Is it possible to learn useful French expressions with songs? Yes, it is! In this series of blog posts called "Best Songs to Learn French (#bstlf on Instagram)", we explain the meaning of everyday French expressions with the help of songs. You will learn French idioms that you should definitely know. We try to make learning French fun and enjoyable for all students, whether they are beginners or have a higher level.
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Besides you'll learn one useful expression in each article we will post in this series, you'll discover many ways of using them in different contexts (songs in this case) so that it will help your brain to remember better due to the repetition and the emotion trigger of the music. Moreover, by listening the whole song, you'll discover many new words and expressions you might understand or even learn. To be able to listen to each song and read the lyrics, you only need to click on each picture. The link will redirect you to YouTube, in a new tab.
If you'd like to see our series from the beginning, click on this link.
Nothing else, so let's get started with today's verb which is "Attendre". I divided this episode in two parts because of the number of examples available.
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Attendre (atɑ̃dɾ)* is the word we use to say "to wait for".
* This is the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) so that you can read with the right prononciation. If you don't know the IPA for French pronounciation. I recommand you to take a look at this website for learning it.
You use the verb "Attendre" (atɑ̃dɾ) when you stay in a place until someone arrives, something is ready or something happens: Waiting for a friend at the station for exemple.
That's being said, let's start the first part by looking at some examples used in French songs.
🎶 Jenifer - J'attends l'amour (2002)
The first song is J'attends l'amour by Jenifer, released in 2002. In this song, Jenifer tells she's ready to find love so she's just waiting for it to come to her.
The expression that interests us is: J'attends l'amour de mes rêves [ʒatɑ̃ lamuɾ də me ɾɛv] which can be translated by: "I'm waiting for the love of my dreams". In French, we don't pronounce the 'd' and the 's' at the end of "j'attends" [ʒatɑ̃] which is the first person singular in the present tense.
🎶 Joe Dassin - Siffler sur la colline (1968)
The next song is Siffler sur la colline by Joe Dassin in 1968. Joe has a crush on a pretty shepherdess and he is flirting with her. Unfortunately for him, she's not interested in him. So, she told him to go whistling up the hill and waiting for her with a bunch of rosehips, to get rid of him. She never came and Joe continues the song through this little game of seduction.
The expression we'll to analyse is: "Elle m'a dit d'aller siffler là-haut sur la colline,de l'attendre avec un petit bouquet d'églantines" [ɛl ma di dale sifle la-o syɾ la kɔlin, də latɑ̃dɾ avɛk œ̃ pəti buke deglɑ̃tin] (She told me to go and whistle up the hill, to wait for her with a little bunch of rosehips)
🎶 Joe Dassin - L'Amérique (1970)
Then, L'Amérique is also a song by Joe Dassin, released in 1970.
Joe Dassin is moving to America (The United States of America) full of dreams of success and money. Nevertheless, he feels a little bit sad to leave his friends here in France, but America has become a priority for Joe. As he tells in the song, he wants it and he will get it, even if he fails at becoming famous and rich. The expression we should look at is "Car elle m'attend depuis que je suis né" [kaɾ ɛl matɑ̃ dəpɥi kə ʒə sɥi ne]. (Because it's been waiting for me since I was born)
We have a grammatical structure interesting here, with "depuis que" (since). In French, we use present tense to express something that started in the past and that still go on in the present (elle m'attend in this case). On the other hand, in English, we use the present perfect continuous (it has been waiting).
By the way, if you love Joe Dassin's songs. I already wrote a post with his song called Et si tu n'existais pas.
🎶 Richard Cocciante - Le Coup de Soleil (1980)
The next one is Le Coup de Soleil by Richard Cocciante in 1980. In this song, Richard has caught a sunburn, a love bug, an I-love-you bug, in short. In other words, he's fallen in love with a woman. He dreams about her but when he wakes up she's not there.
The expression is: "J'sais qu'tu m'attends près d'la fontaine" [ʒse kty matɑ̃ pɾe dla fõtɛn]. In english, it means: "I know you're waiting for me by the fountain". Richard thinks that she's waiting for him, but in reality he never saw her.
🎶 Christophe - Les mots bleus (1974)
Les mots bleus is a song by Christophe released in 1974. In this song, Christophe likes a girl, but he looks too shy to approach her and strike up a conversation. So, he decides to say "blue words" instead, the words said by the eyes. The time goes on and it seems that he has never taken action and lives his love story through his imagination. The expression that we want to explain is: "Comme chaque soir je l'attends". [kɔm ʃak swaɾ ʒə latɑ̃] (Like every evening I wait for her). As I explained in the song "Siffler sur la colline" by Joe Dassin. "l'" refers to "her" in French. In other words "je l'attends" is the same as "j'attends elle", but we don't say it in French.
We've come to the end of the first part of episode 2 Attendre. I'll be publishing the second part next Monday. Stay tuned ;) Do you have a favourite song or singer that you'd like me to feature in a future episode? If so, don't hesitate to leave a comment below this article. Please note that your email address will not be published, only your name and comment. Thank you for reading this article until the end. Here is the link of the next episode. Until then, enjoy learning French with the songs. And remember: "Language learning should ALWAYS be FUN!
Article written by Mickael. Follow me on Instagram @The French Polyglot to find out when new episodes are published.