Si – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: ZAZ
• Album: Recto Verso

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the heartfelt lyrics of Zaz's "Si," a song that, while rooted in French culture, carries a universal message of hope and positive change. Learning this song offers a glimpse into the French spirit of resilience and collective action, allowing you to connect with meaningful themes through beautiful melody and evocative language.

[English]

If I were the friend of the good Lord

If I knew the prayers

If I had blue blood

The gift of erasing and starting over

If I were a queen or a sorceress

Princess, fairy, great captain

Of a noble regiment

If I had the steps of a giant

I would bring heaven into misery

All the tears into a river

And I would make flowers bloom in the sands where hope even flows

I would sow utopias, bending would be forbidden

We would no longer turn our eyes away

If I had thousands and hundreds

Talent, strength, or charms

Of masters, of the powerful

If I had the keys to their souls

If I knew how to take up arms

In the fire of an army of titans

I would light flames

In the extinguished dreams of children

I would add colors to the pains

I would invent Edens

With steps of chance, with steps of stars, with the least of nothing

But I only have a heart in rags

And two hands stretched out like twigs

A voice that the wind chases away in the morning

But if our bare hands come together

Our millions of hearts together

If our voices united

Which winters would withstand it?

A strong world, a soulmate earth

We will build in these ashes

Little by little, crumb by crumb

Drop by drop and heart to heart

Little by little, crumb by crumb

Drop by drop and heart to heart

...

[French]

Si j'étais l'amie du bon Dieu

Si je connaissais les prières

Si j'avais le sang bleu

Le don d'effacer et tout refaire

Si j'étais reine ou magicienne

Princesse, fée, grand capitaine

D'un noble régiment

Si j'avais les pas d'un géant

Je mettrais du ciel en misère

Toutes les larmes en rivière

Et fleurirais des sables où filent même l'espoir

Je sèmerais des utopies, plier serait interdit

On ne détournerait plus les regards

Si j'avais des milles et des cents

Le talent, la force ou les charmes

Des maîtres, des puissants

Si j'avais les clés de leurs âmes

Si je savais prendre les armes

Au feu d'une armée de titans

J'allumerais des flammes

Dans les rêves éteints des enfants

Je mettrais des couleurs aux peines

J'inventerais des Éden

Aux pas de chances, aux pas d'étoiles, aux moins que rien

Mais je n'ai qu'un cœur en guenille

Et deux mains tendues de brindilles

Une voix que le vent chasse au matin

Mais si nos mains nues se rassemblent

Nos millions de cœurs ensembles

Si nos voix s'unissaient

Quels hivers y résisteraient?

Un monde fort, une terre âme sœur

Nous bâtirons dans ces cendres

Peu à peu, miette à miette

Goutte à goutte et cœur à cœur

Peu à peu, miette à miette

Goutte à goutte et cœur à cœur

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
prière /pʁjɛʁ/ A2	noun - prayer
sang /sɑ̃/ B1	noun - blood
royaume /ʁwa.jom/ B2	noun - kingdom
magicienne /ma.ʒi.sjɛn/ C1	noun - female magician, sorceress
capitaine /ka.pi.tɛn/ B2	noun - captain
ciel /sjɛl/ A2	noun - sky
espoir /ɛs.pwaʁ/ B2	noun - hope
utopie /y.tɔ.pi/ C1	noun - utopia, ideal society
regarder /ʁə.ɡaʁ.de/ A2	verb - to look at
chances /ʃɑ̃s/ B1	noun - chances, opportunities
force /fɔʁs/ A2	noun - force, strength
pouvoir /pu.vwaʁ/ B1	noun/verb - power, ability; to be able to
armé /aʁ.me/ C1	noun - army, armed forces
flammes /flam/ B2	noun - flames
rêves /ʁɛv/ B2	noun - dreams

Key Grammar Structures

• Si j'étais l'amie du bon Dieu

  ➔ Hypothetical constructions with the *imparfait* and *conditionnel présent*

  ➔ The sentence uses the *si* clause to express a hypothetical situation. "Si" + *imparfait* (j'étais) in the *si* clause is paired with the *conditionnel présent* (would be) in the main clause (which isn't explicitly stated here but implied). It shows what the speaker would do *if* they were God's friend.

• Je mettrais du ciel en misère

  ➔ Conditional tense (*conditionnel présent*)

  ➔ *Mettrais* is the *conditionnel présent* of *mettre*, expressing what the speaker *would* do. The *conditionnel présent* is often used after a *si* clause expressing a condition.

• Toutes les larmes en rivière

  ➔ Preposition "en" indicating transformation.

  ➔ The preposition *en* here indicates a transformation *into*. It means "all the tears *into* a river."

• Je sèmerais des utopies, plier serait interdit

  ➔ Impersonal verb form with 'serait' (conditional of 'être').

  ➔ 'Piler serait interdit' translates to 'Bending would be forbidden.' Here, 'plier' is used as a noun, and the sentence is structured impersonally using 'serait' indicating a general rule or condition.

• Si j'avais des milles et des cents

  ➔ Idiomatic expression and indefinite articles.

  ➔ "Des milles et des cents" is an idiomatic expression meaning "lots of money." The "des" are partitive articles, referring to an indefinite quantity.

• Aux pas de chances, aux pas d'étoiles, aux moins que rien

  ➔ Use of preposition 'aux' and noun phrases.

  ➔ 'Aux' is a contraction of 'à les', and here it is used with noun phrases that represent different categories of people or states. "Aux pas de chances" - those without luck, "aux pas d'étoiles" - those with a bright future/destiny, "aux moins que rien" - the less than nothing, or the marginalized.

• Une voix que le vent chasse au matin

  ➔ Relative pronoun "que" introducing a relative clause.

  ➔ "Que" is a relative pronoun that introduces the relative clause "le vent chasse au matin." It refers back to the noun "voix" and provides more information about it.

• Quels hivers y résisteraient?

  ➔ Interrogative pronoun and conditional tense.

  ➔ "Quels" is an interrogative pronoun meaning "which" or "what." "Résisteraient" is the conditional form of the verb "résister." The sentence asks rhetorically: "Which winters would resist it?"