'A Quoi tu penses?' by Mireille Mathieu

Another great French singer with immortal talent, Mireille Mathieu takes the heart hostage with her sweet passion. 'A quou tu penses?'



'On ne vit pas...'

On ne vit pas sans se dire adieu,
On ne vit pas sans mourir un peu..
Sans abandonner pour aller plus loin
Sur son chemin quelque chose ou quelqu'un

Je suis venu pour te dire adieu
Un souvenir, meurt toujours un peu
J'ai voulu savoir, ce qu'il m'a resté
Du seul amour, qui ait pu compté.

Je suis venu pour te dire adieu
Ou si tu veux, adieu à nous deux
Comme le jour, où tu m'as fait pleuré
En me disant adieu à jamais.'

This song still sends shivers up my spine and fills my eyes with tears. The music, the lyrics and the incomparable voice of Mireille...

'One does not live without saying farewell,
One does not live without dying a little,
Without abandoning, in order to go further
On the road (towards) something or some one.'

That would be the closest to the literal translation I guess but it is more like the 'chosen road towards something or some one.' The French is better! In order to move forward, one must abandon the past...

It is a sad song of youth, young love and the inexorable march of time. She realises that she will not be 16 again, that she has changed, that life never will be the same again. 'It is not your fault,' she confesses, as she speaks of the completion of studies and other goals, but 'I was only sixteen, sixteen.' She is not the same person now: 'J'ai voulu dire, adieu mes seize ans avant d'aller, vers ce qui m'attend.' 'I wanted to say Farewell to my 16 years before going towards that which awaits me.'

It could be a song of cliches but with Mireille, every emotion and declaration becomes extraordinary.