French singer Vianney wrote this touching song for/about his step-daughter. He said to several news outlets that he was surprised by how much one can love a child that is not one’s own child genetically.
While sitting at number three this week, it recently spent several weeks at number one on the French radio hits chart. It was released in August of 2020 and appears on his third album N’attendons pas.
Vianney Bureau, known as Vianney, is a singer/songwriter from Pau, a city in the southwest of France, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department. He discovered a passion for music when he was twelve and began writing songs. In 2005 his father introduced him to friends who were musicians and helped him record his first self-produced album with his older brother. In October of 2014 he released his first studio album Idées blanches, which would be certified platinum. His second album Vianney, which would be certified diamond, was released in November of 2016. Also in 2016 he won the award for Male Artist of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique music awards. In 2019 he wrote the song “On trace” for the 2019 Enfoirés show Monde des Enfoirés.
‘beau-papa’ – This term can mean either ‘stepfather’ or ‘father-in-law’. Context should often provide clarification. In the context of this song he is refering to be a step-father.
‘y a’ – This is a shortened version of the phrase ‘il y a’ meaning ‘there is’ or ‘there are’. It would translate literally as ‘it has there’.
‘ne … que’ – This is a common form of negation. Used in the same way as ‘ne … pas’ (sandwiched around the verb), it means ‘only’.
‘on s’aimera’ – Reflexive pronouns reflect that an action is being performed on oneself. For example ‘je me leve’ means ‘I get (myself) up’ or ‘il se brosse les dents’ means ‘he brushes (his own) teeth’. However, they can also have a reciprocal meaning of ‘each other’. For example ‘on se parle’ means ‘we are speaking to each other’, or the example in this song ‘on s’aimera’ meaning ‘we will love each other’.
‘me suis invité’ – In the passé composé there are 17 verbs that always take the auxilary verb ‘être’. However, despite not being one of those 17 verbs, you will notice that ‘inviter’ here takes ‘être’. This is because when verbs are used reflexively, they also take the auxilary verb ‘être’. ‘Je me suis invité’, meaning ‘I showed up’.
‘du moment que’ – While one would assume that this phrase would mean ‘from the moment that’, it actually means ‘as long as’.
‘s’inviter’ – Literally translating as ‘to invite oneself’, this phrase means ‘to show up’, ‘to turn up’ or ‘to arrive’.
Activities
We’ve created flashcards, games, and exercises to practice vocabulary and grammatical concepts found in this song. Check out our Activities Page to take your learning further!
Song Lyrics with Grammatical Breakdown
Mouse over a term for grammatical information. A chart of the terms and grammatical information can be found here.
Beau-papabeau-papastepfather; father-in-law|noun|masc sing|informal version of beau-père
[Verse 1] J’jeI|pron|first pers sing|shortened to j' before vowelsavaisavoirto have|verb|first pers sing imperf|aux verb used with a pp in the p.q.ppasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in colloquial speechprévuprévoirto forcast, predict; make sure you have, not forget; plan, organize; foresee, anticipate|verb|ppd’deof; from|prep|used before vowelsununa|indef art|masc singjourjourday|noun|masc singadopteradopterto adopt|verb|infin Monmonmy|poss adj|masc singenfant,enfantchild, kid|noun|masc and fem singj’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.dûdevoirto have to, must|verb|ppsurtoutsurtoutespecially, particularly, mainly, mostly, above all|advm’meme; myself|pron|first pers sing, dir obj, indir obj, and reflex|shortened to m' before vowelsadapteradapteradapt|verb|infin|s'adapter = get used to, adapt Yyhere, there|adv||il y a = there is/areaavoirto have|verb|third pers sing pres|il y a = there is/arepasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in colloquial speechquequethat, than|conj||ne … que = only leslesthe|def art|masc and fem plgènesgènegene|noun|masc plquiquiwho, which, that|pron|interr or relfontfaireto do; to make|verb|third pers pl presleslesthe|def art|masc and fem plfamillesfamillefamily|noun|fem pl Desdessome|indef art|masc and fem plhumainshumainhuman, human being|noun|masc plquiquiwho, which, that|pron|interr or rels’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other|pron|third pers sing and pl, reflex|shortened to s' before vowelsaimentaimerto like, to love|verb|third pers pl pressuffisentsuffireto be enough, suffice|verb|third pers pl pres
[Pre-chorus] Etetand|conjsisiif|conjl’le, lathe|def art|masc or fem sing|shortened to l' before vowelsaverseaverseshower; downpour|noun|fem sing|sudden or heavy rainfallnousnouswe, us|pron|first pers pltouche,toucherto touch, feel; to reach; to touch, move, affect deeply|verb|third pers sing prestoitoiyou|pron|sec pers sing, informaletetand|conjmoimoime|pron|dir and indir obj, first pers sing Ononone, people, you, someone; we|pron|following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we'lalaher, it|pron|fem singtraversetraverserto cross; to penetrate, go through; to experience, live through; come to mind; survive, endure|verb|third pers sing presààat, to, in|prepdeux,deuxtwo|adjààat, to, in|preptroistroisthree|adj Etetand|conjsisiif|conjl’le, lathe|def art|masc or fem sing|shortened to l' before vowelsaverseaverseshower; downpour|noun|fem sing|sudden or heavy rainfallnousnouswe, us|pron|first pers pltouche,toucherto touch, feel; to reach; to touch, move, affect deeply|verb|third pers sing prestoitoiyou|pron|sec pers sing, informaletetand|conjmoimoime|pron|dir and indir obj, first pers sing Prendsprendreto take|verb|sec pers sing imperamamamy|poss adj|fem singmainmainhand|noun|fem singdedeof; from|prepbeau-papabeau-papastepfather; father-in-law|noun|masc sing|informal version of beau-père
[Chorus] J’jeI|pron|first pers sing|shortened to j' before vowels, and sometimes consonants in colloquial speecht’teyou|pron|dir obj, indir obj, and reflex, sec pers sing|shortened to t' before vowelsattendaisattendreto wait (for)|verb|first pers sing imperfpasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in colloquial speech J’jeI|pron|first pers sing|shortened to j' before vowels, and sometimes consonants in colloquial speechteteyou; yourself|pron|dir obj, indir obj, and reflex, sec pers singlaisserailaisserto leave|verb|first pers sing futpasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in colloquial speech Mêmemêmeeven|advsanssanswithout|prepl’le, lathe|def art|masc or fem sing|shortened to l' before vowelsmêmemêmesame, same thing|noun|masc or fem singsang,sangblood|noun|masc singononone, people, you, someone; we|pron|following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we's’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other|pron|third pers sing and pl, reflex|shortened to s' before vowelsaimeraaimerto like, to love|verb|third pers sing fut
[Verse 2] Non,nonno, not|advjejeI|pron|first pers singnenenot, no|adv|used with another negative term, such as 'ne … pas'voleraivolerto fly; to steal, take|verb|first pers sing futjamaisjamaisnever, ever|advlalathe|def art|fem singplaceplacespace, room; place; seat, ticket|noun|fem singdude + lefrom the, of the|prep + artpremierpremierfirst; the first (one); top|noun|masc singquiquiwho, which, that|pron|interr or relt’teyou|pron|dir obj, indir obj, and reflex, sec pers sing|shortened to t' before vowelsaavoirto have|verb|third pers sing pres|aux verb used with pp to form p.c.dit :direto say, tell|verb|pp“jejeI|pron|first pers singt’teyou|pron|dir obj, indir obj, and reflex, sec pers sing|shortened to t' before vowelsaime”aimerto like, to love|verb|first pers sing pres Sursuron, upon; on top of, above|preptontonyour|poss adj|masc singvisage,visageface|noun|masc singononone, people, you, someone; we|pron|following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we'voitvoirto see|verb|third pers sing pressonsonhis, her, its, one's|poss adj|masc singvisagevisageface|noun|masc singetetand|conjc’cethis, that, it|pron|shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be|verb|third pers sing presainsiainsiin this way, like this/that; so|advquequethat, than|conjtutuyou|pron|sec pers sing, informesêtreto be|verb|sec pers sing presbellebeaubeautiful, attractive, handsome; pleasant; good, excellent|adj|fem sing Dedeof; from|prepvousvousyou|pron|sec pers pl, also used for sec pers sing formalààat, to, in|prepmoi,moime|pron|dir and indir obj, first pers singc’cethis, that, it|pron|shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be|verb|third pers sing presmoi,moime|pron|dir and indir obj, first pers singj’jeI|pron|first pers sing|shortened to j' before vowelsavoue,avouerto confess, admit|verb|first pers sing presquiquiwho, which, that|pron|interr or relmememe, myself|pron|dir and indir obj, reflex, first pers singsuisêtreto be|verb|first pers sing pres|aux verb used with a pp in the p.c.invitéinviterto invite; to pay for, treat someone|verb|pp Dansdansin|prepsasahis, her, its, one's|poss adj|fem singvie,vielife|noun|fem singlà,làthere; here|advdansdansin|preplalathe|def art|fem singvievielife|noun|fem singoùoùwhere; at that time, when|advelleelleshe, her, it|pron|third pers singn’nenot, no|adv|used with another neg term, such as 'ne … pas'|shortened to n' before vowelsaavoirto have|verb|third pers sing pres|aux verb used with pp to form p.c.rien(ne) … riennothing, not … anything|pron|in cases where the 'ne' is grammatically necessary it is often omitted in coll langdemandédemanderto ask, request|verb|pp
[Pre-chorus] Etetand|conjsisiif|conjl’le, lathe|def art|masc or fem sing|shortened to l' before vowelsaverseaverseshower; downpour|noun|fem sing|sudden or heavy rainfallnousnouswe, us|pron|first pers pltouche,toucherto touch, feel; to reach; to touch, move, affect deeply|verb|third pers sing prestoitoiyou|pron|sec pers sing, informaletetand|conjmoimoime|pron|dir and indir obj, first pers sing Ononone, people, you, someone; we|pron|following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we'lalaher, it|pron|fem singtraversetraverserto cross; to penetrate, go through; to experience, live through; come to mind; survive, endure|verb|third pers sing presààat, to, in|prepdeux,deuxtwo|adjààat, to, in|preptroistroisthree|adj Etetand|conjsisiif|conjl’le, lathe|def art|masc or fem sing|shortened to l' before vowelsaverseaverseshower; downpour|noun|fem sing|sudden or heavy rainfallnousnouswe, us|pron|first pers pltouche,toucherto touch, feel; to reach; to touch, move, affect deeply|verb|third pers sing prestoitoiyou|pron|sec pers sing, informaletetand|conjmoimoime|pron|dir and indir obj, first pers sing Prendsprendreto take|verb|sec pers sing imperamamamy|poss adj|fem singmainmainhand|noun|fem singdedeof; from|prepbeau-papabeau-papastepfather; father-in-law|noun|masc sing|informal version of beau-père
[Chorus] J’jeI|pron|first pers sing|shortened to j' before vowels, and sometimes consonants in colloquial speecht’teyou|pron|dir obj, indir obj, and reflex, sec pers sing|shortened to t' before vowelsattendaisattendreto wait (for)|verb|first pers sing imperfpasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in colloquial speech J’jeI|pron|first pers sing|shortened to j' before vowels, and sometimes consonants in colloquial speechteteyou; yourself|pron|dir obj, indir obj, and reflex, sec pers singlaisserailaisserto leave|verb|first pers sing futpasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in colloquial speech Mêmemêmeeven|advsanssanswithout|prepl’le, lathe|def art|masc or fem sing|shortened to l' before vowelsmêmemêmesame, same thing|noun|masc or fem singsang,sangblood|noun|masc singononone, people, you, someone; we|pron|following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we's’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other|pron|third pers sing and pl, reflex|shortened to s' before vowelsaimeraaimerto like, to love|verb|third pers sing fut Ononone, people, you, someone; we|pron|following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we's’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other|pron|third pers sing and pl, reflex|shortened to s' before vowelsaimeraaimerto like, to love|verb|third pers sing fut
[Verse 3] J’jeI|pron|first pers sing|shortened to j' before vowelsavaisavoirto have|verb|sec pers sing imperf|aux verb used with a pp in the p.q.ppasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in colloquial speechprévuprévoirto forcast, predict; make sure you have, not forget; plan, organize; foresee, anticipate|verb|ppd’deof; from|prep|used before vowelsununa|indef art|masc singjourjourday|noun|masc singadopteradopterto adopt|verb|infin Enento, in|prepvéritévéritétruth|noun|fem singnue,nunaked; bare, exposed; empty, unused|adj|fem singc’cethis, that, it|pron|shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be|verb|third pers sing prestoitoiyou|pron|sec pers sing, informalquiquiwho, which, that|pron|interr or rell’le, lahim, her, it|pron|dir obj, masc or fem sing|shortened to l' before vowelsasavoirto have|verb|sec pers sing pres|aux verb used with the pp to form the p.c.faitfaireto do, to make|verb|pp Yyhere, there|adv||il y a = there is/areaavoirto have|verb|third pers sing pres|il y a = there is/arepasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in colloquial speechquequethat, than|conj||ne … que = only leslesthe|def art|masc and fem plgènesgènegene|noun|masc plquiquiwho, which, that|pron|interr or relfontfaireto do; to make|verb|third pers pl presleslesthe|def art|masc and fem plfamillesfamillefamily|noun|fem pl Dude + lefrom the, of the|prep + art||de moment que = as long asmomentmomenttime, moment, period|noun|masc sing|du moment que = as long asqu’quethat, than|conj|used before vowels|du moment que = as long asononone, people, you, someone; we|pron|following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we's’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other|pron|third pers sing and pl, reflex|shortened to s' before vowelsaimeaimerto like, to love|verb|third pers sing pres
[Pre-chorus] Etetand|conjsisiif|conjl’le, lathe|def art|masc or fem sing|shortened to l' before vowelsaverseaverseshower; downpour|noun|fem sing|sudden or heavy rainfallnousnouswe, us|pron|first pers pltouche,toucherto touch, feel; to reach; to touch, move, affect deeply|verb|third pers sing prestoitoiyou|pron|sec pers sing, informaletetand|conjmoimoime|pron|dir and indir obj, first pers sing Ononone, people, you, someone; we|pron|following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we'lalaher, it|pron|fem singtraversetraverserto cross; to penetrate, go through; to experience, live through; come to mind; survive, endure|verb|third pers sing presààat, to, in|prepdeux,deuxtwo|adjààat, to, in|preptroistroisthree|adj Etetand|conjsisiif|conjl’le, lathe|def art|masc or fem sing|shortened to l' before vowelsaverseaverseshower; downpour|noun|fem sing|sudden or heavy rainfallnousnouswe, us|pron|first pers pltouche,toucherto touch, feel; to reach; to touch, move, affect deeply|verb|third pers sing prestoitoiyou|pron|sec pers sing, informaletetand|conjmoimoime|pron|dir and indir obj, first pers sing Prendsprendreto take|verb|sec pers sing imperamamamy|poss adj|fem singmain,mainhand|noun|fem singdis,direto say, tell|verb|sec pers sing imperaprends-prendreto take|verb|sec pers sing imperalalaher, it|pron|dir obj, fem sing
[Chorus] J’jeI|pron|first pers sing|shortened to j' before vowels, and sometimes consonants in colloquial speecht’teyou|pron|dir obj, indir obj, and reflex, sec pers sing|shortened to t' before vowelsattendaisattendreto wait (for)|verb|first pers sing imperfpasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in colloquial speech J’jeI|pron|first pers sing|shortened to j' before vowels, and sometimes consonants in colloquial speechteteyou; yourself|pron|dir obj, indir obj, and reflex, sec pers singlaisserailaisserto leave|verb|first pers sing futpasne … pasnot|adv|the 'ne' may be omitted in colloquial speech Mêmemêmeeven|advsanssanswithout|prepl’le, lathe|def art|masc or fem sing|shortened to l' before vowelsmêmemêmesame, same thing|noun|masc or fem singsang,sangblood|noun|masc singononone, people, you, someone; we|pron|following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we's’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other|pron|third pers sing and pl, reflex|shortened to s' before vowelsaimeraaimerto like, to love|verb|third pers sing fut Mêmemêmeeven|advsanssanswithout|prepl’le, lathe|def art|masc or fem sing|shortened to l' before vowelsmêmemêmesame, same thing|noun|masc or fem singsang,sangblood|noun|masc singononone, people, you, someone; we|pron|following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we's’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other|pron|third pers sing and pl, reflex|shortened to s' before vowelsaimeraaimerto like, to love|verb|third pers sing fut
Lyrics with Translation
Songs in any language often leave room for multiple interpretations. Following is my interpretation of the song lyrics.
Beau-papa Step dad
[Verse 1] J’avais pas prévu d’un jour adopter I didn’t plan on one day adopting Mon enfant, j’ai dû surtout m’adapter My child, above all I had to adapt Y a pas que les gènes qui font les familles It’s not just genes that make families Des humains qui s’aiment suffisent Some humans who love each other are enough
[Pre-Chorus] Et si l’averse nous touche, toi et moi And if the downpour reaches us, you and me On la traverse à deux, à trois We’ll get through it as two, as three Et si l’averse nous touche, toi et moi And if the downpour reaches us, you and me Prends ma main de beau-papa Take my step daddy hand
[Chorus] J’t’attendais pas I wasn’t expecting you J’te laisserai pas I won’t leave you Même sans l’même sang, on s’aimera Even without the same blood, we’ll love each other
[Verse 2] Non, je ne volerai jamais la place du premier qui t’a dit : “je t’aime” No, I will never steal the place of the first one who told you: “I love you” Sur ton visage, on voit son visage et c’est ainsi que tu es belle On your face, we see his face and it’s in that way that you are beautiful De vous à moi, c’est moi, j’avoue, qui me suis invité Between you and me, it’s me, I confess, who showed up Dans sa vie, là, dans la vie où elle n’a rien demandé In her life, there, in the life where she didn’t ask for anything
[Pre-Chorus] Et si l’averse nous touche, toi et moi And if the downpour reaches us, you and me On la traverse à deux, à trois We’ll get through it as two, as three Et si l’averse nous touche, toi et moi And if the downpour reaches us, you and me Prends ma main de beau-papa Take my step daddy hand
[Chorus] J’t’attendais pas I wasn’t expecting you J’te laisserai pas I won’t leave you Même sans l’même sang, on s’aimera Even without the same blood, we’ll love each other On s’aimera We’ll love each other
[Verse 3] J’avais pas prévu d’un jour adopter I didn’t plan on one day adopting En vérité nue, c’est toi qui l’as fait In truth naked, it’s you who did it Y a pas que les gènes qui font les familles It’s not just genes that make families Du moment qu’on s’aime As long as we love each other
[Pre-Chorus] Et si l’averse nous touche, toi et moi And if the downpour reaches us, you and me On la traverse à deux, à trois We’ll get through it as two, as three Et si l’averse nous touche, toi et moi And if the downpour reaches us, you and me Prends ma main, dis, prends-la Take my hand, say, take it
[Chorus] J’t’attendais pas I wasn’t expecting you J’te laisserai pas I won’t leave you Même sans l’même sang, on s’aimera Even without the same blood, we’ll love each other Même sans l’même sang, on s’aimera Even without the same blood, we’ll love each other
Grammatical Concepts Used in this Song
Negation:
Y a pas que les gènes qui font les familles
Dans sa vie, là, dans la vie où elle n‘a rien demandé
Non, je ne volerai jamais la place du premier qui t’a dit : “je t’aime”
Possessive Adjectives:
Mon enfant, j’ai dû surtout m’adapter
Prends ma main de beau-papa
Prends ma main, dis, prends-la
Sur ton visage, on voit son visage et c’est ainsi que tu es belle
Dans sa vie, là, dans la vie où elle n’a rien demandé
Object pronouns:
Et si l’averse nous touche, toi et moi
On la traverse à deux, à trois
J’t‘attendais pas
J’te laisserai pas
Non, je ne volerai jamais la place du premier qui t‘a dit : “je t‘aime”
En vérité nue, c’est toi qui l‘as fait
Irregular:
avoir:
Y a pas que les gènes qui font les familles
faire:
Y a pas que les gènes qui font les familles
suffire:
Des humains qui s’aiment suffisent
voir:
Sur ton visage, on voit son visage et c’est ainsi que tu es belle
être:
Sur ton visage, on voit son visage et c’est ainsi que tu es belle
De vous à moi, c’est moi, j’avoue, qui me suis invité
En vérité nue, c’est toi qui l’as fait
Reflexive/Reciprocal:
Mon enfant, j’ai dû surtout m’adapter
Des humains qui s’aiment suffisent
Même sans l’même sang, on s’aimera
De vous à moi, c’est moi, j’avoue, qui me suis invité
Passé composé:
avoir:
Mon enfant, j’ai dû surtout m’adapter
Non, je ne volerai jamais la place du premier qui t’a dit : “je t’aime”
Dans sa vie, là, dans la vie où elle n’a rien demandé
En vérité nue, c’est toi qui l’as fait
être
De vous à moi, c’est moi, j’avoue, qui me suis invité
Imperative:
Prends ma main de beau-papa
Prends ma main, dis, prends-la
Imparfait:
J’t’attendais pas
Future:
J’te laisserai pas
Même sans l’même sang, on s’aimera
Non, je ne volerai jamais la place du premier qui t’a dit : “je t’aime”
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