“Évidemment” is a single by French singer Kendji Girac. It appears on his 2020 album Mi vida. It reached number one on both the French and Belgian charts. This week it is sitting at number 27 on the French radio hits chart, having spent 24 weeks on the chart, and is number 98 on the French singles chart.

Song information from Wikipedia.

About the Artist

Kendji Jason Maillié, who performs as Kendji Girac, is a singer and guitarist from Périgueux, in France’s Dordogne region. Girac is his mother’s family name. Born into a Catalan Romani family, he grew up in a caravan, traveling during the summer and passing winters in Dordogne, and speaking Catalan as his first language. His grandfather taught him to play guitar. In 2013 his grandfather published a video of him singing the Maître Gims song “Bella” online. The video went viral, getting almost 3.8 million views, and got him onto the third season of The Voice : La Plus Belle Voix in 2014. He would go on to win the competition. He released his first album entitled Kenji in September of 2014. It was number one in French album sales for 12 weeks, eventually sold over 1 million copies, and was certified three times Diamond. He has won four NRJ Music Awards and joined the group Les Enfoirés in 2016.

Biographical information from Wikipedia (French and English).

Cultural References, Idioms and Explanations

‘à peine’ – Literally translating as ‘at pain, effort, or difficulty’, this phrase means ‘hardly’, ‘barely’ or ‘scarcely’.

‘se tromper’ – The verb ‘tromper’ means ‘to mislead’, ‘to cheat’ or ‘to deceive’. The reflexive form ‘se tromper’ (literally to deceive or mislead oneself) means ‘to make a mistake’, ‘to be mistaken’ or ‘to get wrong’.

‘à deux’ – Literally translating as ‘in two’, this phrase means ‘together’ or ‘as a couple’.

‘se perdre’ – ‘Perdre’ means to lose, and ‘se perdre’ (reflexive) means ‘to get lost’, ‘to be lost’, ‘to disappear’ or ‘to go to waste’.

‘s’aimer’ – 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’ can mean either ‘we are speaking to ourselves‘, or more likely ‘we are speaking to each other’. In this song we see ‘C’est pas donné à tous ceux qui s’aiment‘ and ‘Pour mieux s’aimer‘ meaning ‘It’s not a given that everyone who loves each other‘ and ‘To love each other better‘.

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.

Évidemmentévidemmentobviously, clearly, of course, evidently | adv

[Verse 1]
C’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp ààat, to, in | prep toustousall, all of, every | adj | masc pl leslesthe | art, def | masc and fem pl humainshumainhuman, human being | noun | masc pl
Dedeof; from | prep pardonnerpardonnerto forgive, to overlook | verb, reg | infin leslesthe | art, def | masc and fem pl mauvaismauvaiswrong, incorrect; bad, poor | adj | masc sing or pl cheminscheminpath, way | noun | masc pl
Mêmemêmeeven | adv d’deof; from | prep | used before vowelsununa | art, indef | masc sing rienrienmere nothing, slightest thing | noun | masc sing
C’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp ààat, to, in | prep toustouseveryone, everybody | pron ceuxceuxthose, the ones | pron | dem quiquiwho, which, that | pron | interr or rel s’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other | pron | third pers sing and pl, reflex | shortened to s' before vowelsaimentaimerto like, to love | verb, reg | third pers pl pres
Dedeof; from | prep rangerrangertidy, clean, put away | verb, sp ch | infin leslesthe | art, def | masc and fem pl erreurserreurerror, mistake; misunderstanding | noun | fem pl quiquiwho, which, that | pron | interr or rel traînenttraînerto drag, touch, hang down to; lie around; hang around | verb, reg | third pers pl pres
Mêmemêmeeven | adv ààat, to, in | prep peinepeinesorrow, grief, pain; effort, exertion; difficulty, trouble; punishment | noun | fem sing | à peine = hardly, barely, scarcely

[Pre-Chorus 1]
Moi,moime | pron | first pers sing, disj j’jeI | pron | first pers sing, sub | shortened to j' before vowelsaiavoirto have | verb, irreg | first pers sing pres pupouvoirto be able to | verb, irreg | pp mememe | pron | first pers sing, dir obj, indir obj, reflex trompertrompermislead, cheat, deceive | verb, reg | infin | se tromper = make a mistake, be mistaken, get wrong dedeof; from | prep routerouteroad; way, route; journey, trip | noun | fem sing
Ononone, people, you, someone; we | pron | third pers sing, subj | conjugates third pers sing, even when means 'we' aavoirto have | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres | aux verb used with pp to form p.c. pupouvoirto be able to | verb, irreg | pp sesehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other | pron | third pers, sing and pl, reflex trompertrompermislead, cheat, deceive | verb, reg | infin | se tromper = make a mistake, be mistaken, get wrong sanssanswithout | prep doutedoutedoubt, uncertainty | noun | masc sing
Touttoutall, entirely, very | adv ça,çathis, that, it | pron | indef dem c’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres vieuxvieuxold | adj | masc sing and pl
C’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelétaitêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing imperf pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech nousnouswe, us | pron | first pers pl, sub, dir obj, indir obj, disj deuxdeuxtwo | adj

[Chorus]
Évidemmentévidemmentobviously, clearly, of course, evidently | adv
Ononone, people, you, someone; we | pron | third pers sing, subj | conjugates third pers sing, even when means 'we' pleurepleurerto cry | verb, reg | third pers sing pres ununa | art, indef | masc sing peupeulittle, a little (bit), not much | adv
Pourpourto; for | prep | to' before verbs, 'for' before nouns or pron's mieuxmieuxbetter, best | noun | masc sing s’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other | pron | third pers sing and pl, reflex | shortened to s' before vowelsaimeraimerto like, to love | verb, reg | infin
Êtreêtreto be | verb, reg | infin ààat, to, in | prep deux,deuxtwo | adj | | à deux = together, as a couple c’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp
Évidemmentévidemmentobviously, clearly, of course, evidently | adv
Fermerfermerclose, shut; turn off; shut down | verb, reg | infin leslesthe | art, def | masc and fem pl yeuxœileye | noun | masc pl
Sursuron, upon; on top of, above | prep lelethe | art, def | masc sing passépassépast, history | noun | masc sing
Êtreêtreto be | verb, irreg | infin ààat, to, in | prep deux,deuxtwo | adj | | à deux = together, as a couple c’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp

[Verse 2]
C’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp dedeof; from | prep tenirtenirto hold; to manage; to control; to stand | verb, irreg | infin longtempslongtemps(for) a long time | adv
Maismaisbut | conj tutuyou | pron | sec pers sing inform, sub m’meme; myself | pron | first pers sing, dir obj, indir obj, and reflex | shortened to m' before vowelsasavoirto have | verb, irreg | sec pers sing pres | aux verb used with the pp to form the p.c. donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp dude + lefrom the, of the | prep + art souriresouriresmile | noun | masc sing souventsouventoften, frequently | adv
Infinimentinfinimentendlessly, infinitely; extremely, totally | adv
C’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp dedeof; from | prep braverbraverbrave; defy; confront, face; stand up to | verb, reg | infin leslesthe | art, def | masc and fem pl mersmersea | noun | fem pl
JejeI | pron | first pers sing, sub mememe | pron | first pers sing, dir obj, indir obj, reflex feraifaireto do, to make | verb, irreg | first pers sing fut tontonyour | adj, poss | masc sing phare,pharelighthouse, beacon, light; headlight | noun | masc sing tatayour | adj, poss | fem sing lumièrelumièrelight; sunlight, daylight; lights, lighting; understanding, knowledge; guiding light | noun | fem sing
Sisiif | conj tutuyou | pron | sec pers inform sing, sub teteyou; yourself | pron | sec pers sing, dir obj, indir obj, and reflex perdsperdrelose, misplace; be deprived of; waste, squander | verb, reg | first and sec pers sing pres | se perdre = to get lost, be lost; disappear; go to waste

[Pre-Chorus 2]
Moi,moime | pron | first pers sing, disj j’jeI | pron | first pers sing, sub | shortened to j' before vowelsaiavoirto have | verb, irreg | first pers sing pres pupouvoirto be able to | verb, irreg | pp mememe | pron | first pers sing, dir obj, indir obj, reflex trompertrompermislead, cheat, deceive | verb, reg | infin | se tromper = make a mistake, be mistaken, get wrong parfoisparfoissometimes, occasionally | adv
Ononone, people, you, someone; we | pron | third pers sing, subj | conjugates third pers sing, even when means 'we' aavoirto have | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres | aux verb used with pp to form p.c. pupouvoirto be able to | verb, irreg | pp sesehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other | pron | third pers sing and pl, reflex trompertrompermislead, cheat, deceive | verb, reg | infin | se tromper = make a mistake, be mistaken, get wrong centcentone hundred | adj foisfoistime | noun | fem sing and pl
Touttoutall, entirely, very | adv ça,çathis, that, it | pron | indef dem c’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres vieuxvieuxold | adj | masc sing and pl
C’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelétaitêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing imperf pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech nousnouswe, us | pron | first pers pl, sub, dir obj, indir obj, disj deuxdeuxtwo | adj

[Chorus]
Évidemmentévidemmentobviously, clearly, of course, evidently | adv
Ononone, people, you, someone; we | pron | third pers sing, subj | conjugates third pers sing, even when means 'we' pleurepleurerto cry | verb, reg | third pers sing pres ununa | art, indef | masc sing peupeulittle, a little (bit), not much | adv
Pourpourto; for | prep | to' before verbs, 'for' before nouns or pron's mieuxmieuxbetter, best | noun | masc sing s’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other | pron | third pers sing and pl, reflex | shortened to s' before vowelsaimeraimerto like, to love | verb, reg | infin
Êtreêtreto be | verb, reg | infin ààat, to, in | prep deux,deuxtwo | adj | | à deux = together, as a couple c’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp
Évidemmentévidemmentobviously, clearly, of course, evidently | adv
Fermerfermerclose, shut; turn off; shut down | verb, reg | infin leslesthe | art, def | masc and fem pl yeuxœileye | noun | masc pl
Sursuron, upon; on top of, above | prep lelethe | art, def | masc sing passépassépast, history | noun | masc sing
Êtreêtreto be | verb, irreg | infin ààat, to, in | prep deux,deuxtwo | adj | | à deux = together, as a couple c’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp

[Pre-Chorus 1]
Moi,moime | pron | first pers sing, disj j’jeI | pron | first pers sing, sub | shortened to j' before vowelsaiavoirto have | verb, irreg | first pers sing pres pupouvoirto be able to | verb, irreg | pp mememe | pron | first pers sing, dir obj, indir obj, reflex trompertrompermislead, cheat, deceive | verb, reg | infin | se tromper = make a mistake, be mistaken, get wrong dedeof; from | prep routerouteroad; way, route; journey, trip | noun | fem sing
Ononone, people, you, someone; we | pron | third pers sing, subj | conjugates third pers sing, even when means 'we' aavoirto have | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres | aux verb used with pp to form p.c. pupouvoirto be able to | verb, irreg | pp sesehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other | pron | third pers, sing and pl, reflex trompertrompermislead, cheat, deceive | verb, reg | infin | se tromper = make a mistake, be mistaken, get wrong sanssanswithout | prep doutedoutedoubt, uncertainty | noun | masc sing
Touttoutall, entirely, very | adv ça,çathis, that, it | pron | indef dem c’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres vieuxvieuxold | adj | masc sing and pl
C’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelétaitêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing imperf pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech nousnouswe, us | pron | first pers pl, sub, dir obj, indir obj, disj deuxdeuxtwo | adj

[Chorus]
Évidemmentévidemmentobviously, clearly, of course, evidently | adv
Ononone, people, you, someone; we | pron | third pers sing, subj | conjugates third pers sing, even when means 'we' pleurepleurerto cry | verb, reg | third pers sing pres ununa | art, indef | masc sing peupeulittle, a little (bit), not much | adv
Pourpourto; for | prep | to' before verbs, 'for' before nouns or pron's mieuxmieuxbetter, best | noun | masc sing s’sehimself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves, each other | pron | third pers sing and pl, reflex | shortened to s' before vowelsaimeraimerto like, to love | verb, reg | infin
Êtreêtreto be | verb, reg | infin ààat, to, in | prep deux,deuxtwo | adj | | à deux = together, as a couple c’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp
Évidemmentévidemmentobviously, clearly, of course, evidently | adv
Fermerfermerclose, shut; turn off; shut down | verb, reg | infin leslesthe | art, def | masc and fem pl yeuxœileye | noun | masc pl
Sursuron, upon; on top of, above | prep lelethe | art, def | masc sing passépassépast, history | noun | masc sing
Êtreêtreto be | verb, irreg | infin ààat, to, in | prep deux,deuxtwo | adj | | à deux = together, as a couple c’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp

[Outro]
C’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp
C’cethis, that, it | pron | indef dem | shortened to c' before a vowelestêtreto be | verb, irreg | third pers sing pres pasne … pasnot | adv | the 'ne' may be omitted in coll speech donnédonnerto give | verb, reg | pp

Lyrics with Translation

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

Évidemment
Obviously

[Verse 1]
C’est pas donné à tous les humains
It’s not a given that all humans
De pardonner les mauvais chemins
Will forgive the wrong paths
Même d’un rien
Even a mere nothing
C’est pas donné à tous ceux qui s’aiment
It’s not a given that everyone who loves each other
De ranger les erreurs qui traînent
Will clean up the errors that are lying around
Même à peine
Even barely

[Pre-Chorus 1]
Moi, j’ai pu me tromper de route
I could have taken the wrong path
On a pu se tromper sans doute
We could have been wrong without a doubt
Tout ça, c’est vieux
All that is old
C’était pas nous deux
It wasn’t the two of us

[Chorus]
Évidemment
Obviously
On pleure un peu
We cry a little bit
Pour mieux s’aimer
To love each other better
Être à deux, c’est pas donné
Being together isn’t a given
Évidemment
Obviously
Fеrmer les yeux
Closing our eyes
Sur lе passé
To the past
Être à deux, c’est pas donné
Being together isn’t a given

[Verse 2]
C’est pas donné de tenir longtemps
It’s not a given to last a long time
Mais tu m’as donné du sourire souvent
But you gave me a smile often
Infiniment
Infinitely
C’est pas donné de braver les mers
It is not a given to brave the seas
Je me ferai ton phare, ta lumière
I’ll make myself your beacon, your guiding light
Si tu te perds
If you get lost

[Pre-Chorus 2]
Moi, j’ai pu me tromper parfois
I could have been wrong sometimes
On a pu se tromper cent fois
We could have been wrong a hundred times
Tout ça, c’est vieux
All that is old
C’était pas nous deux
It wasn’t the two of us

[Chorus]
Évidemment
Obviously
On pleure un peu
We cry a little bit
Pour mieux s’aimer
To love each other better
Être à deux, c’est pas donné
Being together isn’t a given
Évidemment
Obviously
Fеrmer les yeux
Closing our eyes
Sur lе passé
To the past
Être à deux, c’est pas donné
Being together isn’t a given

[Pre-Chorus 1]
Moi, j’ai pu me tromper de route
I could have taken the wrong path
On a pu se tromper sans doute
We could have been wrong without a doubt
Tout ça, c’est vieux
All that is old
C’était pas nous deux
It wasn’t the two of us

[Chorus]
Évidemment
Obviously
On pleure un peu
We cry a little bit
Pour mieux s’aimer
To love each other better
Être à deux, c’est pas donné
Being together isn’t a given
Évidemment
Obviously
Fеrmer les yeux
Closing our eyes
Sur lе passé
To the past
Être à deux, c’est pas donné
Being together isn’t a given

[Outro]
C’est pas donné
It’s not a given
C’est pas donné
It’s not a given

Grammatical Concepts Used in this Song

• Possessive Adjectives:
  • Je me ferai ton phare, ta lumière

• Contractions:
  • Mais tu m’as donné du sourire souvent

• Reflexive Pronouns:
  • Moi, j’ai pu me tromper de route
  • On a pu se tromper sans doute
  • Je me ferai ton phare, ta lumière
  • Si tu te perds
  • Moi, j’ai pu me tromper parfois
  • On a pu se tromper cent fois
  • C’est pas donné à tous ceux qui s’aiment
  • Pour mieux s’aimer

• Object Pronouns:
  • Mais tu m‘as donné du sourire souvent

• Demonstrative Pronouns:
  • C’est pas donné à tous ceux qui s’aiment

• Indefinite Demonstrative Pronoun:
  • C’est pas donné à tous les humains
  • C’est pas donné à tous ceux qui s’aiment
  • C’est pas donné de tenir longtemps
  • C’est pas donné de braver les mers
  • C’est pas donné
  • Être à deux, c’est pas donné
  • C’est pas donné de braver les mers

• Disjunctive Pronouns:
  • Moi, j’ai pu me tromper de route
  • Moi, j’ai pu me tromper parfois

• Relative Pronoun:
  • C’est pas donné à tous ceux qui s’aiment
  • De ranger les erreurs qui traînent

• Irregular:
  • être:
    • C’est pas donné à tous les humains
    • C’est pas donné à tous ceux qui s’aiment
    • Tout ça, c’est vieux
    • C’est pas donné de tenir longtemps
    • C’est pas donné de braver les mers
    • C’est pas donné
    • Être à deux, c’est pas donné
    • C’est pas donné de braver les mers
  • avoir:
    • Moi, j’ai pu me tromper de route
    • On a pu se tromper sans doute
    • Mais tu m’as donné du sourire souvent
    • Moi, j’ai pu me tromper parfois
    • On a pu se tromper cent fois

• Reflexive:
  • Moi, j’ai pu me tromper de route
  • On a pu se tromper sans doute
  • Je me ferai ton phare, ta lumière
  • Si tu te perds
  • Moi, j’ai pu me tromper parfois
  • On a pu se tromper cent fois

• Reciprocal:
  • C’est pas donné à tous ceux qui s’aiment
  • Pour mieux s’aimer

• Imparfait:
  • C’était pas nous deux

• Future:
  • Je me ferai ton phare, ta lumière

• Passé Composé:
  • Moi, j’ai pu me tromper de route
  • On a pu se tromper sans doute
  • Mais tu m’as donné du sourire souvent
  • Moi, j’ai pu me tromper parfois
  • On a pu se tromper cent fois