FrenchLearner provides the world’s biggest resource for the study of French song lyrics. Not only do we provide original translations, we explain the meaning, vocabulary and grammar of each song.
French song lyrics
Lyrics to French music you’ll love
Classics -1940s-1950s
La vie en rose (Life in happy hues) is Piaf’s most famous song and arguably the most famous French song of all time. The lyrics portray Piaf’s innocent and youthful feelings of love she has for a man.
Non, je ne regrette rien (Édith Paif)
Non, je ne regrette rien (No, I do not regret anything) is one of Piaf’s most famous songs. The lyrics portray a message of having no regrets for the past and an upbeat outlook for what’s to come.
Sous le ciel de Paris – Édith Piaf
Sous le ciel de Paris (under the Paris sky). The song is a poetic celebration of the beautiful city of Paris, with lovers and revelers dancing in the city’s streets.
Mon Dieu, meaing “my God”. The lyrics depict Piaf pleading with God to give her more time to create memories and have a fuller life.
The lyrics of Milord, meaning my lord, paint the picture of a French courtesan who’s secretly in love with a highclass English man.
The lyrics to Hymne à l’amour (hymn to love) portray a list of actions Piaf would take to keep her lover, even until the end of life and eternity. This is the song Céline Dion performed at the 2024 Paris summer olympics.
The song Padam, Padam… is about having a tune in her head and having it trigger great memories from the past. A padam is a type of melodic love poem.
Ne me quitte pas (Jacques Brel)
Ne me quitte pas (Don’t leave me) is Belgian singer Jacques Brel’s most famous song. The lyrics offer beautiful poetic verse of Brel begging his lover to not leave him.
The song C’est si bon came out just after World War II and depicts the image of two lovers walking cheerfully in the streets of Paris.
Les feuilles mortes (Yves Montand)
Les feuilles mortes is a sorrowful love song about somebody who’s pining for earlier days when they were happy with their lover. This is the original French version of the internationally famous Autumn Leaves.
This post World War II classic with poetically written relates images of the beautiful sea on the French Riviera. La mer means “the sea” in French.
1960s – 1970s
Dominique (The Singing Nun / Sœur Sourire)
Dominique is one of the most famous French songs of all time. The lyrics pay homage to Saint Dominic, the Spanish priest who founded the Dominican Order.
La Bohème is Charles Aznavour’s signature song. The song’s lyrics recount the good old days of Montmartre, the artistic quarter in Paris.
Amsterdam, a classic by Jacques Brel, recounts the exploits of sailors on shore leave in Amsterdam.
Les Champs-Élysées (Joe Dassin)
Les Champs-Élysées by Joe Dassin is a classic French song that portrays two strangers meeting on the famous boulevard in Paris, entering a night club and emerging the next morning as lovers.
Et si tu n’existais pas (Joe Dassin)
Et si tu n’existais pas (and if you didn’t exist) is a love song where the singer questions how life would be if his partner didn’t exist.
Je t’aime…moi non plus – Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin
Je t’aime…moi non plus (I love you…neither do). The song was done by both Gainsbourg and Birkin, evoking risqué eroticism which initially drew a great deal of criticism.
La Décadanse (Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin)
One of the biggest French hits of the 1970s, the racy lyrics of La Décadance (The decadence) are full of sexual innuendos.
Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles (Francoise Hardy)
Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles (all the boys and girls) is a song about an adolescent girl who feels lonely watching all the other couples walking happily hand-in-hand in the streets.
The lyrics of Le Sud (the south) are about living happily in a southern setting and then the happiness coming to and end due to an approaching war.
Comme d’habitude (Claude François)
Comme d’habitude (as usual) is the original version of Frank Sinatra’s I’ll do it my way and is about a couple falling out of love but staying together.
Mon truc en plumes (Zizi Jeanmaire)
Mon truc en plumes (my thing in feathers) are the feather outfit worn by a cabaret dancer. This is the song that Lady Gagy performed at the 2024 Paris summer olympics.
1980s – 1990s
Pour que tu m’aimes encore (Céline Dion)
The lyrics to Pour que tu m’aimes encore (so that you love me again) portray the voice of somebody who’s lost their lover and the things they’d to go get that person back.
Joe le taxi (Joe the taxi) is about a fictitional taxi driver named Joe who represted Maria José Leão dos Santos, a Portuguese woman and taxi driver who fled from Paris due to her homosexuality.
Je te promets (Johnny Hallyday)
The lyrics of Je te promets (I promise you) are essential a list of promises a man is making to a woman while laying in bed at night.
The lyrics of Ella, elle l’a (Ella, she has it) pay tribute to the charm, charisma and beauty of American singer, Ella Fitzgerland.
2000s
Dernière danse (last dance) by Indila portrays a woman wandering the streets in Paris in sorrow and struggling with early adulthood.
The lyrics of Alors on danse (so we dance) deal with the topic of struggling in life and in particular difficulties in finding a life’s calling.
Ainsi bas la vida, meaning “Thus low is life” depicts the singer having feelings for a man of a lower social class who’s most likely not what he appears to be.
The lyrics of Tourner dans le vide (turning in emptiness) portray a woman being in love with a man who’s misjudged by society.
The lyrics of Love Story recounts the tale of two lovers who have been separated forever.
S.O.S. deals with the topic of hitting are rock bottom in life and then reaching out for assistance and living in recovery.
Parle à ta tête, meaning “speak to your head” deals with the topic of a person overcoming personal limitations and reaching their full potential.
Carrousel Lyrics (Amir & Indila)
Carrousel (carousel, merry-go-round) is a duet in which Amir (the male voice) declares his love for the female (Indila).
The lyrics of Papaoutai (Dad, where are you?) touch on theme of fatherhood and the father being present in a child’s life.
The lyrics of Formidable, meaning portray a drunk Stromae stumbling around the steets of Brussels pleading after having gotten dumped.
Tous les mêmes (all the same) address the issues and stereotype of unfaithful men in longterm relationships.
The lyrics of Santé, meaning “health” pay homage to the world’s average, everyday people and workers.
The lyrics of Mon amour (my life) are a spoof of the reality TV show Love Island in which Stromae plays hte main heart throb character.
The lyrics Fils de joie (son of joy) are about the relationship between a ficitional dictator and a sex worker.
The lyrics of Bonne journée (have a nice day) deal with the topic of mental health, contrasting happiness and depression.
This song’s title are combination of the words solitude (loneliness) and lassitude (tiredness). The song’s lyrics contrast single life with life being in a relationship.
The lyrics to Je veux (I want) portray a message against opulent materialism and address the importance of universal love.
The lyrics of Bruxelles je t’aime (Brussels I love you) are about the love of the city of Brussels and patriotism for Belgium.
Balance ton quoi (denounce your thing) is a song about the MeToo social movement and the topic of sexism.
The lyrics of À tout jamais (to all never) deal with the topic of facing and overcoming personal demons.
Kids songs
This is a fun kids songs depicting the plucking of feathers off of a bird. It’s also a French version of “Heads, shoulders, knees and toes”. Alouette means “lark” in French.
Frère Jacques (Brother John) is the most famous French kids song of all time and is sung by children worldwide. The song is often sung in rounds.
Bonjour monsieur, bonjour madame
Bonjour monsieur, bonjour madame (Hello sir, hello ma’am) is a fun kids songs that teaches greetings and can be used in a classroom setting.
Au clair de la lune (by the moonlight) is another famous French kids song and depicts the searching for a pen in the absence of light.
Christmas & holiday
Minuit, chrétiens – O Holy Night
Minuit, chrétiens, meaning “midnight, Christians” is the original French version of O Holy Night, the song commonly sung at Christmas masses around the world.
Vive le vent (long live the wind) is the French version of Jingle Bells. Unlike the English version, the French lyrics mainly portray images of the holiday season.
Douce nuit, sainte nuit (Silent Night)
Douce nuit, sainte nuit (sweet night, holy night) is the French version of Silent Night.
Noël Blanc is the French version of White Christmas.
Petit Papa Noël (little father Christmas) is arguably the most famous French Christmas song. The lyrics are from a child’s view begging Santa to not forget to visit their house.
Ce n’est qu’un au revoir (it’s just a goodbye) is the French version of Auld Lang Syne, which is traditionally sung on new year’s eve.
France – country songs
La Marseillaise – National Anthem of France
La Marseillaise is the national anthem of France. The chorus, starting with Allons enfants de la Patrie (arise, children of the fatherland), is a lot of fun and very easy to learn!
Related posts
- Top French songs of all time
- Édith Piaf – top songs
- Céline Dion – top French songs
- Top French female singers
- Top French male singers
- Famous French rappers
- French Christmas songs
- Songs for learning French
French songs posts | Lessons by David Issokson
