“Je veux tout” is a totally catchy song from Québecois artist Ariane Moffatt. I have her album Tous les sens (downloaded on Canadian iTunes) and I really, really like it. It also won the 2009 Juno award for Francophone album of the year, so the Juno judges clearly liked it as well. For those of you who don’t know, the Juno Awards honour Canadian musicians and other artists in the Canadian music industry.
Any way, to the song. It is great for learning as Ariane sings clearly and slowly. The video, French lyrics, English translation, and an explanation of the vocabulary are all after the jump.
An explanation of the vocabulary is after the video, lyrics, and translation. (You have to turn the closed captioning on to get the lyrics. It is the CC button on the bottom right corner of the video screen.)
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je veux tout | I want it all |
| Toi et les autres aussi | You and the others too |
| Aux quatre coins de ma vie | At the four corners of my life |
| Sur les cœurs il n'y a pas de prix | On hearts, there is no price |
| Je veux tout | I want it all |
| Tout de suite et ici | Right now and right here |
| Je veux tout | I want it all |
| L'image claire et la floue | The clear image, the fuzziness |
| Sur les sentiments illimités | On my unlimited feelings |
| Je travaille pour l'amour sans rendez-vous | I work for love without meeting up |
| Je veux voler sans me faire attraper | I want to fly without getting myself caught |
| Le vide je vais le remplir | The emptiness, I will fill it up |
| De bon ou de mauvais souvenirs | With good or bad memories |
| Le vide je veux le remplir | The emptiness, I want to fill it up |
| Avant que mon âme s'assèche et que je craque | Before my soul dries up and I crack (go crazy) |
| Je veux tout | I want it all |
| Le silence et les promesses | Silence and promises |
| Le rigide et la souplesse | Rigidity and flexibility |
| Je veux tout | I want it all |
| L'anarchie et la sagesse | Anarchy and wisdom |
| Ton sourire et puis tes fesses | Your smile and then your bum |
| Je veux tout | I want it all |
| Toi et tous tes amis | You and all of your friends |
| Pour tracer mes jours et mes nuits | To trace my days and my nights |
| Sur les cœurs il n'y a pas de prix | On hearts, there is no price |
| Je veux tout | I want it all |
| Tout de suite et ici | Right now and right here |
| Je veux tout | I want it all |
| Tout de suite et ici | Right now and right here |
| Le vide je vais le remplir | The emptiness, I will fill it up |
| De bon ou de mauvais souvenirs | With good or bad memories |
| Le vide je veux le remplir | The emptiness, I want to fill it up |
| Avant que mon âme s'assèche et que je craque | Before my soul dries up and I crack (go crazy) |
| Je veux tout | I want it all |
| Toi et les autres aussi | You and the others too |
| Aux quatre coins de ma vie | At the four corners of my life |
| Sur les cœurs il ny a pas de prix | On hearts, there is no price |
| Je veux tout | I want it all |
| Tout de suite et ici | Right now and right here |
| Je veux tout | I want it all |
| Tout de suite et ici | Right now and right here |
Vocabulary:
le coin (les coins): corner
claire (masc. clair): clear, bright
la floue: fuzziness
illimité (fem. illimitée): unlimited
voler: to fly
attraper: to trap, to catch
(me faire attraper: to get (myself) caught)
tout de suite: right now, immediately
la vide: the emptiness
un souvenir (noun): a memory
(In this song, the noun form is used.)
souvenir (verb): to remember
remplir: to fill
l’âme (masc.): soul
assécher: to dry out
“que je craque”: Literally – “I crack,” but means “I go crazy” in much the same sense as “to crack” is used in English when applied to a person.
la souplesse: flexibility
l’anarchie (fem.): anarchy
la sagesse: wisdom
le sourire: smile
les fesses (fem.): buttocks, bum (a fairly polite term). This is used in the plural to say “a bum” because une fesse would be one buttock cheek.
(For those who are interested check out this definition of les fesses.)
tracer: to trace, to draw