“Toi tu pars” is a single by Ghanan-born French singer Céphaz. It was released in November of 2021 and appears on his first, 2022 album L’homme aux mille couleurs. It has spent 22 weeks on the French radio hits chart, reaching number 31.

Cultural References, Idioms and Explanations

se mettre – This phrase can either mean to put on/apply something deliberately, or to get something on you accidentally.

coup de fatigue – This phrase means sudden tiredness or sudden fatigue. It would translate literally as something like an attack/fit of fatigue.

avoir un coup de blues – This phrase means to feel down, to feel depressed or to have the blues. It would translate literally as something like to have an attack/fit of blues.

des tas de – This phrase means tons of or a ton of. It translates literally as a heap of or a pile of.

tout le monde – This phrase means everyone or everybody. It translates literally as all the world or all the people.

s’en foutre – This phrase means to not care, to be unable to care less, or to not give a sh*t. Be careful when using this phrase as it is vulgar. I’m really not even sure how to translate this literally, but I guess it would be something like to do of it to oneself.

il y a – This phrase means there is or there are. It would translate literally as it has there. It appears in this song as the negative form il n’y a pas.

ne … plus – This is a common form of negation. Used in the same way as ne … pas (sandwiched around the verb), it means not anymore or no longer.

ligne d’arrivée – This phrase means finish line, matching its literal translation.

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.

Toitoiyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, disj tutuyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, subj parspartirto leave | verb, irreg | first and sec pers sing pres

[Verse 1]
Parfoisparfoissometimes, occasionally | adv ononone, people, you, someone; we | pron | following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we' sesehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other | pron | third pers, sing and pl reflex metmettreto put, to place | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres | se mettre = to put on/apply (delibrately); to get (accidentally) dedeof; from | prep coupscoupknock, blow, punch, shot, stroke; fit, attack | noun | masc pl | coup de fatigue = sudden tiredness/fatigue dedeof; from | prep fatiguefatiguefatigue, tiredness, weariness | noun | fem sing | coup de fatigue = sudden tiredness/fatigue
Desdessome | art, indef | masc and fem pl coupscoupknock, blow, punch, shot, stroke; fit, attack | noun | masc pl | avoir un coup de blues = to feel down, feel depressed, have the blues dedeof; from | prep bluesbluesblues | noun | masc sing | avoir un coup de blues = to feel down, feel depressed, have the blues auà + leat the, to the | prep + def art | masc sing boutboutend, extremity, tip; bit, piece | noun | masc sing desdessome | art, indef | masc and fem pl doigtsdoigtfinger | noun | masc pl
D’abordd'abordfirst, first of all; beforehand | adv c’cethis, that, it | pron | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres simplesimplesimple, plain; easy straightforward; humble modest | adj | masc and fem sing puispuisthen, finally, what's more | adv çaçathis, that, it | pron | indef dem sesehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other | pron | third pers, sing and pl reflex compliquecompliquerto complicate, make difficult, make harder | verb, reg | first and third pers sing pres | se compliquer = to become complicated, get more complicated/complex
Commecommelike, as; because, since | conj desdessome | art, indef | masc and fem pl tastaspile, heap | noun | masc sing | des tas de = tons of, a ton of d’deof; from | prep | used before vowelshistoireshistoirestory, tale; history; lie; business, question, matter | noun | fem pl quiquiwho, which, that | pron | interr or rel n’nenot, no | adv | used with another neg term, such as 'ne … pas' | shortened to n' before vowelsavancentavancerto move, move/go forward, keep moving; make progress; stick out, lean forwards; bring forward; claim, put forward | verb, spl chg | third pers pl pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in colloquial speech

[Pre-Chorus]
Sisiif | conj rien(ne) … riennothing, not … anything | pron | in cases where the 'ne' is grammatically necessary it is often omitted in coll lang nenenot, no | adv | used with another negative term, such as 'ne … pas' change,changerto change | verb, spl chg | third pers sing pres quequethat, than; let; so, so that | conj touttoutall, all of, every one of, the whole | adj | masc sing | tout le monde = everyone, everybody; all lelethe | art, def | masc sing mondemondeworld, crowd, people, everybody | noun | masc sing | tout le monde = everyone, everybody; all s’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other | pron | third pers sing and pl, reflex | shortened to s' before vowelsenenabout it, some (of it), of them | pron foutfoutreto do; put, throw down; put on (clothes) | verb, reg | third pers sing pres | s'en foutre = to not care, be unable to care less, not give a sh*t
Qu’quethat, than; let; so, so that | conjililhe, it | pron | masc third pers sing, sub | il y a = there is/there are n’nenot, no | adv | used with another neg term, such as 'ne … pas' | shortened to n' before vowelsyyhere, there | adv | | il y a = there is/there are aavoirto have | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres | il y a = there is/there are plusplusmore | adv | | ne … plus = not anymore, no longer ununa | art, indef | masc sing angeangeangel; love, sweetheart | noun | masc sing dansdansin | prep cecethis, that | adj, dem | masc sing mondemondeworld, crowd, people, everybody | noun | masc sing foufoucrazy, insane; absurd, ridiculous, unrealistic, preposterous | adj | masc sing
J’jeI | pron | first pers sing, sub | shortened to j' before vowelsachèteraiacheterto buy | verb, stm chg | first pers sing fut desdessome | art, indef | masc and fem pl ailes,ailewing | noun | fem pl enenabout it, some (of it), of them | pron polystyrènepolystyrènepolysyrene, Styrofoam | noun | masc sing
Pourpourto; for | prep | to' before verbs, 'for' before nouns or pron's | pour que + subj = so that quequethat, than; let; so, so that | conj tutuyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, subj t’teyou | pron | dir obj, indir obj, and reflex, sec pers sing | shortened to t' before vowelsenvoless'envolerfly away, fly off; blow away; flee; soar | verb, reg | sec pers sing subj depuisdepuissince; for (length of time); from | prep lalathe | art, def | fem sing Tour EiffelTour EiffelEiffel Tower | noun, prop | fem sing

[Chorus]
Toitoiyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, disj tutuyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, subj parspartirto leave | verb, irreg | first and sec pers sing pres etetand | conj moimoime, to me | pron | first pers sing, disj jejeI | pron | first pers sing, sub resteresterremain, stay, be left, continue | verb, reg | first and third pers sing pres iciicihere | adv
Toitoiyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, disj tutuyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, subj parspartirto leave | verb, irreg | first and sec pers sing pres etetand | conj moimoime, to me | pron | first pers sing, disj jejeI | pron | first pers sing, sub resteresterremain, stay, be left, continue | verb, reg | first and third pers sing pres ici,icihere | adv ici,icihere | adv iciicihere | adv

[Verse 2]
Quandquandwhen | adv, conj ononone, people, you, someone; we | pron | following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we' prendprendreto take | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres troptroptoo, too much, too many, excessively | adv dedeof; from | prep fauxfauxfalse, wrong, deceitful | adj | masc sing and pl départsdépartdeparture; start | noun | masc pl
Ononone, people, you, someone; we | pron | following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we' nenenot, no | adv | used with another negative term, such as 'ne … pas' voitvoirto see | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in colloquial speech lalathe | art, def | fem sing ligneligneline | noun | fem sing | ligne d'arrivée = finish line d’deof; from | prep | used before vowelsarrivéearrivéearrival; finish | noun | fem sing | ligne d'arrivée = finish line
Partirpartirto leave | verb, irreg | infin troptroptoo, too much, too many, excessively | adv tôt,tôtearly; soon, early on | adv c’cethis, that, it | pron | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres déjàdéjàalready, yet | adv troptroptoo, too much, too many, excessively | adv tardtardlate; later | adv
Etetand | conj ononone, people, you, someone; we | pron | following verbs conjugate in third pers sing, even when used to mean 'we' finitfinirto finish | verb, reg | third pers sing pres disqualifiédisqualifierto disqualify; invalidate; discredit | verb, reg | pp used as adj

[Pre-Chorus]
Sisiif | conj rien(ne) … riennothing, not … anything | pron | in cases where the 'ne' is grammatically necessary it is often omitted in coll lang nenenot, no | adv | used with another negative term, such as 'ne … pas' change,changerto change | verb, spl chg | third pers sing pres quequethat, than; let; so, so that | conj touttoutall, all of, every one of, the whole | adj | masc sing | tout le monde = everyone, everybody; all lelethe | art, def | masc sing mondemondeworld, crowd, people, everybody | noun | masc sing | tout le monde = everyone, everybody; all s’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other | pron | third pers sing and pl, reflex | shortened to s' before vowelsenenabout it, some (of it), of them | pron foutfoutreto do; put, throw down; put on (clothes) | verb, reg | third pers sing pres | s'en foutre = to not care, be unable to care less, not give a sh*t
Qu’quethat, than; let; so, so that | conjililhe, it | pron | masc third pers sing, sub | il y a = there is/there are n’nenot, no | adv | used with another neg term, such as 'ne … pas' | shortened to n' before vowelsyyhere, there | adv | | il y a = there is/there are aavoirto have | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres | il y a = there is/there are plusplusmore | adv | | ne … plus = not anymore, no longer ununa | art, indef | masc sing angeangeangel; love, sweetheart | noun | masc sing dansdansin | prep cecethis, that | adj, dem | masc sing mondemondeworld, crowd, people, everybody | noun | masc sing foufoucrazy, insane; absurd, ridiculous, unrealistic, preposterous | adj | masc sing
J’jeI | pron | first pers sing, sub | shortened to j' before vowelsachèteraiacheterto buy | verb, stm chg | first pers sing fut desdessome | art, indef | masc and fem pl ailes,ailewing | noun | fem pl enenabout it, some (of it), of them | pron polystyrènepolystyrènepolysyrene, Styrofoam | noun | masc sing
Pourpourto; for | prep | to' before verbs, 'for' before nouns or pron's | pour que + subj = so that quequethat, than; let; so, so that | conj tutuyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, subj t’teyou | pron | dir obj, indir obj, and reflex, sec pers sing | shortened to t' before vowelsenvoless'envolerfly away, fly off; blow away; flee; soar | verb, reg | sec pers sing subj depuisdepuissince; for (length of time); from | prep lalathe | art, def | fem sing Tour EiffelTour EiffelEiffel Tower | noun, prop | fem sing

[Chorus]
Toitoiyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, disj tutuyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, subj parspartirto leave | verb, irreg | first and sec pers sing pres etetand | conj moimoime, to me | pron | first pers sing, disj jejeI | pron | first pers sing, sub resteresterremain, stay, be left, continue | verb, reg | first and third pers sing pres iciicihere | adv
Toitoiyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, disj tutuyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, subj parspartirto leave | verb, irreg | first and sec pers sing pres etetand | conj moimoime, to me | pron | first pers sing, disj jejeI | pron | first pers sing, sub resteresterremain, stay, be left, continue | verb, reg | first and third pers sing pres ici,icihere | adv ici,icihere | adv iciicihere | adv

[Chorus]
Toitoiyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, disj tutuyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, subj parspartirto leave | verb, irreg | first and sec pers sing pres etetand | conj moimoime, to me | pron | first pers sing, disj jejeI | pron | first pers sing, sub resteresterremain, stay, be left, continue | verb, reg | first and third pers sing pres iciicihere | adv
Toitoiyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, disj tutuyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, subj parspartirto leave | verb, irreg | first and sec pers sing pres etetand | conj moimoime, to me | pron | first pers sing, disj jejeI | pron | first pers sing, sub resteresterremain, stay, be left, continue | verb, reg | first and third pers sing pres ici,icihere | adv ici,icihere | adv ici,icihere | adv iciicihere | adv

[Chorus]
Toitoiyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, disj tutuyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, subj parspartirto leave | verb, irreg | first and sec pers sing pres etetand | conj moimoime, to me | pron | first pers sing, disj jejeI | pron | first pers sing, sub resteresterremain, stay, be left, continue | verb, reg | first and third pers sing pres iciicihere | adv
Toitoiyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, disj tutuyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, subj parspartirto leave | verb, irreg | first and sec pers sing pres etetand | conj moimoime, to me | pron | first pers sing, disj jejeI | pron | first pers sing, sub resteresterremain, stay, be left, continue | verb, reg | first and third pers sing pres ici,icihere | adv ici,icihere | adv ici,icihere | adv ici,icihere | adv iciicihere | adv

Lyrics with Translation

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

Toi tu pars
You leave

[Verse 1]
Parfois on se met de coups de fatigue
Sometimes we suddenly get tired
Des coups de blues au bout des doigts
Depression at your fingertips
D’abord c’est simple, puis ça se complique
At first it’s simple, then it gets complicated
Comme des tas d’histoires qui n’avancent pas
Like a ton of stories that don’t move forward

[Pre-Chorus]
Si rien ne change, que tout le monde s’en fout
If nothing changes, so that everyone doesn’t care
Qu’il n’y a plus un ange dans ce monde fou
So that there is no longer an angel in this crazy world
J’achèterai des ailes, en polystyrène
I’ll buy wings, made of polystyrene
Pour que tu t’envoles depuis la Tour Eiffel
For you to fly away from the Eiffel Tower

[Chorus]
Toi tu pars et moi je reste ici
You leave and I stay here
Toi tu pars et moi je reste ici, ici, ici
You leave and I stay here, here, here

[Verse 2]
Quand on prend trop de faux départs
When we make too many false starts
On ne voit pas la ligne d’arrivée
We don’t see the finish line
Partir trop tôt, c’est déjà trop tard
Leaving too early is already too late
Et on finit disqualifié
And we end up disqualified

[Pre-Chorus]
Si rien ne change, que tout le monde s’en fout
If nothing changes, so that everyone doesn’t care
Qu’il n’y a plus un ange dans ce monde fou
So that there is no longer an angel in this crazy world
J’achèterai des ailes, en polystyrène
I’ll buy wings, made of polystyrene
Pour que tu t’envoles depuis la Tour Eiffel
For you to fly away from the Eiffel Tower

[Chorus]
Toi tu pars et moi je reste ici
You leave and I stay here
Toi tu pars et moi je reste ici, ici, ici
You leave and I stay here, here, here

[Chorus]
Toi tu pars et moi je reste ici
You leave and I stay here
Toi tu pars et moi je reste ici, ici, ici, ici
You leave and I stay here, here, here, here

[Chorus]
Toi tu pars et moi je reste ici
You leave and I stay here
Toi tu pars et moi je reste ici, ici, ici, ici, ici
You leave and I stay here, here, here, here, here

Grammatical Concepts Used in this Song

• Disjunctive Pronouns:
  • Toi tu pars et moi je reste ici

• Negation:
  • Si rien ne change, que tout le monde s’en fout
  • Qu’il n’y a plus un ange dans ce monde fou

• Adverbial Pronouns:
  • Si rien ne change, que tout le monde s’en fout

• Reflexive:
  • Parfois on se met de coups de fatigue
  • D’abord c’est simple, puis ça se complique
  • Si rien ne change, que tout le monde s’en fout
  • Pour que tu t’envoles depuis la Tour Eiffel

• Irregular Verbs:
  • partir:
    • Toi tu pars et moi je reste ici
  • se mettre:
    • Parfois on se met de coups de fatigue
  • être:
    • D’abord c’est simple, puis ça se complique
    • Partir trop tôt, c’est déjà trop tard
  • avoir:
    • Qu’il n’y a plus un ange dans ce monde fou
  • prendre:
    • Quand on prend trop de faux départs
  • voir:
    • On ne voit pas la ligne d’arrivée

• Future:
  • J’achèterai des ailes, en polystyrène

• Subjunctive:
  • Pour que tu t’envoles depuis la Tour Eiffel