Lyrics provided for educational purposes to support French language learning. All rights belong to the original copyright holders.
La symphonie des éclairs (2023) by Zaho de Sagazan is a moving, uplifting song that reminds us you can find joy and beauty even when life feels stormy. Filled with vivid imagery and emotional depth, it’s packed with useful vocabulary and natural expressions that make it perfect for intermediate French learners.
🎶 Listen to “La symphonie des éclairs lyrics”
🎵 La symphonie des éclairs – Lyrics with English Translation
Il fait toujours beau au-dessus des nuages
Mais moi, si j’étais un oiseau, j’irais danser sous l’orage
Je traverserais les nuages comme le fait la lumière
J’écouterais sous la pluie la symphonie des éclairs
It’s always sunny above the clouds
But me, if I were a bird, I’d go dance in the storm
I’d cross the clouds the way the light does
I’d listen in the rain to the symphony of lightning
Dès sa plus tendre enfance
Elle ne savait pas parler autrement
Qu’en criant tout bas, pas faute d’essayer
De les retenir, ces cris et ces larmes
Qui les faisaient tant-
From her earliest childhood
She didn’t know how to speak any other way
Than by shouting softly, not for lack of trying
To hold them back — those cries and those tears
That made them so—
(Chorus repeats)
En grandissant, rien ne s’est calmé
Petite tempête s’est trouvé
Des raisons de pleuvoir autant
Qui pourrait l’aimer, franchement?
Personne n’aimerait se retrouver
Au cœur d’une tempête, avouez
Il y a des raisons de pleurer
Elle a ses raisons, mais
Growing up, nothing calmed down
The little storm found
Reasons to rain so much
Who could love her, honestly?
No one would want to find themselves
In the middle of a storm, admit it
There are reasons to cry
She has her reasons, but—
Il fait toujours beau au-dessus des nuages
Mais moi, si j’étais un oiseau, j’irais danser sous l’orage
Je traverserais les nuages comme le fait la lumière
J’écouterais sous la pluie la symphonie des éclairs, hmm
Quand la tempête a su
Que des mélodies pouvaient s’échapper du vent
Et se retrouver dans le cœur des gens
Celle-ci s’est dit
“Nulle raison d’envier le soleil
Je ferai danser les gens au rythme de mes pleurs
La tourmente de mes chants viendra réchauffer les cœurs
Réchauffer mon cœur”
It’s always sunny above the clouds
But me, if I were a bird, I’d go dance under the storm
I’d cross the clouds the way the light does
I’d listen in the rain to the symphony of lightning, hmm
When the storm learned
That melodies could escape from the wind
And find their way into people’s hearts
It said to itself:
“No reason to envy the sun
I’ll make people dance to the rhythm of my tears
The turmoil of my songs will come to warm hearts
To warm my own heart”
(Chorus repeats)
✏️ Grammar and vocabulary notes
The following section contains some of the key words, expressions and grammar points from the song, along with quick notes to help you understand how they’re used.
⚡ Song title
- la symphonie des éclairs = song title meaning “the symphony of lightning.” Éclair literally means a flash of lightning but also refers to a French pastry (éclair).
🗣 Sentence Structures & Grammar
- si j’étais un oiseau, j’irais danser sous l’orage = If I were a bird, I’d go dance in the storm — example of a si clause combining the imperfect tense (j’étais) with the conditional mood (j’irais).
- Je traverserais, J’écouterais = I would cross, I would listen — both verbs are in the conditional mood.
- qu’en criant tout bas = than by shouting softly — qu’ here is short for que in ne… que (“only/than”). En criant is the gerund of crier (to shout), and tout bas means “softly” or “quietly.”
- Qui pourrait = Who could? — pouvoir (can, to be able to) in the conditional to express a hypothetical situation.
- Personne n’aimerait = No one would want — personne means “nobody” or “anybody” and is used in the ne… personne negation structure.
- rien ne s’est calmé = Nothing calmed down — rien means “nothing” and is used in the ne… rien negation structure. Se calmer is a reflexive verb meaning “to calm down.”
- Celle-ci s’est dit = It said to itself — celle-ci is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “this one” (feminine singular; masculine is celui-ci). In literature, it can refer back to a previously mentioned subject.
- Nulle raison = No reason — nulle is the feminine singular form of nul, meaning “no” or “not any.” It’s a formal or literary alternative to aucune. As an adjective, nul/nulle can also mean “lousy.”
- Je ferai danser les gens = I’ll make people dance — faire + infinitive causative construction, expressing causing someone to do something.
- Qui les faisaient tant = That made them so — faisaient is the imperfect of faire (to make, to do). Les is the direct object pronoun meaning “them.”
🔤 Verb Forms & Tenses
- aimer = common A1 verb meaning “to like” and “to love.”
- Elle ne savait pas = She didn’t know how to — savoir (to know) in the imperfect tense.
- parler autrement = to speak any other way — parler means “to speak” or “to talk.”
- En grandissant = Growing up — gerund of grandir (to grow up); literally “while growing up.”
- la tempête a su = When the storm learned — su is the past participle of savoir (to know). In the passé composé, savoir can mean “to find out” or “to learn.”
- pouvaient s’échapper du vent = could escape from the wind — pouvaient is the imperfect of pouvoir (can, to be able to). S’échapper = “to escape.”
- se trouver = reflexive verb meaning “to be located” or “to find oneself.”
- viendra = will come — simple future of venir (to come).
📍 Prepositions & Location
- au-dessus des nuages = Above the clouds — note the use of the preposition au-dessus (“above,” “over”).
- dans le cœur des gens = into people’s hearts — les gens is used for describing unspecified groups of people.
- Dès in Dès sa plus tendre enfance = From her earliest childhood — preposition dès means “from” or “starting from.”
📚 Expressions & Idioms
- Il fait toujours beau = It’s always nice weather (translated as “sunny” in the lyrics) — common French expression for describing pleasant weather.
- pleuvoir autant = to rain so much — autant can mean “as much,” “so much,” or “as many” depending on context.
- pas faute de… = not for lack of… — idiomatic expression meaning “it’s not because [someone] didn’t + verb.” In pas faute d’essayer, it means “not for lack of trying.”
- il y a = expression meaning “there is,” “there are,” and also “ago” in time expressions.
❤️ More modern French songs you’ll love!
- Love Story (Indila)
- Dernière danse (Indila)
- Tourner dans le vide (Indila)
- Formidable (Stromae)
- Papaoutai (Stromae)
- Alors on danse (Stromae)
- Bruxelles je t’aime (Angèle)
- Je veux (Zaz)
🔗 See all our French song lyrics and translations »
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.
