Je Danse English Translation - Jenifer

Je danse in English
Reviewed/Translated by John Elkhoury
COMPREHENSION DIFFICULTY: HARD
Like all my music reviews, I start with a French to English translation then critique the lyrics and style below.

Google Translate: The Sad Thruth

In a French class, students are always at different levels of French proficiency. On one end of the spectrum, you have those who excel at everything, show cultural interest, and participate until you want to tape their hand to the desk. Ahem, that only happened to me once. On the other hand, you have those who cower from questions, never volunteer to read, and have poor speaking, writing, and listening skills.

The funny part is that when our teacher assigns a take-home writing assignment, the entire class is amazed when a French zero instantly becomes the next French J.K Rowling. It's a little obvious, you're not fooling anyone.

Elle Me Dit English Translation - Mika

Elle Me Dit in English
Reviewed/Translated by John Elkhoury
Like all my music reviews, I start with a French to English translation then critique the lyrics and style below.
COMPREHENSION DIFFICULTY: EASY

Elle me dit
She tells me
Écris une chanson contente
Write a happy song
Pas une chanson déprimante
Not a depressing song
Une chanson que tout le monde aime
A song that everybody loves

Elle me dit
She tells me
Tu deviendras milliardaire
You will become a billionaire
Tu auras de quoi être fier
You will become proud
Ne finis pas comme ton père
Don't end up like your dad

Elle me dit
She tells me
Ne t’enfermes pas dans ta chambre
Don't lock yourself in your room
Vas-y secoue-toi et danse
Come on, save yourself (and dance)
Dis moi c’est quoi ton problème
Tell me what is your problem

Elle me dit
She tells me
Qu’est-ce que t’as pas l’air coiffé ?
Why aren't you suave?
T’es défoncé ou t'es gay ?
Are you high or are you gay?
Tu finiras comme ton frère
You will end up like your brother
Elle me dit
She tells me

Elle me dit, c’est ta vie
She tells me, it's your life
Fais c’que tu veux, tant pis
Do what you want, no big deal
Un jour tu comprendras
One day you'll understand
Un jour tu t’en voudras
One day you'll regret it
Elle me dit, t’es trop nul
She tells me, you're so lame
Sors un peu de ta bulle
Leave your bubble a little
Tu fais n’importe quoi
You're doing whatever you want
On dirait que t’aimes ça
I'd say you're enjoying it

Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie? Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie? Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie?
Why are you wasting your life? Why are you wasting your life? Why are you wasting your life?
Danse danse danse
Dance dance dance
Elle me dit danse
She tells me dance

Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie? Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie? Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie?
Why are you wasting your life? Why are you wasting your life? Why are you wasting your life?
Danse danse danse
Dance dance dance

Elle me dit
She tells me
Fais comme les autres garçons
Be like the other boys
Vas taper dans un ballon
Go out and kick a ball
Tu deviendras populaire
You'll become famous

Elle me dit
She tells me
Qu’est-ce tu fous sur internet ?
What the #&@% are you doing on the internet?
Ça va pas bien dans ta tête
There's something wrong in your head
Regardes le temps que tu perds
Look at all the time you're wasting

Elle me dit
She tells me
Pourquoi tu te plains tout le temps ?
Why do you complain all the time?
On dirait que t’as 8 ans
You're acting like an 8 year-old
C’est pas comme ça que tu vas m’plaire
You won't please me like that

Elle me dit
She tells me
Un jour je serais plus là
One day I won't be here anymore
Mais c’est quand elle me dit ça
But then she tells me this
Qu’elle me dit un truc que j’aime
She tells me something I love to hear
Elle me dit
She tells me

Elle me dit, c’est ta vie
She tells me, it's you life
Fais c’que tu veux, tant pis
Do what you want, no big deal
Un jour tu comprendras
One day you'll understand
Un jour tu t’en voudras
One day you'll regret it
Elle me dit, t’es trop nul
She tells me, you're so lame
Sors un peu de ta bulle
Leave your bubble a little
Tu fais n’importe quoi
You're doing whatever you want
On dirait que t’aimes ça
I'd say you're enjoying it

Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie? Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie? Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie?
Why are you wasting your life? Why are you wasting your life? Why are you wasting your life?
Danse danse danse
Dance dance dance
Elle me dit danse
She tells me dance

Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie? Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie? Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie?
Why are you wasting your life? Why are you wasting your life? Why are you wasting your life?
Danse danse danse
Dance dance dance

Elle me dit
She tells me
T’as pas encore des ch’veux blancs
You still don't have white hair
Mais t’auras bientôt 30 ans
But you will soon be 30
Vaudrait mieux que tu te réveils
It'd be ideal if you woke up

Elle me dit
She tells me
Tu es toujours un enfant
You're still a child
Tu ne seras jamais grand
You'll never grow up
Et moi, je suis déjà vieille
And me, I'm already old

Elle me dit
She tells me
Regardes un peu tes amis
Look at your friends
Qu’est-ce qu’ils vont faire de leur vie
What are they going to do with their lives
Il y a de quoi se foutre en l’air
What is there to #&@% up

Elle me dit
She tells me
Oui un jour tu me tueras
Yes one day you will kill me
Mais c’est quand elle me dit ça
But then she tells me this
Qu’elle me dit un truc que j’aime
She tells me something I love to hear

Elle me dit danse! Elle me dit danse danse danse! (x3)
She tells me "Dance!" She tells me dance dance dance! (x3)
Elle me dit danse danse danse danse danse danse danse! Elle Me dit...
She tells me dance dance dance dance dance dance dance! She tells me...

Elle me dit, c’est ta vie
She tells me, it's your life
Fais c’que tu veux, tant pis
Do what you want, no big deal
Un jour tu comprendras
One day you'll understand
Un jour tu t’en voudras
One day you'll regret it
Elle me dit, t’es trop nul
She tells me, you're so lame
Sors un peu de ta bulle
Leave you bubble a little
Tu fais n’importe quoi
You're doing whatever you want
On dirait que t’aimes ça
I would say you're enjoying it

Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie? Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie? Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie?
Why are you wasting your life? Why are you wasting your life? Why are you wasting your life?
Danse danse danse
Dance dance dance
Elle me dit danse
She tells me dance

Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie? Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie? Pourquoi tu gâches ta vie?
Why are you wasting your life? Why are you wasting your life? Why are you wasting your life?
Danse danse danse
Dance dance dance
Elle me dit danse
She tells me dance

Mika is an English pop singer who decided to release French song. When I first heard this song, I rushed over here to complete the translation, it's really catchy. Mika explains a situation where a female spouse/girlfriend/mother nags him about his life... she says some pretty harsh things to him. The female critiques and calls our singer a big kid who doesn't want to grow up. Eventually she realizes that there's more to life than becoming famous, or rich; she tells him to do something he wants to hear for once, just dance and enjoy life. Belle chanson non ? I'm not sure if another Mika song will be featured here on FrenchCrazy if he continues singing in English. Stay tuned for more translated songs!

UPDATE: So, due to a comment below, it does seem more apparent that it's an interaction between a mother and her son, Mika. Very Cool!

For the complete list of reviewed French songs, please click HERE.
All songs and lyrics are owned by their respective owners. Any discrepancies with the translations can be posted below. Please note that translations are not always word for word, I strive to make the statements sound fluent in English.

Everyday French Fashion - Solweig-Lizlow, 20 ans

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Everyday French Fashion

To answer the question of "What do French people wear everyday?" Street Style is a featured portion of madmoiZelle that showcases a different French person each day! The entire video is in French, but I encourage beginners to still watch it and see what you can understand.

Today's Street Style focuses on Solweig-Lizlow, a Russian-Belgian model who currently is the weather girl for the popular Canal+ network's "Du Grand Journal". Solweig (sul-veg) is a huge fan of horror films, to the point where she played the part of a monster for a movie.

Solweig first shows us her designer blazer, which she claims is what everybody wears in the office. Solweig pairs the blazer with a nice, white MASSCOB blouse. An awkward moment in the video occurs when Solweig shows us her cross necklace - but when asked if she believes in Jesus, she responded "absolutely not". To her the cross represents "death" so it matches her interest of horror like things (thus, a good addition to her style). The nice blue jeans and boots are also part of her style (I missed the designer name for the boots... "Josef something") Her black bag comes from ZARA, another designer brand (this lady is loaded).

So what do other French people think about Solweig's style?

Elle a tout simplement l'air trop cool. J'étais tombée dans le panneau du cliché "miss météo = concon", donc cette vidéo est une bonne surprise. Même si je la trouvais déjà adorable à l'antenne, là, je la trouve adorable ET super drôle.

"She is simply all too cool. I fell for the cliché that the "weather lady = snobby", thus this video was a good surprise.  Even though I already found her adorable on the air, here, I found her adorable AND super funny."

Elle s'est marié à Las Vegas (clichéé). Et elle parle de son mari à chacune de ses vidéos ! (et de son poids mais ca c'est parce que tout le monde lui demande).

Elle a une voix atroce, est jolie, et a l'air sympathique. Par contre le coup de "je m'en fous de mes fringues" alors que je suis mannequin et que je porte des chaussures à 500E, BLAGUE ! Sympa de se la jouer naturelle mais encore faut-il que ce soit crédible.

"She was married in Las Vegas (cliché) and she talks about her husband in all of her videos! (and her weight, but that's because everybody asks her).

She has an atrocious voice, she's pretty, and kind. On the other hand, saying "I don't care about my hair"... despite being a model and wearing shoes priced at 500 euros, what a JOKE! It's kind of her to play it off the question, but you still have to be credible."

Comments were taken from madmoiZelle's website. That seems to be everything to say about Solweig! Check back for more everyday French styles. Any comments can be posted below.

To return to our French fashion section, click HERE.

Je Cours English Translation - KYO

Je Cours in English
Reviewed/Translated by John Elkhoury
COMPREHENSION DIFFICULTY: MEDIUM
Like all my music reviews, I start with a French to English translation then critique the lyrics and style below.

French Butter Craze

French Butter

Once in my classroom, I heard that the French eat 12 times more butter than the average American. After doing a little research (i.e, Wikipedia), I found that the number is more reasonable, 4 times more butter. Obviously I was shocked at this... however, during my stay in France I became consciously aware of what contained butter.

I noticed a lot of foods that were buttered, fried in butter, or just saturated with butter! Granted you don't have to eat most of the stuff, but it was very hard to avoid butter when it was in just about everything. For example, almost any French sandwich that you buy has buttered bread. If you bought escargots or anything with some sort of sauce... buttered. The chocolate contains butter, ALL the pastries have a grand amount, and even the french cereals I ate contained butter (and the list goes on). At this point, I wouldn't be too surprised to see butter on top of salads. Now I know that most of the stuff mentioned above contain butter in the United States, yet for example, I probably eat one pastry a year over here. In France, people eat this artery clogging goodness on a daily basis! Funny how this is coming from someone who lives in the notorious "fat country".

Croque Monsieur - French Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

An authentic Croque Monsieur

Found all over France, the Croque Monsieur (Croak Mis-ew-er) is an amazing spin on what most of us know as a simple ham and cheese sandwich. The Croque is such a staple to French society that the government regulates the maximum price it can be sold for (to keep it affordable). You can find this traditional French dish at almost every French café, bistro, and brasserie known to man. The secret to making an amazing Croque Monsieur involves using quality ham, exceptional cheese, and superb bread; my favorite Croque Monsieur recipe is posted at the bottom this article.

What's an AUTHENTIC Croque Monsieur?
Nowadays, there are so many different ways to make a Croque. Many people claim they have the "traditional" or "best-tasting" way to enjoy the sandwich, so it's really a toss up on how you make your sandwich. I believe that with food, everybody looks for something different. An authentic Croque Monsieur has a think layer of cheese, or a broiled béchamel sauce over top (usually composed of Emmental or Gruyère). The ham can be found inside two buttered slices of French bread. Some people like their sandwiches fried in butter, others prefer them baked or grilled.