /vɑ̃/ B2	noun - wind
liberté /libɛʁte/ B2	noun - freedom
espoir /ɛspwaʁ/ B2	noun - hope
luttes /lyt/ B2	noun - struggles
combats /kɔ̃ba/ B2	noun - fights
visages /vizaʒ/ B2	noun - faces
anonymat /ɑnɔmina/ C1	noun - anonymity
ciels /sjɛl/ B2	noun - skies
soleils /sɔlɛj/ B2	noun - suns
enfants /ɑ̃fɑ̃/ A2	noun - children

Key Grammar Structures

• Elle a vu tant de poèmes et tant de promesses

  ➔ Passé Composé (avoir + past participle) to describe completed actions in the past. Use of 'tant de' + noun for quantity.

  ➔ The phrase "Elle "a" vu" uses the "Passé Composé" tense, indicating that 'she' (Place de la République) has 'seen' many things in the past. "Tant de" means 'so many' or 'so much'. It's followed by nouns (poèmes, promesses).

• Elle a su être forte et consoler les cœurs

  ➔ Use of "savoir + infinitive" to express the ability to do something. 'Être' in infinitive form following the verb 'savoir'.

  ➔ "Elle a su "être" forte" translates to 'She knew how to be strong'. "Savoir + infinitive" implies skill or learned ability.

• Elle s'est blottie sous le vent, languissant que s'achèvent

  ➔ Reflexive verb in Passé Composé: "se blottir" (to huddle). Subjunctive mood after "languissant que" to express a wish.

  ➔ "Elle "s'est" blottie" shows a reflexive action. "Languissant que "s'achèvent"..." uses the subjunctive "s'achèvent" because it expresses a desire or a wish.

• Incarnés en visages tombés dans l'anonymat

  ➔ Past participle used as an adjective modifying "visages": "tombés". Preposition 'dans' expressing location or state.

  ➔ "Visages tombés" means 'fallen faces' or 'faces that have fallen'. "Tombés" acts as an adjective describing the faces, and "dans l'anonymat" means 'into anonymity'.

• D'enfants qui s'émerveillent et d'amants qui s'éveillent

  ➔ Relative clause introduced by 'qui'. Reflexive verb "s'émerveiller" and "s'éveiller" (to marvel and to awaken) used with "qui" to describe children and lovers.

  ➔ "D'enfants "qui" s'émerveillent" means 'children who marvel'. "Qui" introduces a relative clause describing "enfants". Similarly for "amants".