Adieu – Coeur de Pirate / French lyrics and English translation

Coeur de Pirate has finally released her new single “Adieu” and I love it! French lyrics and English translation after the jump.

Vocabulary and explanation of the translation and phrases will follow the video and translation.

Check our the full track list of all Coeur de Pirate’s songs, lyrics, and translations.

French	English
Tu ris si mal, tu ris de vide	You laugh, ugly and hollow
Des taches de vin sur ta chemise	Wine stains on your shirt
Qui a deux boutons éclatés	Which has two broken buttons
Sur ton corps qui me repoussait	On your body that pushed me away
Tu fais l’amour en deux poussées	Your make love in two thrusts
L'amour, le manque, et la tournée	Love, lack, and turning sour
Et pendant que tu t’articules	And while you articulate yourself
Moi je soupire et toi tu me	I sigh, and you...
Menaces de partir	Threaten to leave me
Parce que je hurle	Because I yell
Quand tu chantes tes souvenirs	When you sing your memories
Eh bien chéri	Alright then dear
Prends donc la porte	There's the door
Car tu sais que plus rien ne m'importe	Because you know that nothing matters to me anymore
Mais dis moi adieu demain	But tell me goodbye tomorrow
Mais dis moi adieu en chemin	Tell me goodbye on the way out
Va voir les autres, je n’en pense rien	Go see other people, I won't think anything of it
Je t’ai aimé mais je t’assure que c’est la fin	I loved you, but I assure you it's the end
Crois-tu pouvoir enfin me dire	Do you really think you can say to me
Que tu veux bien qu’on reste amis	That you want to stay friends?
Non c’est gentil, ça va comme ça	No, that's nice, I'm good like this
Des amis j’en ai plein déjà	I have plenty of friends already
Je n’aurai donc plus à t’entendre	Now I won't have to hear you
Rentrer la nuit quand j’attends l’aube	Coming home at night while I'm waiting for dawn
Qui arrive en poussant les heures	Which comes by pushing through the hours
Moi je me lève et toi tu me	I get up and you...
Menaces de partir	Threaten to leave me
Parce que je hurle	Because I yell
Quand tu chantes tes souvenirs	When you sing your memories
Eh bien chéri	Alright then dear
Prends donc la porte	There's the door
Car tu sais que plus rien ne me va	Because you know that nothing matters to me anymore
Mais dis moi adieu demain	But tell me goodbye tomorrow
Mais dis moi adieu en chemin	Tell me goodbye on the way out
Va voir les autres, je n’en pense rien	Go see other people, I won't think anything of it
Je t’ai aimé mais je t’assure que c’est la fin	I loved you, but I assure you it's the end
Mais dis moi adieu demain	But tell me goodbye tomorrow
Mais dis moi adieu en chemin	Tell me goodbye on the way out
Va voir les autres, je n’en pense rien	Go see other people, I won't think anything of it
Je t’ai aimé mais je t’assure que c’est la fin	I loved you, but I assure you it's the end

Vocabulary and Explanation:

tache (des taches) (feminine noun): stain
des taches du vin = wine stains

boutons: buttons
éclater: to burst
boutons éclatés: broken buttons

repousser: the verb repousser can mean either “to push away,” “to push back” or to “reject or turn down.” I think in this context when she sings “ton corps qui me repoussait” she means “your body, which pushes me away.” In the next line she talks about how he makes love, so I’m guessing she means that he physically pushes her back, rather than rejecting her.

Tu fais l’amour en deux poussées: You make love in two thrusts. Yes, it’s what you think it is: our girl Coeur de Pirate is dealing with a one minute man! No woman could possibly be satisfied with just two thrusts, so is it any wonder that she says “adieu” to this guy??

**UPDATED**
This line is a bit cryptic:
L’amour, le manque, et la tournée
L’amour = love, le manque = lack (shortage), la tournée = turning (as in turning sour)

I wasn’t 100% sure what she was talking about here. But reader Jacquelyn pointed out that “la tournée” refers to something turning sour (like milk). So I think the speaker her is singing about three stages of love: the love, the loss (lack), and then the relationship turning sour.

Next line:
Et pendant que tu t’articules = and while you are articulating yourself
articuler = to articulate

The impression that I get is that this guy is always talking about himself, and that he repeats his stories a lot. Because the next line is:
Moi je soupire et toi tu me menaces de partir, parce que je hurle quand tu chantes tes souvenirs.
I sigh and you threaten to leave, because I yell when you sing your memories.

Sounds to me like this guy bores Coeur de Pirate with his stories and she isn’t having it. Because next she says:

Eh bien chéri prends donc la porte, car tu sais que plus rien ne m’importe.
Alright then dear, there’s the door, because you know that nothing matters to me anymore.

“Prends donc la porte” literally translates as “take/use the door.” So really what she is saying is: “There’s the door – USE IT.”

en chemin: on the way
Dit-moi adieu en chemin: Tell me goodbye on the way out

Va voir les autres, je n’en pense rien: Go see other people, I won’t think anything of it
Here she likely means “see” as in “date” or “be involved with.” Basically, “go ahead and date other girls, I don’t care!”

Je n’aurai donc plus à t’entendre
Rentrer la nuit quand j’attends l’aube
Qui arrive en poussant les heures

OK, so the first part is really simple:
I won’t have to hear you anymore
Coming home at night while I’m waiting for dawn

It took me AGES to figure out what “pousser les heures” meant. Literally the next line:
Qui arrive en poussant les heures

translates as:
Which happens by pushing the hours

I had to understand “pousser les heures.” I asked many, many francophones (Canadian and French) and no one had ever heard this saying. As far as I can tell, it is a poetic Quebecois saying that is not that popular, and is mostly used in songs or literature. As far as I can tell, in this context I think we can take it to mean that the dawn “pushes through the night.”

And then it’s back to the chorus!

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More Coeur de Pirate Song Translations

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Translation and analysis for Ensemble – a single off Coeur de Pirate’s debut album