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.
Nothing else, so let's get started with today's expression which is "Avoir besoin de".
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Avoir besoin de (avwaɾ bəswɛ̃ də)* is the expression we use to say "to need".
* 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.
"Avoir besoin de" is used when you want to express the need of something or someone. In each case, we'd say : "Avoir besoin de quelque chose" (avwaɾ bəswɛ̃ də kɛlkə ʃoz): to need something or "Avoir besoin de quelqu'un" (avwaɾ bəswɛ̃ də kɛlkœ̃): to need someone.
That's being said, let's look at some examples used in French songs.
🎶 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 interests us is : "une histoire d'amour sans paroles n'a plus besoin du protocole". [yn istwaɾ damuɾ sɑ̃ paɾɔl na ply bəswɛ̃ dy pɾɔtɔkɔl] (a love story without words no longer needs protocol)
🎶 Nicole Croisille - Parlez-moi de lui (1973)
Then, Parlez-moi de lui is a song by Nicole Croisille released in 1973. It talks about a love story between a woman and a man. The man decided to leave his wife for traveling, to find freedom and happiness. The woman is wondering what he does, if he has found hapiness... In other words, she would like to get news from him (Tell me about him). It seems that the man didn't succeed in finding happiness since he seems to miss her. Indeed, we learn from the choirs that he talks about her all the time.
The sentence that we have been looking for is "a-t-il besoin de moi à ses côtés ?" [a-t‿-il bəswɛ̃ də mwa ase kote?] (Does he need me by his side?)
🎶 Claudio Capéo - Riche (2016)
The next one is called Riche which is a song by Claudio Capéo. The song was released in 2016 and talks about a lifetime relationship between a father and his son. It relates about being a father which means being rich and having a father which means being rich as well. Of course, it's not about real money, Claudio Capéo is talking about the love between a son and his father is like being millionnaire because it's worthwhile. But the life goes on and son and father may get angry to each other. That's why, he uses the expression: "Quand j'aurai besoin de toi, où seras-tu?" [kɑ̃ ʒɔɾe bəswɛ̃ də twa, u səɾa-ty?] (When I need you, where will you be?) Note that in French, we use future tense "J'aurai besoin de..." (I will need...) when we use "Quand" (When j'aurai besoin de...) whereas in English we use present tense (When I need...).
🎶 Claudio Capéo - Plus haut (2018)
Another song by Claudio Capéo entitled "Plus haut", was released in 2018. It relates about a man lost who had enough of where he lives. So he calls the "captain" to help him and "the others". We can assume that Claudio Capéo refers to French people. In other words, they need a captain to guide them, to raise them higher.
The expression is "On a besoin de vous pour nous guider" [õn‿ a bəswɛ̃ də vu puɾ nu gide](We need you to guide us).
🎶 Joe Dassin - Et si tu n'existais pas (1975)
The next song is called "Et si tu n'existais pas" by Joe Dassin and was released in 1975. Joe tells about a love story with a woman. If she didn't exist, why would he? It seems that he fell totally in love with this woman at such point that his life would have not the same importance without her. In this song, the expression "avoir besoin de toi" is 100% related. By the way, the expression is : "Si tu n'existais pas [...], je me sentirais perdu, j'aurais besoin de toi." [si ty nɛgziste pa, ʒə mə sɑ̃tiɾe pɛɾdy, ʒɔɾe bəswɛ̃ də twa.] (If you didn't exist, I'd feel lost and I'd need you.) You can notice that French conditional tense looks like future tense because we say "J'aurais besoin de toi" with a "s" at the end of the verb. Be careful, this "s" is not pronounced. So, the pronounciation of "J'aurai besoin de" (I will need, future tense seen previously in the song Riche) is the same with "J'aurais" (I would need).
🎶 Slimane - Des milliers de je t'aime (2022)
The next song is "Des milliers de je t'aime" by Slimane, released in 2022. It's a beautiful song aimed at his daughter who had heart problems just after her birth. She's now cured. That's why lyrics are really strong in my opinion. Slimane will help her daughter anytime. The expression we want to analyse is : "Plus besoin de chercher, plus besoin, je t'ai trouvée" [ply bəswɛ̃ də ʃɛɾʃe, ply bəswɛ̃, ʒə te tɾuve] (No need to look, no need, I've found you). In other words, he has finally found happiness and real love thanks to his daughter. He no longer needs to look for them.
🎶 Slimane - Nous deux (2018)
The last one is "Nous deux" by Slimane again, which was released in 2018.
It's a love song that relates about the end of a romantic relationship. She probably left him, but he would like she'd come back to him. And that's expressed through our expression : "Et si tu penses un peu à moi et si je te manque quelques fois et si tu as besoin de mes bras" [e si ty pɑ̃s œ̃ pø a mwa e si ʒə tə mɑ̃kə kɛlkə fwa e si ty a bəswɛ̃ dəme bɾa] (And if you think about me a little and miss me sometimes and need my arms.).
That's it for this episode. Tell me in the comments what you think about this series. Would you like more of these? Have you a favorite singer or a song you love that you want me to introduce in the next episodes, feel free to let me know by writing a comment below.
Thank you for reading this post until the end. Here is the link of the next episode. In the meantime, 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.