Published April 28, 2022 · Updated April 20, 2026 — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson. Pronunciation audio recorded by Marie Assel Cambier, a professional voice artist and native French speaker. Lyrics provided for educational purposes to support French language learning. All rights belong to the original copyright holders.
“Alors on danse” (2009) is one of Stromae’s biggest and most recognizable songs. The title means “So we dance,” and the lyrics paint a bleak picture of stress, routine, and everyday struggles, with dancing presented as a way to escape it all for a moment.
In this lesson, you’ll explore the lyrics line by line with clear explanations and native pronunciation audio to help you understand the vocabulary, grammar, and deeper meaning behind every line.
🎙️ Listen to the song
📘 Meaning in French
🎧 Pronunciation guide
🔊 Practice with audio
🎵 Lyrics with English
✏️ Grammar notes
🎙️ Listen to “Alors on danse” by Stromae
Listen to the song — how many words can you catch before checking the translation?
📘 Alors on danse meaning
Alors on danse literally means “So we dance.” In the song, this expression suggests a reaction to a situation — after all the stress, problems, and routine of daily life, the response is simply to dance. It reflects the idea of escaping reality through music and movement. Faced with work, financial pressure, and personal struggles, dancing becomes a temporary release — a way to forget everything and feel alive again, even if just for a moment.
🎧 Alors on danse pronunciation in French
The pronunciation of “Alors on danse” is /a.lɔʁ ɔ̃ dɑ̃s/ (IPA), which sounds roughly like “ah-lohr ohn dahns”.
🔊 Practice pronunciation from the song
The recordings below feature key lines from the song recorded by a native French speaker for clear, natural pronunciation. Listen and repeat each line to improve your accent and rhythm.
Alors on danse, alors on danse, alors on danse
So we dance, so we dance, so we dance
Qui dit travail dit argent, Qui dit argent dit dépenses
Those who say work say money, those who say money say expenses
Qui dit dette te dit huissier, Lui dit assis dans la merde
Those who say debt say court bailiff, He said you’re in deep sh*t
Ça te prend la tête et les tripes, Et puis tu pries pour qu’ça s’arrête
It bothers you and it takes your heart and soul, And you pray for it to stop
👉 Like this song? Check out “Papaoutai“ by Stromae — his biggest hit, with catchy rhythms and clear lyrics that make it perfect for learning French.
🎵 Alors on danse – Lyrics with English Translation
Alors on- (3x)
So we…
Qui dit étude dit travail
Qui dit taf te dit des thunes
Qui dit argent dit dépenses
Qui dit crédit dit créance
Qui dit dette, te dit huissier
Lui dit assis dans la merde
Qui dit amour, dit les gosses
Dit toujours et dit divorce
Qui dit proches, te dit deuils
Car les problèmes ne viennent pas seul
Qui dit crise, te dit monde
Dit famine et dit tiers monde
Qui dit fatigue dit réveil
Encore sourd de la veille
Alors on sort pour oublier tous les problèmes
Those who say study say work
Those who say work tell you money
Those who say money say expenses
Those who say credit say debt
Those who say debt say court bailiff
Yes he said you’re in deep sh*t
Those who say love say kids
Say forever and say divorce
Those who say relatives say death
Because these problems don’t come alone
Those who say crisis tells you world
Tell you famine and third world
Those who say fatigue say wake up
Still deaf the next day
So we go out to forget about all the problems
Alors on danse (9x)
So we dance
Et là tu t’dis que c’est fini
Car pire que ça, ce s’rait la mort
Quand tu crois enfin qu’tu t’en sors
Quand y en a plus, et ben y en a encore
Est-ce la zik ou les problèmes ?
Les problèmes ou bien la musique ?
Ça t’prend les tripes, ça te prend la tête
Et puis tu pries pour qu’ça s’arrête
Mais c’est ton corps, c’est pas le ciel
Alors tu t’bouches plus les oreilles
Et là tu cries encore plus fort, et ça persiste
And you say it’s finished
Because worse than that, would be death
When you think you’re finally emerging (from a difficult situation)
When there’s more, well there’s more
Is it music or problems?
Problems or rather music?
It takes your heart and soul, it bothers you
And you pray for it to stop
but it’s your body, it’s not the sky
So you plug your ears more
And you scream even louder, and it persists
Alors on chante
Et puis seulement quand c’est fini
So we sing
And then only when it’s over
✏️ Grammar and Vocabulary Notes
🎵 Song Title
Alors on danse → literal translation: “So we dance”
- alors means “so” or “then”
- The pronoun on means “we” or “people in general”
- The title suggests a reaction: after all the problems of life, the response is simply to dance
🧩 Sentence Structures & Grammar
alors on
👉 “so we…”
qui dit étude dit travail
👉 “Study means work”
- qui = who
- qui dit X dit Y = “X leads to Y” (chain reaction structure repeated throughout the verse)
qui dit taf te dit des thunes
👉 “Work means money”
- taf = work (slang)
- thunes = money (slang)
qui dit argent dit dépenses
👉 “Money means expenses”
- dépenses = spending / expenses
qui dit crédit dit créance
👉 “Credit means debt”
- créance = money owed (formal/financial term)
qui dit dette te dit huissier
👉 “Debt means bailiff”
- huissier = court officer who collects debts
lui dit assis dans la merde
👉 “That means you’re in deep sh*t”
- assis dans la merde = very informal → “in serious trouble”
qui dit amour dit les gosses
👉 “Love means kids”
- les gosses = kids (informal)
dit toujours et dit divorce
👉 “Means forever and divorce”
- ironic contrast between toujours (always) and divorce
qui dit proches te dit deuils
👉 “Family means death”
- proches = relatives / close people
- deuil = mourning
car les problèmes ne viennent pas seuls
👉 “Problems don’t come alone”
- car = because
- plural agreement: seuls
qui dit crise te dit monde, dit famine et dit tiers monde
👉 “Crisis means world, famine, and third world”
- expansion from personal problems → global issues
qui dit fatigue dit réveil
👉 “Fatigue means waking up”
- cycle idea: tired → wake up → repeat
encore sourd de la veille
👉 “Still deaf from the night before”
- la veille = the day/night before
alors on sort pour oublier tous les problèmes
👉 “So we go out to forget all the problems”
- sortir = to go out
et là tu t’dis que c’est fini
👉 “And then you tell yourself it’s over”
- tu t’dis = tu te dis (spoken contraction)
- dire = to say, to tell
car pire que ça, ce s’rait la mort
👉 “Because worse than that would be death”
- ce s’rait = ce serait (spoken conditional of être)
quand tu crois enfin qu’tu t’en sors
👉 “When you think you’re finally getting out”
- s’en sortir = to get through / escape
quand y en a plus, et ben y en a encore
👉 “When there’s no more, there’s still more”
- y en a = il y en a (there is/are)
- il y a = there is, there are
- pronoun en = it, some, them
est-ce la zik ou les problèmes ?
👉 “Is it the music or the problems?”
- zik = slang for musique
ça t’prend les tripes, ça te prend la tête
👉 “It grabs you deep, it gets in your head”
- prendre les tripes = hit emotionally
- prendre la tête = annoy / overwhelm
et puis tu pries pour qu’ça s’arrête
👉 “And you pray for it to stop”
- pour que + subjunctive → ça s’arrête
- et puis = and then
mais c’est ton corps, c’est pas le ciel
👉 “But it’s your body, not the sky”
- contrast between physical vs external/spiritual
alors tu t’bouches plus les oreilles
👉 “So you stop covering your ears”
- tu t’bouches = tu te bouches
et là tu cries encore plus fort, et ça persiste
👉 “And you scream louder, and it continues”
- persister = to persist
alors on chante
👉 “So we sing”
🔤 Verb Forms & Tenses
- Present tense dominates: dit, prend, vient, crois → general truths and repeated cycles
- Spoken contractions: t’dis, qu’tu, y en a, s’rait → natural spoken French
- Subjunctive: pour que ça s’arrête (after pour que)
- Key verb: s’en sortir = to get out of a difficult situation
💬 Expressions & Idioms
- qui dit X dit Y → “X leads to Y”
- les gosses → kids (informal)
- la zik → music (slang)
- assis dans la merde → in deep trouble (very informal)
- prendre la tête → to annoy / stress out
- prendre les tripes → to affect deeply
- y en a → there is/are (spoken)
🧠 Grammar Highlights to Notice
- Repetition of qui dit X dit Y creates rhythm and meaning chains
- Heavy use of spoken French contractions throughout
- Present tense used for universal truths and cycles
- Strong contrast structures (problems vs music)
- Emotional buildup through repetition and escalation
- Shift from personal problems → global issues → emotional release
📘 Vocabulary
- les études — studies
- le travail — work
- le taf — work (slang)
- les thunes — money (slang)
- l’argent — money
- les dépenses — expenses
- le crédit — credit
- la créance — debt / claim
- la dette — debt
- l’huissier — court bailiff
- les gosses — kids
- le divorce — divorce
- les proches — relatives / close people
- le deuil — mourning
- la crise — crisis
- la famine — famine
- le tiers monde — third world
- la fatigue — tiredness
- le réveil — waking up
- la veille — the day before
- les problèmes — problems
- la musique / la zik — music
- les tripes — guts / deep emotions
- la tête — head (mind)
🎶 Take your learning to the next level!
FrenchLearner offers one of the largest collections of French song lessons online. Visit the French song lyrics hub to explore classics from the 1950s to the 2000s.
🎵 More Stromae songs
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👉 Mon Amour »
👉 Fils de Joie »
👉 Bonne journée »
👉 La solassitude »
About this lesson: I create these song-based lessons to help French learners improve vocabulary, grammar, and cultural understanding in a fun, engaging way. Song lyrics are provided for educational purposes under fair use. All rights to the original works belong to their respective copyright holders.
