“C’est si bon” (pronounced say see-bɔ̃) was written in 1947 by Henri Betti and made famous the following year by legendary French singer Yves Montand. The title means “it’s so good.” The song went on to become one of the most famous French chansons of all time, with English versions recorded by Nat King Cole (1957) and Bing Crosby (1961).
C’est si bon – Song background
The lyrics capture the joy and optimism of the post–World War II era, painting a scene of a happy couple strolling arm in arm through the streets, drawing the admiring — and envious — glances of onlookers.
They also evoke a carefree desire to travel on a whim, sing songs, and dream of luxury, with playful images of Cadillacs, yachts, and other symbols of wealth.
Listen to “C’est si bon”
C’est si bon – Lyrics with English Translation
C’est si bon
It’s so good
De partir n’importe où
To go anywhere
Bras dessus bras dessous
Arm in arm
En chantant des chansons
Singing songs
C’est si bon
It’s so good
De se dire des mots doux
To tell each other soft words
Des petits riens du tout
Little nothing-at-alls
Mais qui en disent long
But that say so much
En voyant notre mine ravie
Seeing our happy faces
Les passants dans la rue nous envient
People in the streets envy us
C’est si bon
It’s so good
De guetter dans ses yeux
To look into our eyes
Un espoir merveilleux
A marvelous hope
Qui donne un frisson
That gives a chill
C’est si bon
It’s so good
Ces petites sensations
These little feelings
Ça vaut mieux qu’un million
That are worth a million
C’est tellement, tellement bon (si bon, si bon)
It’s so, so good (so good, so good)
C’est bon (si bon, si bon)
It’s good (so good, so good)
Voilà, c’est bon (si bon, si bon)
There, it’s so good (so good, so good)
Les passants dans la rue (si bon, si bon)
People in the streets (so good, so good)
Bras dessus bras dessous (si bon, si bon)
Arm in arm (so good, so good)
En chantant des chansons (si bon, si bon)
Singing songs (so good, so good)
Quel espoir merveilleux (si bon, si bon)
What a marvelous hope (so good, so good)
C’est bon (si bon, si bon)
It’s so good (so good, so good)
Je cherche un millionaire (si bon, si bon)
I’m looking for a millionaire (so good, so good)
Avec des (si bon, si bon)
With (so good, so good)
Grandes Cadillac car (si bon, si bon)
Big Cadillac cars (so good, so good)
Mink coats (si bon, si bon)
Mink coats (so good, so good)
Des bijoux
Jewels
Jusqu’au cou, tu sais? (si bon, si bon)
All the way up to your neck, you know? (so good, so good)
C’est bon (si bon, si bon)
It’s good (so good, so good)
Ces petites sensations (si bon, si bon)
These little feelings (so good, so good)
Peut être quelqu’un (si bon, si bon)
Maybe somebody (so good, so good)
Avec un petit yacht, non? (si bon, si bon)
With a little yacht, right? (so good, so good)
Ah, c’est bon (si bon, si bon)
Ah, it’s good (so good, so good)
C’est bon, si bon (si bon, si bon)
It’s good, yes it’s good (so good, so good)
Vous savez bien que j’attendrai quelqu’un
You know that I’ll wait for somebody
Qui pourrait m’apporter beaucoup de loot
Who could bring me lots of loot
Ce soir (si bon, si bon)
Tonight (so good, so good)
Demain (si bon, si bon)
Tomorrow (so good, so good)
La semaine prochaine (si bon, si bon)
Next week (so good, so good)
N’importe quand (si bon, si bon)
Whenever (so good, so good)
C’est bon (si bon, si bon)
It’s good (so good, so good)
Si bon
So good
Il sera très (si bon, si bon)
It will be (so good, so good)
Crazy, non? (si bon, si bon)
Crazy, right? (so good, so good)
Voilà, c’est tellement bon
There, it’s so good
Line-by-Line Breakdown of the French Lyrics
Si bon, tellement bon
Si bon and tellement bon are used throughout the song’s lyrics. Both si and tellement are synonyms for “so”. For example, “Elle est si belle“ and “Elle est tellement belle” both mean “She so beautiful”.
🔗 Explore my Word of the Day lesson on tellement »
N’importe où, n’importe quand
N’importe appears twice during the song. The first instance is towards the beginning: “C’est si bon de partir n’importe où” (It’s so go to go anywhere). The second instance is towards the end of the song. “N’importe quand”. The word n’importe means any and is used in my expressions.
Bras dessus bras dessous
“Bras dessus bras dessous” is an expression and translates literally to “Arm over, arm under.” The meaning of the expression is “arm in arm”.
🔗 Explore my Word of the Day lesson on Au-dessus vs. en dessous »
Guetter
The verb guetter means to watch or look out for. We translated it loosely to “to look”. Thus, we translated “C’est si bon de guetter dans les yeux” to “It’s so good to look into our eyes”.
Un frisson
Frisson translates to “a shiver”. In the context of the song, we translated “Un espoir merveilleux qui donne un frisson” to “A marvelous hope that gives the chill”.
Jusqu’au cou
Jusqu’au cou is an expression that translates to “up to one’s neck”. The song’s lyrics depict an image of having endless jewels: “Des bijoux jusqu’au cou” (jewels all the way up to your neck).
Il sera très bon
The song ends with the line, “Il sera très bon”. This is the future tense of the verb être (to be).
More French songs
- Les feuilles mortes (Yves Montand)
- Non, je ne regrette rien (Édith Piaf)
- La vie en rose (Édith Piaf)
- Ne me quitte pas (Édith Piaf)
- La Bohème (Charles Aznavour)
- La mer (Charles Trenet)
- Les Champs-Élysées (Joe Dassin)
- Je t’aime…moi non plus (Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin)
🎵 Learn more French through music!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this lesson on “C’est si bon.” Continue your learning by exploring our French song lyrics hub for more classics to study and enjoy.
