Valse de Melody – Bilingual Lyrics French/English

• By: Serge Gainsbourg
• Album: Histoire de Melody Nelson

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the elegance of the French language through 'Valse de Melody'. This song is perfect for learners who want to explore poetic, emotive vocabulary and the rhythmic flow of a traditional French waltz, all while experiencing the softer side of one of France's most provocative artists.

[English]

Sunshine is rare

And so is happiness

Love goes astray

Throughout a lifetime

Sunshine is rare

And so is happiness

But everything moves

In Melody's arms

The surrounding walls

Of the labyrinth

Part slightly upon

The infinite

...

Sunshine is rare

And so is happiness

But everything moves

In Melody's arms

The surrounding walls

Of the labyrinth

Part slightly upon

The infinite

...

[French]

Le soleil est rare

Et le bonheur aussi

L'amour s'égare

Au long de la vie

Le soleil est rare

Et le bonheur aussi

Mais tout bouge

Au bras de melody

Les murs d'enceinte

Du labyrinthe

S'entrouvent sur

L'infini

Le soleil est rare

Et le bonheur aussi

Mais tout bouge

Au bras de melody

Les murs d'enceinte

Du labyrinthe

S'entrouvent sur

L'infini

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
soleil sɔlɛj A1	nom - sun
rare ʁaʁ A2	adjectif - rare
bonheur bɔnœʁ A1	nom - happiness
amour amuʁ A1	nom - love
s'égare seɡaʁ B2	verbe - to lose one's way / to stray
vie vi A1	nom - life
bouge buʒ A2	verbe - to move
bras bʁa A1	nom - arm
murs myʁ A1	nom - walls
enceinte ɑ̃sɛ̃t B2	nom - enclosure / perimeter
labyrinthe labiʁɛ̃t B2	nom - labyrinth / maze
s'entrouvent sɑ̃tʁuv C1	verbe - to half-open
infini ɛ̃fini B1	nom - infinity

Key Grammar Structures

• Le soleil est rare

  ➔ Definite articles and copula 'être'

  ➔ The use of 'Le' indicates a general concept. 'Est' is the 3rd person singular present of 'être'.

• L'amour s'égare

  ➔ Reflexive verb usage

  ➔ The verb 's'égarer' is used pronominally to indicate an action that affects the subject itself.

• Au long de la vie

  ➔ Contracted article and prepositional phrase

  ➔ 'Au' is the contraction of 'à + le'. It functions here within a prepositional phrase of time/space.

• Mais tout bouge

  ➔ Indefinite pronoun as subject

  ➔ 'Tout' functions here as an indefinite pronoun meaning 'everything'.

• Au bras de melody

  ➔ Prepositional complement

  ➔ 'De Melody' acts as a complement specifying the 'bras' (arm).

• Les murs d'enceinte

  ➔ Noun compound/Apposition

  ➔ 'D'enceinte' functions as an adjectival complement to 'murs', meaning walls that enclose.

• S'entrouvent sur l'infini

  ➔ Verbs with prepositional dependencies

  ➔ The verb 's'entrouvrir' is followed by 'sur', indicating the direction or point of opening.