What is the song about?

The song speaks directly to someone who is afraid: his hands are trembling, his heart is beating fast, he feels empty. Little by little, the voice encourages him to breathe, to look at himself in the mirror, and to find the strength within. By the end, he is no longer nerveux, he is courageux and moves toward the light.

Useful words and expressions

  • trembler: to shake involuntarily, because of fear or cold.
  • avoir peur: to be afraid, to feel fear. Tu as vraiment peur.
  • le pouls bat fort: the heart beats fast and hard (in le pouls, you do not pronounce the "l" or the "s": [pu]).
  • briser le sort: to break a curse or spell, here to change a situation that seems fixed.
  • rallumer la flamme: to bring back energy, drive, or hope.
  • respirer un bon coup: to take a deep breath, often to calm down.
  • la glace: here, it means the mirror (and not the ice cream you eat).
  • le doute te tient: you can't make up your mind, hesitation is holding you back.
  • se lancer: to dare to start something difficult.
  • prendre son courage à deux mains: to summon all one's courage to do something difficult. A very common expression.

Grammar

The imperative

The song gives a lot of advice in the imperative: respire, avance, regarde. For -er verbs, the 2nd person singular drops the "s": tu respires → respire !
Watch out for the verb être, which is irregular: sois. In the negative form: Ne sois pas timide.

Pouvoir + infinitive

Tu peux être fort, tu peux rallumer, tu peux changer: after pouvoir, the verb stays in the infinitive.

Il faut / Il est temps de + infinitive

  • Il faut se lancer: it is necessary.
  • Il est temps de prendre son courage à deux mains: it is the right moment.
These expressions are impersonal, which is why we say se lancer and son courage, even though the song addresses "tu".

Pronominal verbs

L'ombre s'efface, se lancer: the pronoun is part of the verb.

Adjective agreement

The song uses the masculine form: fort, courageux, un héros. For a girl, we say: forte, courageuse, une héroïne.

"l'on"

C'est ce que l'on aime: the "l'" before on is slightly formal and makes the sentence flow more smoothly. In spoken French, people more often say c'est ce qu'on aime.

Watch out for poetic license

  • Tu sais ce qu'il faut: the sentence is shortened to rhyme with héros. In everyday French, we say tu sais ce qu'il faut faire.
  • C'est ce que l'on aime is mainly used to rhyme with toi-même; the meaning remains a bit vague.