This song by French rock band Indochine is a summer hit (tube d’été) in France. It has been hanging near the top of the SNEP radio chart for weeks. This week it is sitting at number 5, having spent 17 weeks on the chart. This single does not currently appear on any album.

The video highlights numerous world events that have taken place throughout the band’s 40-year career, and the passenger in the train watching these events greatly resembles lead singer and band co-founder Nicolas Sirkis.

About the Artists

Indochine (French for Indochina) is a French rock/new wave band formed in 1981 by Parisians Dominique Nicolas and Nicola Sirkis. In April of 1982, the group opened on tour for Taxi Girl. However, they gained popularity with each show and were eventually pulled from the tour as it was feared that their popularity would eclipse that of the headliners. Their first album L’Aventurier was released in November of 1982, selling more than 250,000 copies. The single of the same name was a huge hit in the summer of 1983 and sold more than 500,000 copies. Their popularity continued throughout the ’80s, both in France and internationally, with hits such as “3 nuits par semaine”, “3e sexe”, “Tes yeux noirs” and “Canary Bay”.

Although the ’90s would lead to a period of decline in popularity, the band would make a comeback with the release of their 2002 album Paradize. Led by the single “J’ai demandé à la lune” it entered the French sales charts at number three and would go on to sell more than a million copies, earning Diamond certification. This album won Indochine an MTV Europe Music Award for Best French Act, a Victoire de la musique award for Best Pop/Rock Album, and an NRJ Music Award for Best French Language Album.

With more than 13 million albums sold, they are the highest-selling French group ever. They were the first French rock group to fill the Palais Omnisports in Paris-Bercy in 2003 and the Stade de France in 2010. In 2011 they were awarded a Victoire d’Honneur (Victory of Honnor) at the Victoires de la musique awards ceremony to celebrate their 30-year career. In 2017 they received the Award d’honneur (Honor Award) at the NRJ music awards to crown their 36-year career.

Biographical information from Wikipedia.

Cultural References, Idioms and Explanations

‘ne pas donner cher de la peau de’ – Literally translating as something like ‘to not give expensively from the skin of’, this phrase means ‘to not give much for someone’s chances’ or ‘to think someone is dead meat’.

‘ne pas donner cher de’ – Similar to the above expression, this phrase means ‘to not bet much on’ or ‘to not bank on’.

‘se laisser faire’ – This literally translates as ‘to let to do’. It means ‘to let oneself be pushed around’.

‘À’ – The term ‘à’ before another term is a common way of toasting in French. For example, a common toast is ‘à votre santé’ meaning ‘to your health’. There are several examples in this song, such as ‘À la vie, à y croire / À nos célébrations’ meaning ‘To life, to believing in it / To our celebrations’.

‘y croire’ – This is an example of the adverbial pronoun ‘y’ when it is used to replace the object of the preposition ‘à’. In this use it is often translated as ‘to him, her or it’, ‘at him, her or it’, or ‘about him, her or it’. For example ‘y croire’ means ‘to believe in it’, with ‘it’ referring to the previously referenced ‘la vie’. So instead of repeating the noun and saying ‘croire à la vie’ we can simply say ‘y croire’.

‘sauver sa peau’ – As one would expect this phrase means ‘to save one’s skin’. It carries the same meaning as its English counterpart, meaning to rescue someone from danger or difficulty.

‘ne … que’ – This is a common form of negation. It is used in the same way as ‘ne … pas’ (sandwiched around the verb), and it means ‘only’.

‘C’est nos célébrations’ – Although it is quite common to see the singular ‘c’est’ used with plural nouns in colloquial language, it is grammatically incorrect. As ‘célébrations’ is plural the verb ‘être’ should also be plural, so the correct form would be ‘ce sont nos célebrations’.

‘J’étais parti’ – This is an example of the French pluperfect tense, le plus-que-parfait, which is used to talk about an action or situation that took place before another past action. While most verbs take the auxiliary verb ‘avoir’ in the plus-que-parfait, there are instances where the auxiliary verb ‘être’ is necessary. The verb ‘sortir’ always takes the auxiliary verb ‘être’ in compound tenses such as the passé composé and the plus-que-parfait. This phrase translates as ‘I had left’.

‘quelque part’ – This phrase means ‘somewhere’ or ‘in a way’.

Song Lyrics with Grammatical Breakdown

Mouse over a term for grammatical information. A chart of the terms and grammatical information can be found here.

Nosnosour|poss adj|masc and fem pl célébrationscélébrationcelebration|noun|fem pl

[Verse 1]
JejeI|pron|first pers sing suisêtreto be|verb|first person sing pres commecommelike, as; because, since|conj uneunea|indef art|fem sing histoirehistoirestory; history|noun|fem sing
Etetand|conj quiquiwho, which, that|pron|interr or rel n’nenot, no|adv|used with another neg term, such as 'ne … pas'|shortened to n' before vowelsenenabout it, some (of it), of them|pron finirafinirto finish|verb|third pers sing fut pasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech
J’jeI|pron|first pers sing|shortened to j' before vowelsarchivearchiverarchive, file|verb|first pers sing pres nosnosour|poss adj|masc and fem pl paradisparadisparadise, heaven|noun|masc sing and pl perdusperdulost|adj|masc pl
Est-êtreto be|verb|third pers sing pres|est-ce que = do, does, is, are, has, have?cecethis, that|dem adj|masc sing|est-ce que = do, does, is, are, has, have? quequethat, than|conj|est-ce que = do, does, is, are, has, have? çaçathis, that, it|pron continuera ?continuercontinue, go on, carry one, keep going|verb|third pers sing pres
Maismaisbut|conj quiquiwho, which, that|pron|interr or rel nousnouswe, us|pron|first pers pl aavoirto have|verb|third pers sing pres|aux verb used with pp to form p.c. faitfaireto do, to make|verb|pp croirecroireto think (that), believe (that)|verb|infin
Quequethat, than|conj l’le, lahim, it|pron|masc singononone, people, you, someone; we|pron|following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we' n’nenot, no|adv|used with another neg term, such as 'ne … pas'|shortened to n' before vowelsyyhere, there|adv arriveraitarriverto arrive|verb|third pers sing cond pas ?ne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech
JejeI|pron|first pers sing nenenot, no|adv|used with another neg term, such as 'ne … pas' donneraidonnerto give|verb|first pers sing fut|ne pas donner cher de la peau de = not give much for s.o.'s chances, think s.o. is dead meat pasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech chercherdear; expensive|adj|masc singular dedeof; from|prep mamamy|poss adj|fem sing peaupeauskin|noun|fem sing
JejeI|pron|first pers sing nenenot, no|adv|used with another neg term, such as 'ne … pas' donnaisdonnerto give|verb|first pers sing imperf|ne pas donner cher de = not bet much on, not bank on pasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech chercherdear; expensive|adj|masc singular dedeof; from|prep moimoime|pron|dir and indir obj, first pers sing
Est-êtreto be|verb|third pers sing pres|est-ce que = do, does, is, are, has, have?cecethis, that|dem adj|masc sing|est-ce que = do, does, is, are, has, have? quequethat, than|conj|est-ce que = do, does, is, are, has, have? tutuyou|pron|sec pers sing, inform teteyou; yourself|pron|dir obj, indir obj, and reflex, sec pers sing souviendras ?se souvenirto remember, recall, recollect|verb|sec pers sing fut
Est-êtreto be|verb|third pers sing pres|est-ce que = do, does, is, are, has, have?cecethis, that|dem adj|masc sing|est-ce que = do, does, is, are, has, have? quequethat, than|conj|est-ce que = do, does, is, are, has, have? tutuyou|pron|sec pers sing, inform voudras ?vouloirto want, desire|verb|sec pers sing fut
Commecommelike, as; because, since|conj hierhieryesterday|adv ààat, to, in|prep teteyou; yourself|pron|dir obj, indir obj, and reflex, sec pers sing inform laisserlaisserto leave; to let, allow|verb|infin|se laisser faire = let oneself be pushed around fairefaireto do; to make|verb|infin|se laisser faire = let oneself be pushed around soussousunder, underneath|prep lalathe|def art|fem sing lunelunemoon|noun|fem sing etetand|conj leslesthe|def art|masc and fem pl chevauxchevalhorse|noun|masc pl
JejeI|pron|first pers sing seraiêtreto be|verb|first pers sing fut tontonyour|poss adj|masc sing chaoschaoschaos, confusion|noun|masc sing

[Chorus]
Ààat, to, in|prep lalathe|def art|fem sing vie,vielife|noun|fem sing ààat, to, in|prep yyabout him/her/it, at him/her/it, to him/her it|pron|replaces obj of prep 'à' croirecroireto think (that), believe (that)|verb|infin
Ààat, to, in|prep nosnosour|poss adj|masc and fem pl célébrationscélébrationcelebration|noun|fem pl
Sauversauverto save, protect|verb|infin|sauver sa peau = to save one's skin sasahis, her its, one's|poss adj|fem sing peau,peauskin|noun|fem sing|sauver sa peau = to save one's skin sauversauverto save, protect|verb|infin sonsonhis, her, its, one's|poss adj|masc sing nomnomname|noun|masc sing
Ààat, to, in|prep nenenot, no|adv|used with another negative term, such as 'ne … pas' gardergarderto keep; to save; to take care of|verb|infin quequethat, than|conj|ne … que = only lelethe|def art|masc sing beaubeaubeauty, beautiful things|noun|masc sing
JejeI|pron|first pers sing suisêtreto be|verb|first pers sing pres lalathe|def art|fem sing fille,fillegirl|noun|fem sing jejeI|pron|first pers sing suisêtreto be|verb|first pers sing pres lelethe|def art|masc sing garçongarçonboy|noun|masc sing
C’cethis, that, it|pron|shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be|verb|third pers sing nosnosour|poss adj|masc and fem pl célébrationscélébrationcelebration|noun|fem pl

[Verse 2]
J’jeI|pron|first pers sing|shortened to j' before vowelsétaisêtreto be|verb|first pers sing imperf|aux verb used with pp to form plus que parfait partipartirto leave|verb|pp avantavantbefore|prep
Touttoutall, entirely, very|adv seulseulonly, single; alone|adj|tout seul = alone, all alone, by oneself, on your own maismaisbut|conj perdantperdreto lose|verb|pres part
Lelethe|def art|masc sing mondemondeworld, crowd, people, everybody|noun|masc sing entierentierwhole, entire|adj|masc sing contrecontreagainst|prep moimoime|pron|dir and indir obj, first pers sing ààat, to, in|prep nenenot, no|adv|used with another negative term, such as 'ne … pas' rêverrêverto dream|verb|infin quequethat, than|conj|ne … que = only dedeof; from|prep toitoiyou|pron|sec pers sing, informal
Alorsalorsthen, in that case, so, well|adv j’jeI|pron|first pers sing|shortened to j' before vowelsaiavoirto have|verb|first pers sing pres|aux verb used with the pp to form the p. c. décidédéciderto decide, make up one's mind|verb|pp dedeof; from|prep nenenot, no|adv|used with another negative term, such as 'ne … pas' voirvoirto see|verb|infin quequethat, than|conj|ne … que = only lelethe|def art|masc sing bienbienthe good; goods, possession; property; good sake, welfare|noun|masc sing
Ililhe, it|pron|il y aura = there will be yyhere, there|adv|il y aura = there will be auraavoirto have|verb|third pers sing fut|il y aura = there will be certainementcertainementcertainly, be sure to do, for sure; doubtless, surely|adv quelqu’unquelqu'unsomeone, anyone|pron ununa|indef art|masc sing pourpourto; for|prep|to' before verbs, 'for' before nouns or pron's m’meme; myself|pron|first pers sing, dir obj, indir obj, and reflex|shortened to m' before vowelsécouterécouterto listen to|verb|infin quelquequelquesome, about, around; however|adv|quelque part = somewhere; in a way partpartportion, piece, slice; share|noun|fem sing|quelque part = somewhere; in a way
Maismaisbut|conj ilsilsthey|pron|third pers pl masc or mixed gender n’nenot, no|adv|used with another neg term, such as 'ne … pas'|shortened to n' before vowelsyyhere, there|adv arriverontarriverto arrive|verb|third pers pl fut|arriver à faire = manage to do, be able to do pasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech
Ààat, to, in|prep nousnouswe, us|pron|first pers pl dégraderdégraderdegrade, damage, defile, deface|verb|infin
Moimoime|pron|dir and indir obj, first pers sing jejeI|pron|first pers sing t’teyou|pron|sec pers sing, dir obj, indir obj, and reflex|shortened to t' before vowelsaimeraiaimerto like, to love|verb|first pers sing fut encoreencorestill, yet; again|adv
Encoreencorestill, yet; again|adv etetand|conj jusqu’àjusqu'àuntil|prep lalathe|def art|fem sing mortmortdeath; end, ruin|noun|fem sing
JejeI|pron|first pers sing seraiêtreto be|verb|first pers sing fut tontonyour|poss adj|masc sing chaoschaoschaos, confusion|noun|masc sing

[Chorus]
Ààat, to, in|prep lalathe|def art|fem sing vie,vielife|noun|fem sing ààat, to, in|prep yyabout him/her/it, at him/her/it, to him/her it|pron|replaces obj of prep 'à' croirecroireto think (that), believe (that)|verb|infin
Ààat, to, in|prep nosnosour|poss adj|masc and fem pl célébrationscélébrationcelebration|noun|fem pl
Sauversauverto save, protect|verb|infin|sauver sa peau = to save one's skin sasahis, her its, one's|poss adj|fem sing peau,peauskin|noun|fem sing|sauver sa peau = to save one's skin sauversauverto save, protect|verb|infin sonsonhis, her, its, one's|poss adj|masc sing nomnomname|noun|masc sing
Ààat, to, in|prep nenenot, no|adv|used with another negative term, such as 'ne … pas' gardergarderto keep; to save; to take care of|verb|infin quequethat, than|conj|ne … que = only lelethe|def art|masc sing beaubeaubeauty, beautiful things|noun|masc sing
JejeI|pron|first pers sing suisêtreto be|verb|first pers sing pres lalathe|def art|fem sing fille,fillegirl|noun|fem sing jejeI|pron|first pers sing suisêtreto be|verb|first pers sing pres lelethe|def art|masc sing garçongarçonboy|noun|masc sing
C’cethis, that, it|pron|shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be|verb|third pers sing nosnosour|poss adj|masc and fem pl célébrationscélébrationcelebration|noun|fem pl

[Chorus]
Ààat, to, in|prep lalathe|def art|fem sing vie,vielife|noun|fem sing ààat, to, in|prep yyabout him/her/it, at him/her/it, to him/her it|pron|replaces obj of prep 'à' croirecroireto think (that), believe (that)|verb|infin
Ààat, to, in|prep nosnosour|poss adj|masc and fem pl célébrationscélébrationcelebration|noun|fem pl
Sauversauverto save, protect|verb|infin|sauver sa peau = to save one's skin sasahis, her its, one's|poss adj|fem sing peau,peauskin|noun|fem sing|sauver sa peau = to save one's skin sauversauverto save, protect|verb|infin sonsonhis, her, its, one's|poss adj|masc sing nomnomname|noun|masc sing
Ààat, to, in|prep nenenot, no|adv|used with another negative term, such as 'ne … pas' gardergarderto keep; to save; to take care of|verb|infin quequethat, than|conj|ne … que = only lelethe|def art|masc sing beaubeaubeauty, beautiful things|noun|masc sing
JejeI|pron|first pers sing suisêtreto be|verb|first pers sing pres lalathe|def art|fem sing fille,fillegirl|noun|fem sing jejeI|pron|first pers sing suisêtreto be|verb|first pers sing pres lelethe|def art|masc sing garçongarçonboy|noun|masc sing
C’cethis, that, it|pron|shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be|verb|third pers sing nosnosour|poss adj|masc and fem pl célébrationscélébrationcelebration|noun|fem pl

Lyrics with Translation

Songs in any language often leave room for multiple interpretations. Following is my interpretation of the song lyrics.

Nos célébrations
Our celebrations

[Verse 1]
Je suis comme une histoire
I’m like a story
Et qui n’en finira pas
And one that won’t end
J’archive nos paradis perdus
I archive our paradises lost
Est-ce que ça continuera ?
Will it continue?
Mais qui nous a fait croire
But who made us believe
Que l’on n’y arriverait pas ?
That we wouldn’t make it?
Je ne donnerai pas cher de ma peau
I won’t give much for my chances
Je ne donnais pas cher de moi
I didn’t bet much on myself
Est-ce que tu te souviendras ?
Will you remember ?
Est-ce que tu voudras ?
Will you want to?
Comme hier à te laisser faire sous la lune et les chevaux
Like yesterday letting yourself be pushed around under the moon and the horses
Je serai ton chaos
I’ll be your chaos

[Chorus]
À la vie, à y croire
To life, to believing in it
À nos célébrations
To our celebrations
Sauver sa peau, sauver son nom
To save one’s skin, to save one’s name
À ne garder que le beau
To keep only what is beautiful
Je suis la fille, je suis le garçon
I’m the girl, I’m the boy
C’est nos célébrations
It’s our celebrations

[Verse 2]
J’étais parti avant
I had left before
Tout seul mais perdant
All alone but losing
Le monde entier contre moi à ne rêver que de toi
The whole world against me, dreaming only of you
Alors j’ai décidé de ne voir que le bien,
So, I decided to see only the good
Il y aura certainement quelqu’un pour m’écouter quelque part
There will certainly be someone to listen to me somewhere
Mais ils n’y arriveront pas
But they won’t be able
À nous dégrader
To degrade us
Moi je t’aimerai encore
I’ll still love you
Encore et jusqu’à la mort
Still and until death
Je serai ton chaos
I’ll be your chaos

[Chorus]
À la vie, à y croire
To life, to believing in it
À nos célébrations
To our celebrations
Sauver sa peau, sauver son nom
To save one’s skin, to save one’s name
À ne garder que le beau
To keep only what is beautiful
Je suis la fille, je suis le garçon
I’m the girl, I’m the boy
C’est nos célébrations
It’s our celebrations

[Chorus]
À la vie, à y croire
To life, to believing in it
À nos célébrations
To our celebrations
Sauver sa peau, sauver son nom
To save one’s skin, to save one’s name
À ne garder que le beau
To keep only what is beautiful
Je suis la fille, je suis le garçon
I’m the girl, I’m the boy
C’est nos célébrations
It’s our celebrations

Grammatical Concepts Used in this Song

• Future tense:
  • Et qui n’en finira pas
  • Est-ce que ça continuera ?
  • Je ne donnerai pas cher de ma peau
  • Est-ce que tu te souviendras ?
  • Est-ce que tu voudras ?
  • Je serai ton chaos
  • Il y aura certainement quelqu’un pour m’écouter quelque part
  • Mais ils n’y arriveront pas
  • Moi je t’aimerai encore

• Passé composé:
  • Mais qui nous a fait croire

• Conditional tense:
  • Que l’on n’y arriverait pas ?

• Imperfect tense:
  • Je ne donnais pas cher de moi

• Pluperfect tense:
  • J’étais parti avant

• Present participle:
  • Tout seul mais perdant

• Adverbial pronoun ‘en’:
  • Et qui n’en finira pas

• Adverbial pronoun ‘y’:
  • Que l’on n’y arriverait pas ?
  • À la vie, à y croire
  • Mais ils n’y arriveront pas