The chorus plays on the synonym “formidable” which means wonderful, and “fort minable” which means “very pathetic.” Stromae says that his ex-partner was “wonderful” and his relationship was “wonderful” but he was (and is) “pathetic.” Well as you can probably tell Stromae went through a rough break up! In the music video he is pretending to be drunk in public and this entire song is basically the drunken rant of a man who just got dumped. Why are you blushing? Come back here kid!Įt qu'est-ce que vous avez tous, à me regarder comme un singe, vous ?Īnd what's up with all you people, looking at me like I'm a monkey?įormidable Lyrics and Vocabulary Breakdown Pourquoi t'es tout rouge ? Ben reviens gamin ! If Daddy is cheating on Mommy, it's because Mommy is getting old, hold on Si Papa trompe Maman, c'est parce que Maman est vieillit, tiens If Mommy is bitchy, it's because she's afraid of being a granny Si Maman est chiante, c'est qu'elle a peur d'être mamie You know in life there's no bad guys or good guys Tu sais dans la vie y'a ni méchant ni gentil Wait three years, seven years, then you'll see If you want I'll tell your her (your wife), then it's sortedĪttends trois ans, sept ans, et là vous verrez Si tu veux je lui dis, comme ça c'est réglé Mec, tu t'emballe pas, elle va t'larguer comme elles le font chaque foisĭude, don't get carried away, she's going to dump you like they always doĮt puis l'autre fille, tu lui en as parlé? Parce que tu t'es marié, mais c'est qu'un anneauīecause you're married, but it's just a ring Hey look at you, checking yourself out, you think you're hot stuff You don't want to talk to a guy like me huh? I'm polite, respectful, and definitely shit-facedĮt pour les mecs comme moi, vous avez autre chose à faire hein J'suis poli, courtois, et un peu fort bourré I can't have a baby and well it's not - hey come back! J'peux pas faire d'enfant et bon c'est pas - eh reviens ! I don't want to pick you up, I promise you, I swear Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable Stromae – Formidable Lyrics and English Translation French It features Stromae stumbling around and pretending to be drunk.
The video from Stromae includes English translation subtitles. Here are the Formidable lyrics and translation, with a breakdown of the vocabulary in the song, and an analysis of the song and music video. (with no corresponding section in the Spanish version)īaby girl.Formidable by Stromae was the second single off Racine Carrée. I can’t anymore (I can’t anymore) Same section in the English version: With this melody, your color, your fantasy I can’t take it anymore (I can’t take it anymore) With you physics and your chemistry and your anatomyīeer and tequila and your mouth with mine La cerveza y el tequila y tu boca con la mía (1:23-1:44) Con tu física y tu química también tu anatomía Got me begging, got me hoping that the night don’t stop (rock that body ’cause we don’t stop party)
Something ‘bout your body says, “Come and take me.” (because me need it baby girl) Got me feeling like I’m flying, like I’m out of space (heart beat) (0:38-0:58)You look at me and, girl, you take me to another place (because me need it baby girl) The night when I’m begging of you not to let the sun rise Same section in the English version: I look at you and it takes my breath awayĪnd in silence your look says a thousand words La noche en la que te suplico que no salga el sol Y en un silencio tu mirada dice mil palabras (0:42-1:02)Yo te miro y se me corta la respiración
#BAILANDO SONG TRANSLATION IN ENGLISH FULL#
However, I felt a video of my own was in order, so you could see my rant in full force. I also include break-downs of several sections in English and Spanish with the time when they appear in their corresponding video. If you’d like to watch the official videos, I’ve included them at the end of this post. It’s clear that the English version was marketed to Americans and has that typical skating-the-line-of-offensive-and-sexist feel. It usually makes me a little sad, perhaps slightly annoyed, but I recently became incredibly angry, disappointed, and offended by a terrible “translation” (if you could even call it that) of the song Bailando by Enrique Iglesias. Here’s the thing though, there are emotions and meanings that are simply lost in a translation, and there are things that are hacked away, twisted, or changed altogether. I hate reading translations of Spanish because things just tend to be lost in translation. However, there are moments, or feelings, that just make so much more sense to me in Spanish. English is my native language, so it is generally easier for me to express myself in English. I am constantly fascinated by how languages evolve and cater to the cultures that speak them.