Narrative analysis of 48 song lyrics in french |
This page is a translation extracted from our analysis of 48 French song lyrics.
For the original in french, check this page: Booba – Tombé pour elle.
Story&Drama analyzes the violent and poetic lyrics of the song Tombé pour elle by the rapper Booba, an ode to the “thug life” disguised as a romantic love song.
Music video of Tombé pour elle by Booba
Lyrics and translation of Tombé pour elle by Booba
Verse 1
15 dans le chargeur, 6 dans le barillet
15 in the magazine, 6 in the barrelFais-moi à manger, donne-moi ton cœur j’vais te marier
Make me food, give me your heart I’ll marry youTellement d’ennemis, si peu d’alliés
So many enemies, so few alliesMais les seuls qui m’entourent sont pratiquement tous fous à lier
But the only ones around me are practically all crazySwag Afghanistan, 47-AK on sait manier
Swag Afghanistan, 47-AK we can handleToc, toc, toc, sombre négro sur ton palier
Knock, knock, knock, dark nigga on your doorstepIls attendent devant leur écran comme des merdes laisse-les saliver
They’re waiting in front of their screens like shit let them salivateTout niquer, tout niquer, tous les niquer, c’est ça l’idée
Fuck it all, fuck it all, fuck it all, that’s the ideaChorus
La rue m’a rendu fou, je suis fou d’elle
The street made me crazy, I’m crazy for herJe n’ai d’yeux que pour elle
I only have eyes for herLa seule qui me convienne
The only one that suits meJe suis tombé pour elle
I fell for herRester vraie sa qualité
Staying true her qualityRien vu rien entendu, pas vu pas pris la mentalité
Nothing seen nothing heard, not seen not taken the mentalityTatoué pour qu’j’me souvienne
Tattooed so I can rememberJe suis tombé pour elle
I fell for herVerse 2
Attila Le Hun sur toi, c’est comme ca que j’vais arriver
Attila The Hun on you, that’s how I’m gonna get thereTe comparer à nous sale fils de chien tu n’as pas idée
Compare yourself to us you son of a bitch you have no ideaPeloton d’exécution comme en Chine j’les ai alignés
Firing squad like in China I lined them up92i sur l’écusson, depuis ourson j’suis validé
92i on the patch, since bear I’m validatedJ’règle ça au sabre laser, toi à l’épée
I’ll settle this with a lightsaber, you with a swordDepuis Le Crime Paie j’leur fait la ‘sère, rien n’peut m’arrêter
Since Crime Pays I’ve been doing the ‘sere, nothing can stop meMal garé sur le droit chemin, tous les jours j’suis verbalisé
I’ve been parked on the wrong side of the road and I’m being fined every dayFraîchement habillé, soigné, le négro est calibré
Freshly dressed, well groomed, the nigga is calibratedChorus
Verse 3
Street life, pas de diplomatique immunité
Street life, no diplomatic immunityJ’suis là pour tout baiser, pas pour sauver l’humanité
I’m here to fuck it up, not save humanityRien à foutre, si tu parles mal on va t’allumer
I don’t give a fuck, if you talk dirty we’ll light you upJ’veux pas faire la paix mais j’veux bien test le calumet
I don’t wanna make peace but I’m willing to test the pipeOn m’a toujours dit : “Négro tu n’vas jamais y arriver”
I’ve always been told: “Nigger you’ll never make itAujourd’hui ces mêmes enfants de putes veulent me saluer
Now these same sons of bitches want to say helloÜ tréma sur le R1, graisse la patte aux douaniers
Ü umlaut on R1, grease the paw of the customs officersVingt ans de loyer au cou, six années de retraite au poignet
Twenty years of rent on my neck, six years of retirement on my wristChorus
Booba – Tombé pour elle – Analysis, explanation, interpretation and meaning of the lyrics
Three verses and 3 refrains intertwined, this text adopts a very classical form. Its content is less so!
Instead of making a clear speech or telling a complete story, the singer describes, comments, insults, plays, jokes, asserts, a little bit in bulk and by association, from cock to ass. As we will see, Booba has written a profoundly anti-conformist text, very dense and rich in multiple meanings.
Verse 1
15 dans le chargeur, 6 dans le barillet
15 in the magazine, 6 in the barrel
This first verse starts strong, it is about counting the ammunition of a weapon. The hero is probably Booba himself. But immediately the text offers a double reading: the 15 can designate the more than 15 years of Booba’s career, his “magazine” being his experience, and the 6 in the barrel can designate the 6 albums released by Booba.
Fais-moi à manger, donne-moi ton cœur j’vais te marier
Make me food, give me your heart I’ll marry you
We don’t know it yet, but he’s talking to the street. He asks him to feed him. If we know a little Booba, we know his character of gangster claimed and we understand that he asks the street traffic to feed him. But we also know his machismo and we can therefore think that he orders an undefined woman to make him food, which is an obvious anti-feminist provocation.
Tellement d’ennemis, si peu d’alliés
So many enemies, so few alliesMais les seuls qui m’entourent sont pratiquement tous fous à lier
But the only ones around me are practically all crazy
These remarks confirm that Booba is the Hero, and that he can hardly count on any Helpers around him. We still don’t know his goal: suspense.
Swag Afghanistan, 47-AK on sait manier
Swag Afghanistan, 47-AK we can handleToc, toc, toc, sombre négro sur ton palier
Knock, knock, knock, dark nigga on your doorstepIls attendent devant leur écran comme des merdes laisse-les saliver
They’re waiting in front of their screens like shit let them salivate
Nice parallelism by antitheses: active / passive, alone / several, reality / fiction.
Tout niquer, tout niquer, tous les niquer, c’est ça l’idée
Fuck it all, fuck it all, fuck it all, that’s the idea
The goal is finally expressed: fuck them all. It is a goal which, in itself, is difficult to reach, and not very realistic.
Chorus
La rue m’a rendu fou, je suis fou d’elle
The street made me crazy, I’m crazy for her
This declaration of love to the street surprises us in many ways.
Firstly, because we rarely associate lyricism in love with the violence of weapons.
Then, because in this very raw context we do not expect to see the gangster sign a superb allegory in which the woman is replaced by the street and where the street, synonymous of misery and violence, is preferred to the woman synonymous of love and passion.
Finally, because all the previous verse heroized Booba, while this chorus shows him subjected, dependent, in love.
Je n’ai d’yeux que pour elle
I only have eyes for herLa seule qui me convienne
The only one that suits meJe suis tombé pour elle
I fell for her
Wonderful play on words between falling in love and falling for a crime, i.e. being arrested and going to jail, two expressions that are diametrically opposed.
Rester vraie sa qualité
Staying true her qualityRien vu rien entendu, pas vu pas pris la mentalité
Nothing seen nothing heard, not seen not taken the mentality
New play on words between the world of crime and that of love. Rien vu rien entendu : allusion to the law of silence which commands to keep silent when one has witnessed a crime or offence. Pas vu pas pris : can be read in two senses, either “not identified or arrested for a crime”, or “not chosen in love”.
Tatoué pour qu’j’me souvienne
Tattooed so I can rememberJe suis tombé pour elle
I fell for her
It is translated: I tattooed my imprisonments to remember them forever.
Verse 2
Attila Le Hun sur toi, c’est comme ca que j’vais arriver
Attila The Hun on you, that’s how I’m gonna get there
We know that the Hero’s goal is to fuck them all up, so the attack begins – Act II, development – with Booba comparing himself to the famous barbarian Attila, whose army, it is said, did not grow back. He defines his Antagonist, you. Us, the public?
Te comparer à nous sale fils de chien tu n’as pas idée
Compare yourself to us you son of a bitch you have no ideaPeloton d’exécution comme en Chine j’les ai alignés
Firing squad like in China I lined them up92i sur l’écusson, depuis ourson j’suis validé
92i on the patch, since bear I’m validated
Allusions to the fact that Booba grew up in the 92 department and that he is recognized as a rapper since a long time.
J’règle ça au sabre laser, toi à l’épée
I’ll settle this with a lightsaber, you with a sword
Mister gangster is a Star Wars fan, apparently.
Depuis Le Crime Paie j’leur fait la ‘sère, rien n’peut m’arrêter
Since Crime Pays I’ve been doing the ‘sere, nothing can stop me
The ‘sere = misery.
Le Crime Paie is a song that made Booba famous as a duet with another singer, Ali, under the name Lunatic.
Mal garé sur le droit chemin, tous les jours j’suis verbalisé
I’ve been parked on the wrong side of the road and I’m being fined every day
Probably an allusion to the fact that Booba is Muslim but not religious. Verbalised : funny play on words, the Hero both fines and fines.
Fraîchement habillé, soigné, le négro est calibré
Freshly dressed, well groomed, the nigga is calibratedVerse 3
Street life, pas de diplomatique immunité
Street life, no diplomatic immunity
Rephrasing the goal.
J’suis là pour tout baiser, pas pour sauver l’humanité
I’m here to fuck it up, not save humanityRien à foutre, si tu parles mal on va t’allumer
I don’t give a fuck, if you talk dirty we’ll light you upJ’veux pas faire la paix mais j’veux bien test le calumet
I don’t wanna make peace but I’m willing to test the pipe
Probably referring to smoking cannabis.
On m’a toujours dit : “Négro tu n’vas jamais y arriver”
I’ve always been told: “Nigger you’ll never make itAujourd’hui ces mêmes enfants de putes veulent me saluer
Now these same sons of bitches want to say helloÜ tréma sur le R1, graisse la patte aux douaniers
Ü umlaut on R1, grease the paw of the customs officers
The R1 is a Yamaha motorcycle model for which Booba signed his own version, the Ünkut.
Vingt ans de loyer au cou, six années de retraite au poignet
Twenty years of rent on my neck, six years of retirement on my wrist
Nice parallelism with the initial verse that mentioned 15 in the magazine, 6 in the barrel: so Booba arrived in the song with guns and left with a large sum of money, which makes the typical scenario of a robbery.
It’s not very clear, but this verse could pass for an Act III crisis, since it symbolically accomplishes the goal of fucking them all.
Chorus
Conclusion
Funny story isn’t it? Between the allusions, the jokes, the boasts, we get lost a little, so let’s recap again:
During the first verse, a main character takes shape: he is armed, he gives orders, he affirms that his goal is “to fuck them all up, that’s the idea”. Apparently, the company and maybe also the public are his personal enemies.
Then comes the chorus, where our hyper-aggressive gangster makes an ambiguous declaration of love: to the street, or to an unnamed woman? The ambiguity is subtle and delicious, the double meaning is maintained by each term: like a woman, the street makes you crazy, the street is the only one that suits the gangster, we fall for the street, the quality of the street is to remain true, it does not betray and does not speak, he tattooed the street like the name of a woman.
In verse 2, the rapper continues to threaten an undefined Antagonist by displaying his own strengths: his origins, his success, his money, his experience.
The chorus confirms that he is crazy, crazy for her, crazy for the street…
In verse 3, the action has not moved one iota. The Hero recalls his goal, “to fuck everything”, and lists his strengths: he is motivated, violent, respectable, and rich.
The chorus confirms again: he is crazy, crazy for her, crazy for the street.
As far as plot is concerned, we just have a gangster who gets agitated in the first act: he takes up arms, goes on the attack. We know what we risk according to him, but we won’t know the end of the story because everyone knows that there will be no fight.
The gangster can thus afford the luxury of singing us a love song while threatening us with destruction, and vice versa. All this is never more than a show-off, the wind of words.
Finally, one can define this song as a declaration of war to the society made from a fictitious situation. The story is not developed at all, but the recourse to fiction, to the allegory of love, is enough to give to the message of defiance an almost… humanistic beauty, finally. When he is willing to put down his gun and take up his pen, the gangster reveals a beautiful and flowery language like that of a poet.
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