Ella, elle l’a (Meaning: Ella, she has it; Pronunciation: ɛla ɛl la) is a hit song by French singer France Gall. Written by Michel Berger and released as a single in 1987 on the album Babacar, the song soared to the top of the charts in Europe and was a big hit internationally. This post provides a translation of song lyrics and explains the French vocabulary and grammar line-by-line.

Ella, elle l’a
Song background
Ella, elle l’a is thought to be a tribute to Ella Fitzgerland (1917-1996), an African-American jazz singer. The song’s lyrics make continuous reference to Ella’s unique charm, charisma and beauty: Ella, elle l’a; Ce j’n’sais quoi; Que d’autres n’ont pas (Ella, she has it; This touch or hint; that other people don’t have).
Ella, elle l’a French lyrics and English translation
C’est comme une gaieté, comme un sourire
Quelque chose dans la voix qui paraît nous dire “Viens”
Qui nous fait sentir étrangement bien
C’est comme toute l’histoire du peuple noir
Qui se balance entre l’amour et le désespoir
Quelque chose qui danse en toi
Si tu l’as, tu l’as
It’s like joyfulness, like a smile
Something in the voice that seems to say “come”
That makes us feel strangely good
It’s like the entire history of Black people
That swings between love and despair
Something that dances within yourself
If you have it, you have it
Ella, elle l’a
Hou hou houhou hou houhou
Ce j’n’sais quoi
Hou hou houhou hou houhou
Que d’autres n’ont pas
Qui nous met dans un drôle d’état
Ella, elle l’a
Ella, elle l’a (elle l’a)
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Cette drôle de voix (elle l’a)
Hou hou houhou hou houhou
Cette drôle de joie
Ce don du ciel qui la rend belle
Ella, elle l’a
Ella, elle l’a (elle l’a)
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Ella, elle l’a (elle l’a)
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Ella, she has it
Hou hou houhou hou houhou
This touch or hint
Hou hou houhou hou houhou
That other people don’t have
That puts us in a funny state
Ella, she has it
Ella, she has it
Houhou houhou hou houhou
This funny voice
Hou hou houhou hou houhou
This funny joy
This gift from the heavens that makes her beautiful
Ella, she has it
Ella, she has it
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Ella, she has it
Ella, she has it
Ella, elle l’a
Ce tout petit supplément d’âme
Cet indéfinissable charme
Cette petite flamme
Tape sur des tonneaux, sur des pianos
Sur tout ce que Dieu peut te mettre entre les mains
Montre ton rire ou ton chagrin
Mais que tu n’aies riens, que tu sois roi
Que tu cherches encore les pouvoirs qui dorment en toi
Tu vois ça ne s’achète pas
Quand tu l’as, tu l’as
Ella, she has it
This tiny little extra-special something
This indefinable charm
This little flame
Taps on barrels, on pianos
On everything that God can allow between your hands
Show your laugh or your sadness
But that you don’t have anything, that you are king
That you’re still looking for the dormant powers within yourself
You see, it can’t be bought
When you have it, you have it
Ella, elle l’a
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Ce j’n’sais quoi
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Que d’autres n’ont pas
Qui nous met dans un drôle d’état
Ella, elle l’a
Ella, elle l’a (elle l’a)
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Ella, elle l’a (elle l’a)
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Ella, she has it
Houhou houhou hou houhou
This touch or hint
Houhou houhou hou houhou
That other people don’t have
That puts us in a funny state
Ella, she has it
Ella, she has it
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Ella, she has it
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Ella, elle l’a
Ella, elle l’a
Ella, elle l’a
Ella, elle l’a
Ella, elle l’a
Ella, elle l’a
Elle, she has it
Elle, she has it
Elle, she has it
Elle, she has it
Elle, she has it
Elle, she has it
Ella, elle l’a
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Ce j’n’sais quoi
Que d’autres n’ont pas
Qui nous met dans un drôle d’état
Ella, elle l’a (elle l’a)
Ella, elle l’a
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Cette drôle de voix
Cette drôle de joie
Ce don du ciel qui la rend belle
Ella, elle l’a (elle l’a)
Ella, elle l’a
Houhou houhou hou houhou
Ella, elle l’a
Ella, elle l’a
Qui nous met dans un drôle d’état
Ella, she has it
Houhou houhou hou houhou
This touch or hint
What others don’t have
Houhou houhou hou houhou
This funny voice
This funny joy
This gift from the heavens that makes her beautiful
Ella, she has it
Ella, she has it
Houhou houhou hou houhou
That puts us in a funny state
Ella, elle l’a lyrics analysis
In following section we’ll explore lines from the song which feel offer interesting insights into learning French vocabulary, verbs and grammar.
Song title meaning and grammar
The title of the song, Ella, elle l’a is a play on words with the the name, Ella, sounding the exact same as “elle l’a”, meaning both “she has it” and “she’s got it”.
In French, elle means she and l’a means “has it”, with the l’ being a direct object pronoun meaning “it” and a being the third-person singular form of avoir (to have).
C’est comme une gaieté, comme un sourire
This line translates to “It’s like joyfulness, like a smile”. There are two ways to say “it’s” in French: c’est and il est. C’est is used when followed by an article.
Quelque chose dans la voix qui paraît nous dire “Viens”
This line translates to “Something in the voice that seems to say “come”. Paraît is the third-person singular form of the verb paraître which means to appear, seem or to look.
Viens is the second-person singular (tu) form of the word venir, which means to come. Quelque chose means “something” in French.
Qui nous fait sentir étrangement bien
This line translates to “That makes us feel strangely good”. Qui is a relative pronoun meaning “that”. Étrangement translates to strangely and oddly.
C’est comme toute l’histoire du peuple noir
This line translates to “It’s like the entire history of Black people”. Comme in French translates to both like and as.
Qui se balance entre l’amour et le désespoir
This line translates to “That swings between love and despair”. Se balancer means to swing, rock or sway.
Quelque chose qui danse en toi
This line means “Something that dances within yourself”. En toi literally means “in you”.
Si tu l’as, tu l’as
This line means “If you have it, you have it”. It is a variant of elle l’a, the meaning “she has it” and the title of the song.
Ce j’n’sais quoi
This line translates to “This touch or hint”. Je ne sais quoi is a commonly used term that the English have borrowed from the French which translates to a touch or hint.
Que d’autres n’ont pas
This line translates to “That other people don’t have”. N’ont pas means “don’t have”. Ne…pas is the mostly commonly used form of French negation.
Qui nous met dans un drôle d’état
This line translates to “That puts us in a funny state”. The French adjective drôle means both funny and awkward.
Cette drôle de voix, Cette drôle de joie
These two lines translate to “This funny voice, This funny joy”. The word cette is the feminine form of a demonstrative adjective meaning “this”. Joie means joy in French.
Ce don du ciel qui la rend belle
This line translates to “This gift from the heavens that makes her beautiful”. The word don means “gift” as in a talent. Rend comes from the regular -re verb rendre, which has many usages including “to make”.
Ce tout petit supplément d’âme
This line translates to “This tiny little extra-special something”. Supplément d’âme is an expression meaning “extra-special something”.
Mais que tu n’aies riens, que tu sois roi
This line translates to “But that you don’t have anything, that you are king”. This line makes use of the French subjunctive, a mood used to express wishes, emotions and doubt.
Tu vois ça ne s’achète pas
This line translates to “You see, it can’t be bought“. This line uses the passive reflexive verb s’acheter, which translates to “is bought or purchased”.