Elle a by Keen’V

Published by Lyrical Language on May 9, 2020May 9, 2020

Keen’V is great about telling stories in his videos. This one is definitely worth a watch.

“Elle a” is a song by French singer/songwriter Keen’V. It appears on his 2017 album 7 and reached number 31 on French charts. It was listed among the songs of the year at the NRJ Music Awards.

About the Artist

Kevin Bonnet, who performs as Keen’V, is a singer/songwriter from Rouen, France. After high school he was a volunteer firefighter and a DJ and dance club host. He began by producing and sharing his own music, and, thanks to his two million views on video-sharing sites, was discovered by Universal Music. In November of 2008 he released his first album Phenom’N , containing the single “À l’horizontale” which had success in dance clubs. His breakthrough came in 2011 with the release of his single “J’aimerais trop”, which reached number three on the charts. His fourth album Ange ou Démon not only topped the French charts, but stayed on the charts for more than a year.

As of April 2020, six of his eight albums have gone platinum. In 2012 he received the award for “Francophone Revelation of the Year” at the NRJ Music Awards.

Aside from his music career, Keen’V appeared on the fourth season of France’s Dancing with the Stars (Danse avec les stars), where he placed 4th.

Biographical information from Wikipedia and AllMusic.

Cultural References, Idioms and Explanations

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

‘se fier à’ = While ‘se fier’ means to trust, ‘se fier à’ means ‘to count on’ or ‘to rely on’.

‘à vrai dire‘ = Meaning ‘to tell the truth’, this phrase is used like ‘in truth’, ‘in fact’ or ‘to be honest’.

‘se demander’ – Literally meaning ‘to ask oneself’, this phrase means ‘to wonder’.

‘de toute évidence’ – Translating literally as ‘of all evidence’ this phrase means ‘quite evidently’.

‘aller + inf’ – The verb ‘aller’ means ‘to go’. As in English, when this verb is used with a place, it implies movement towards that place. But when it is used with another verb, it implies that that action will be preformed in the future. For example ‘I am going to the store’ ‘(je vais au magasin’) vs ‘I am going to eat’ (‘je vais manger’).

‘afin que + subj’ – This phrase means ‘so’, ‘so that’ or ‘in order that’. It will be followed by a verb in the subjunctive tense.

‘tomber amoureux’ – As in English, this phrase means ‘to fall in love’.

Song Lyrics with Grammatical Breakdown

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

Elle a

[Verse 1]
Quand l’amour frappe à ta porte
Tu n’as plus qu’à la laisser entrer
Tu ne sais pas ce qu’il t’apporte
Pourtant tu veux te laisser tenter
Ça peut durer un jour
Ou peut-être pour toujours
J’étais sûr que je ne serais pas déçu et j’ai su que c’était la bonne quand je me disais

[Chorus]
Elle a ce petit je ne sais quoi, qui me fait vriller
Parce que une seconde loin de ses bras, peut me faire plier
Quand nos corps se confondent sous les draps
J’aime l’entendre crier, oh nan
Jamais je ne pourrais l’oublier car elle et moi sommes liés

[Verse 2]
Avant elle j’aimais être seul, qui aurait pu imaginer
Qu’elle deviendrait un jour ma boussole
À laquelle je pourrais me fier
Car près d’elle, moi, enfin je me sens vivant
La seule chose mieux qu’un de ses baisers c’est le suivant
Chaque jour on se découvre, c’est vrai, mais pourtant je la connais par cœur

[Verse 3]
J’me demandais si la vie avait un sens et t’as donné un sens à ma vie
J’étais indécis mais de toute évidence c’est elle, le sens de mes envies
Jamais je n’aurais pensé tomber amoureux
Toutes ses peines je vais panser afin qu’elle soit heureuse

[Bridge]
Elle a, elle a, elle a, ce p’tit p’tit je ne sais quoi
Elle a, elle a, elle a, ce que d’autres n’ont pas
Elle a, elle a, elle a, ce p’tit p’tit je ne sais quoi
Elle a, elle a, elle a, ce que d’autres n’ont pas

[Chorus] x 2
Elle a ce petit je ne sais quoi, qui me fait vriller
Parce que une seconde loin de ses bras, peut me faire plier
Quand nos corps se confondent sous les draps
J’aime l’entendre crier, oh nan
Jamais je ne pourrais l’oublier car elle et moi sommes liés

Lyrics with Translation

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

Elle a
She has

[Verse 1]
Quand l’amour frappe à ta porte
When love knocks on your door
Tu n’as plus qu’à la laisser entrer
All you have to do is let it in
Tu ne sais pas ce qu’il t’apporte
You don’t know what it brings/is bringing you
Pourtant tu veux te laisser tenter
Yet you want to let yourself try
Ça peut durer un jour
It can last a day
Ou peut-être pour toujours
Or maybe forever
J’étais sûr que je ne serais pas déçu et j’ai su que c’était la bonne quand je me disais
I was sure I would not be disappointed and I knew it was the right one when I told myself

[Chorus]
Elle a ce petit je ne sais quoi, qui me fait vriller
She has that little I don’t know what that makes me spin
Parce que une seconde loin de ses bras, peut me faire plier
Because a second away from her arms, can make me bend/submit
Quand nos corps se confondent sous les draps
When our bodies merge under the sheets
J’aime l’entendre crier, oh nan
I like to hear her scream/cry out, oh no
Jamais je ne pourrais l’oublier car elle et moi sommes liés
I could never forget her because she and I are connected

[Verse 2]
Avant elle j’aimais être seul, qui aurait pu imaginer
Before her I loved to be alone, who could have imagined
Qu’elle deviendrait un jour ma boussole
That she would one day become my compass
À laquelle je pourrais me fier
Which I could rely on
Car près d’elle, moi, enfin je me sens vivant
Because close to her, I finally feel alive
La seule chose mieux qu’un de ses baisers c’est le suivant
The only thing better than one of her kisses is the next one
Chaque jour on se découvre, c’est vrai, mais pourtant je la connais par cœur
Every day we discover each other, it’s true, but yet I know her by heart

[Verse 3]
J’me demandais si la vie avait un sens et t’as donné un sens à ma vie
I was wondering if life had meaning and you gave my life meaning
J’étais indécis mais de toute évidence c’est elle, le sens de mes envies
I was hesitant but quite obviously it’s her, the meaning of my desires
Jamais je n’aurais pensé tomber amoureux
I never would have thought I’d fall in love
Toutes ses peines je vais panser afin qu’elle soit heureuse
All her sorrows I will heal so that she is happy

[Bridge]
Elle a, elle a, elle a, ce p’tit je ne sais quoi
She has, she has, she has, that little I don’t know what
Elle a, elle a, elle a, ce que d’autres n’ont pas
She has, she has, she has, what others don’t
Elle a, elle a, elle a, ce p’tit je ne sais quoi
She has, she has, she has, that little I don’t know what
Elle a, elle a, elle a, ce que d’autres n’ont pas
She has, she has, she has, what others don’t

[Chorus] X 2
Elle a ce petit je ne sais quoi, qui me fait vriller
She has that little I don’t know what that makes me spin
Parce que une seconde loin de ses bras, peut me faire plier
Because a second away from her arms, can make me bend/submit
Quand nos corps se confondent sous les draps
When our bodies merge under the sheets
J’aime l’entendre crier, oh nan
I like to hear her scream/cry out, oh no
Jamais je ne pourrais l’oublier car elle et moi sommes liés
I could never forget her because she and I are connected

Elle a by Keen’V

About the Artist

Cultural References, Idioms and Explanations

Song Lyrics with Grammatical Breakdown

Lyrics with Translation

La Recette by Slimane

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Elle a by Keen’V

About the Artist

Cultural References, Idioms and Explanations

Song Lyrics with Grammatical Breakdown

Lyrics with Translation

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