“Carrousel” (Meaning: carousel, merry-go-round; Pronunciation: kaʀuzɛl) is a hit song by French-Israeli singer Amir Haddad and features French singer Indila. Carrousel was released on Amir’s album, “Ressources” in 2020. This song is a duet where both Amir and Indila sing together. See below for complete lyrics and video.
Carrousel – Amir and Indila
Carrousel song overview
The song, “Carrousel” by Amir and featuring Indila is a beautiful duet where Amir (the male voice) declares his love for Indila (the female voice).
In the song, the male makes several strong statements of his feelings: “Qu’est-ce qui m’arrive? elle est si belle“; What’s happening to me? She is so beautiful”.
He then declares that he found a ticket for her on the carrousel: “J’ai trouvé un ticket pour elle
Dans ce carrousel; I found a ticket for her on this carousel”.
In the female’s response, she expresses her seriousness, singing: “Je ne joue pas, ce n’est pas un game; Là tu t’engages quand tu m’aimes; I’m not playing, it’s not a game. You’re committed when you love me”.
Then, both the male and female voices take turns singing the chorus: “Oui je cours, J’ai le cœur en aller-retour, Dans ce carrousel; Yes I’m running, My heart is going back and forth, on this carrousel”.
Carrousel French Lyrics & English Translation
(Amir singing)
Qu’est-ce qui m’arrive, qu’est-ce qui me traîne?
J’ai le Vésuve au fond des veines
Aah, elle est si belle
La douleur qui m’interpelle
What’s happening to me? What’s dragging me around?
I have Vesuvius deep in my veins
Ah, she is so beautiful
The pain that calls out to me
(Amir singing)
Le plus beau des coups que la vie
Le plus beau décor, de corps qui jouent la scène
Je suis tant étourdi, je tiens à peine
Mais ces désirs me retiennent
The most beautiful of blows that live gives
The most beautiful décor, two bodes that play on the stage
I’m so dazed, I’m barely holding on
But these desires are holding me back
(Amir singing)
Et je cours
J’ai le cœur en aller-retour
C’est la première fois
J’ai trouvé un ticket pour elle
Dans ce carrousel
And I’m running
My heart is going back and forth
It’s the first time
I found a ticket for her
On this carousel
(Amir singing)
Et je cours
j’ai le cœur en aller-retour
C’est la première fois
J’ai trouvé un ticket pour elle
Dans ce carrousel
And I’m running
My heart is going back and forth
It’s the first time
I found a ticket for her
On this carousel
(Indila singing)
Dans ce carrousel, dans ce, dans ce carrousel
Dans ce carrousel, dans ce, dans ce carrousel
On this carousel, on this carousel
On this carousel, on this carousel
(Indila singing)
Je ne joue pas, ce n’est pas un game
Là tu t’engages quand tu m’aimes
Faudra me préserver
Jusqu’au souffle dernier
I’m not playing, it’s not a game
You’re committed when you love me
You’ll need to protect me
Until the last breath
(Indila singing)
Je cours
J’ai le cœur en aller-retour
C’est la première fois
J’ai trouvé enfin l’essentiel
Dans ce carrousel
I’m running
My heart is going back and forth
It’s the first time
I finally found the most important thing
On this carousel
(Indila singing)
Oui, je cours
J’ai le cœur en aller-retour
C’est la première fois
J’ai trouvé enfin l’essentiel
Dans ce carrousel
Yes, I’m running
My heart is going back and forth
It’s the first time
I finally found the most important thing
On this carousel
(Amir singing)
T’es belle, rebelle, je suis immortel
C’est toi qui descelles tout ce que ma peau recèle
J’ai peur de toi comme d’une sublime attraction
Une seconde avant l’action
You’re beautiful, a rebel, I’m immortal
You’re the one who spots everything that my skin contains
I’m afraid of you like a magnificent attraction
One second before the action
(Indila singing)
Si tu m’aimes
Si je t’ouvre mon cœur
C’est que tu sèmes
Une graine, une fleur
Tu devras me garder, abîmée ou belle
Dans ce carrousel
If you love me
If I open my heart to you
It’s that you sow
A seed, a flower
You’ll have to keep me, damaged or beautiful
On your carousel
(Amir singing)
Et je cours
J’ai le cœur en aller-retour
C’est la première fois
J’ai trouvé un ticket pour elle
Dans ce carrousel
And I’m running
My heart is going back and forth
It’s the first time
I found a ticket for her
On this carousel
(Indila singing)
Oui je cours
J’ai le cœur en aller-retour
C’est la première fois
J’ai trouvé enfin l’essentiel
Dans ce carrousel
Yes, I’m running
My heart is going back and forth
It’s the first time
I finally found the most important thing
On this carousel
(Indila singing)
Dans ce carrousel, dans ce, dans ce carrousel
Dans ce carrousel, dans ce, dans ce carrousel
Dans ce carrousel, dans ce, dans ce carrousel
Dans ce carrousel, dans ce, dans ce carrousel
On this carousel, on this carousel
On this carousel, on this carousel
On this carousel, on this carousel
On this carousel, on this carousel
Lyrics analysis
In the following section we’ve analyzed the lyrics line-by-line, explaining both vocabulary and grammar which offer interesting insights into learning French.
Qu’est-ce qui m’arrive, qu’est-ce qui me traîne?
This line translates to “What’s happening to me? What’s dragging me around?”. In addition to meaning to arrive, the French verb arriver also means “to occur” and “to happen”.
The verb traîner has several translations including “to drag”, “to lug around” and “to dawdle” or “to hang around”.
“Qu’est-ce que” means what in French. When preceding a verb, qu’est-ce que becomes qu’est-ce qui. Est-ce que on its own means is, are, do and does for a yes-no question.
J’ai le Vésuve au fond des veines
This line translates to “I have Vesuvius deep in my veins”. J’ai means “I have” and is the first-person singular (je) form of avoir (to have).
“Vésuve” refers to Mount Vesuvius, a volcano in Italy. We believe Amir is using Mount Vesuvius as a metaphor to express his feelings of love and passion.
Aah, elle est si belle
This line translates to “Ah, she is so beautiful”. Elle means she and is a subject pronoun. Si has several translations including “so”. Belle is the feminine form of beautiful in French.
Le plus beau des coups que la vie
This line translates to “The most beautiful of blows that live gives”. Le plus beau is a superlative, meaning “the most” beautiful. The word coup has many meanings and usages but it’s underlying meaning is hit or strike.
In this line, the word que is a relative pronoun, meaning what or which. In other contexts, que can mean “what”. Vie means life” and is used in the expression, c’est la vie.
Le plus beau décor, de corps qui jouent la scène
This line translates to “The most beautiful décor, two bodes that play on the stage”. The word corps in French means body. Jouer means to play. Scène in French translates to both state and scene.
Je suis tant étourdi, je tiens à peine
This line translates to “I’m so dazed, I’m barely holding on”. Je suis is the first-person singular (je) form of être (to be). The adverb tant has several translations and usages including “so”. The adjective étourdi translates to dazed or stunned.
Tiens comes from the verb tenir, which has several usages but translates literally to “to hold”. The expression, à peine means “barely”.
Mais ces désirs me retiennent
This line translates to “But these desires are holding me back”. The word mais means but. The word ces is a demonstrative adjective and means these. The me in this sentence is a relative pronoun and translates to “me” in French.
Et je cours, J’ai le cœur en aller-retour
These two lines translate to “And I’m running, My heart is going back and forth”. Et means “and” in French. The -t is never pronounced. Cours comes from the verb courir (to run). Coeur means “heart”.
Aller-retour is an expression that translates literally to “to go, return” and is often used in the context of a round-trip ticket. We used the translation “back and forth” after watching Vishela’s translation of Carrousel in YouTube.
C’est la première fois
This line translates to “it’s the first time”. There are two words for time in French: temps and fois. Fois is used in the context of “how many times”. Premier/première means first.
J’ai trouvé un ticket pour elle
This line translates to “I found a ticket for her”. J’ai trouvé is the passé composé of trouver (to find). In French, there are two words for ticket: ticket and billet. The word ticket is used for small and inexpensive tickets such as metro tickets. Billet is used for more expensive tickets such as plane tickets.
Dans ce carrousel
We translated this line to “On this carousel”. The preposition dans normally means “in”, or more specifically “in side of”. However, in the context of the song’s lyrics, we translate it to “on”, which would normally be sur in French.
Je ne joue pas, ce n’est pas un game
This line translates to “I’m not playing, it’s not a game”. Ne + verb + pas is the most standard form of French negation. The lyrics use the word “game” as an anglicism. However, the real word for game in French is jeu.
Là tu t’engages quand tu m’aimes
This line translates to “You’re committed when you love me”. The word là in French translates to both “here” and “there”. It can also be used as a filler word in conversation.
Quand means when in French. Tu m’aimes means “You love me”. The verb aimer means both “to like” and “to love”.
Faudra me préserver
This line translates to “You’ll need to protect me”. Faudra is the future tense of il faut, which translates literally to “it’s necessary to”. Préserver has several meanings in French including to preserve and to protect.
Jusqu’au souffle dernier
This line translates to “Until the last breath”. Jusqu’à means “until” in French. Au is a contraction of the the preposition “à” (meaning to and at) and the definite article le (the). The noun souffle means breath and verb souffler means to blow.
J’ai trouvé enfin l’essentiel
This line translates to “I finally found the most important thing”. Enfin means both finally, in the end and at last. Essentiel as a noun means “the most important thing”. As an adjective, it means essential.
T’es belle, rebelle, je suis immortel, C’est toi qui descelles tout ce que ma peau recèle
These lines translate to “You’re beautiful, a rebel, I’m immortal; You’re the one who unseals everything that my skin contains”. The translation of “C’est toi qui” is “you’re the one who”. “Toi” is a stress pronoun, meaning you in French.
The verb desceller, which means “to detect” and “to uncover”. Peau means skin and the verb receler means to contain and to hold.
J’ai peur de toi comme d’une sublime attraction
This line translates to “I’m afraid of you like a magnificent attraction”. Peur means fear and the expression avoir peur de means “to be afraid of”. Comme means both like and as. The adjective means sublime means both sublime and magnificent.
Une seconde avant l’action
This line translates to “One second before the action”. In French, avant means before, in the context of one event occurring before another.
Si tu m’aimes, Si je t’ouvre mon cœur
This line translate to “If you love me, If I open my heart to you”. One of the several translations of s in French is “if”. Ouvre is the third-person singular form of ouvrir (to open).
C’est que tu sèmes, Une graine, une fleur
These lines translate to “It’s that you sow; A seed, a flower”. The verb semer means to sow and the noun graine means seed.
Tu devras me garder, abîmée ou belle
This line translates to “You’ll have to keep me, damaged or beautiful”. “Devras” is the tu-form of devoir (must, to have to) in the future tense.
Discover more:
- Indila – Dernière Danse
- Indila – Tourner Dans Le Vide
- Indila “Love Story”
- Indila — S.O.S.
- Indila – Ainsi bas la vida
French songs | Lessons by David Issokson
