Formidable by Stromae was the second single off Racine Carrée. 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.
The video from Stromae includes English translation subtitles. It features Stromae stumbling around and pretending to be drunk. The translation is just below.
Stromae – Formidable Lyrics and English Translation
| French | English |
|---|---|
| [Refrain] | [Chorus] |
| Formidable, formidable | Wonderful, wonderful |
| Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable | You were wonderful, I was pathetic |
| Nous étions formidables | We were wonderful |
| Formidable | Wonderful |
| Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable | You were wonderful, I was pathetic |
| Nous étions formidables | We were wonderful |
| [Couplet 1] | [Verse 1] |
| Oh bébé - oups ! - mademoiselle | Oh baby - oops - mademoiselle |
| J'vais pas vous draguer, promis juré | I don't want to pick you up, I promise you, I swear |
| J'suis célibataire, depuis hier putain ! | I'm single, since yesterday, fuck it! |
| J'peux pas faire d'enfant et bon c'est pas - eh reviens ! | I can't have a baby and well it's not - hey come back! |
| Cinq minutes quoi ! J't'ai pas insultée | Just 5 minutes! I didn't insult you |
| J'suis poli, courtois, et un peu fort bourré | I'm polite, respectful, and definitely shit-faced |
| Et pour les mecs comme moi, vous avez autre chose à faire hein | You don't want to talk to a guy like me huh? |
| Vous m'auriez vu hier | If only you'd seen me yesterday |
| J'étais... | I was... |
| [Refrain] | [Chorus] |
| Formidable, formidable | Wonderful, wonderful |
| Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable | You were wonderful, I was pathetic |
| Nous étions formidables | We were wonderful |
| Formidable | Wonderful |
| Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable | You were wonderful, I was pathetic |
| Nous étions formidables | We were wonderful |
| [Couplet 2] | [Verse 2] |
| Eh tu t'es regardé, tu t'crois beau | Hey look at you, checking yourself out, you think you're hot stuff |
| Parce que tu t'es marié, mais c'est qu'un anneau | Because you're married, but it's just a ring |
| Mec, tu t'emballe pas, elle va t'larguer comme elles le font chaque fois | Dude, don't get carried away, she's going to dump you like they always do |
| Et puis l'autre fille, tu lui en as parlé? | And the other girl, did you mention her? |
| Si tu veux je lui dis, comme ça c'est réglé | If you want I'll tell your her (your wife), then it's sorted |
| Et au p'tit aussi, enfin si vous en avez | And the kid too, if you have one |
| Attends trois ans, sept ans, et là vous verrez | Wait three years, seven years, then you'll see |
| Si c'est... | If it's... |
| [Refrain] | [Chorus] |
| Formidable, formidable | Wonderful, wonderful |
| Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable | You were wonderful, I was pathetic |
| Nous étions formidables | We were wonderful |
| Formidable | Wonderful |
| Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable | You were wonderful, I was pathetic |
| Nous étions formidables | We were wonderful |
| [Couplet 3] | [Verse 3] |
| Et petite - oh pardon ! - petit | Hey little girl - oh sorry - little boy |
| Tu sais dans la vie y'a ni méchant ni gentil | You know in life there's no bad guys or good guys |
| Si Maman est chiante, c'est qu'elle a peur d'être mamie | If Mommy is bitchy, it's because she's afraid of being a granny |
| Si Papa trompe Maman, c'est parce que Maman est vieillit, tiens | If Daddy is cheating on Mommy, it's because Mommy is getting old, hold on |
| Pourquoi t'es tout rouge ? Ben reviens gamin ! | Why are you blushing? Come back here kid! |
| Et qu'est-ce que vous avez tous, à me regarder comme un singe, vous ? | And what's up with all you people, looking at me like I'm a monkey? |
| Ah oui, vous êtes saints, vous ! | Right, as if you're all saints! |
| Bandes de macaques ! | Bunch of monkeys! |
| Donnez-moi un bébé singe, il sera... | Give me a baby monkey, he'll be... |
| [Refrain] | [Chorus] |
| Formidable, formidable | Wonderful, wonderful |
| Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable | You were wonderful, I was pathetic |
| Nous étions formidables | We were wonderful |
| Formidable | Wonderful |
| Tu étais formidable, j'étais fort minable | You were wonderful, I was pathetic |
| Nous étions formidables | We were wonderful |
Formidable Lyrics and Vocabulary Breakdown
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.
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.”
This song uses some slang words and phrases, so let’s look at them.
Verse 1
In the first verse, Stromae is basically drunk in the street and is talking to a stranger, a woman, randomly and maybe even a bit rudely. He’s just been dumped the day before and he’s drunk and feeling sorry for himself. Let’s look at the vocabulary:
draguer: to hit on someone, to pick someone up
When Stromae says “J’vais pas vous draguer” he’s saying “I’m not going to hit on you” or “I’m not trying to pick you up.” This is a slang term.
putain: fuck
This is definitely a swear! Putain literally translates as “whore” or “prostitute” but in French it’s the equivalent of fuck in English. In some contexts though it can also mean whore, so if someone calls you a “putain” feel free to slap them! 😉
bourée: shit-faced, very drunk
This is also a common slang term and it’s considered pretty rude, like saying “shit-faced” in English. The standard, polite way of saying “drunk” is to use the word “ivre.”
mecs: guys
mec: guy
The word “mec” is a common slang term that means “guy.” It’s casual but not rude, and can pretty much be used in any situation where it would appropriate to use the English word “guy.” So fine to use with your friends, but you probably don’t want to refer to your boss as “un mec.”
Verse 2
In the second verse, Stromae is still drunk and talking to strangers, but this time he’s talking to a guy. He’s basically lecturing this guy, who is seemingly married, about how his marriage is worthless and will likely fall apart in a few years. He randomly assumes that this guy has a side-chick and offers to tell his wife about her, but we’re to understand that he’s just making things up and drunk ranting at strangers because he’s sad about getting dumped.
The vocabulary in this verse is pretty basic, but here are a few words that are good to know:
un anneau: a ring
tu t’emballe pas – this is a shortened version of “tu ne t’emballe pas” which means “don’t get too excited” or “don’t get carried away.”
s’emballer = to get carried away OR to race
elle va t’larguer: she’s going to dump you
The full spelling of this is “elle va te larguer” but because Stromae is meant to be drunk and slurring his words here, he’s compressing this phrase. This is a slang phrase that is pretty casual, so you can use this with your friends, but should probably avoid it at work.
Verse 3
As if the first two verses weren’t bad enough, in this verse the drunk Stromae (or the character he’s portraying) starts ranting at a kid. He basically tells this kid that life is tough and then yells at all the people staring at him.
There is some more swearing/slang in this verse.
Si Maman est chiante, c’est qu’elle a peur d’être mamie
Si Papa trompe Maman, c’est parce que Maman est vieillit, tiens
“est chiante” means “to be bitchy” or “to be mean.” “Chiante” = bitchy, and is a swear word.
“tromper” in this context means “to cheat on” but “tromper” can mean a number of things, including “to deceive,” “to delude,” “to cheat,” “to fool,” etc.
And finally Stromae ends the song by yelling at a crowd of people and calling the monkeys (specifically “macaques” a breed of monkey). He then gets side-tracked and says, “give me a baby monkey, it will be… wonderful!”
Alright – did you like this song? Did you like the video? Leave a comment below and let me know if you like this Stromae song or if you prefer his more upbeat material (like Papaoutai or Alors On Danse? Let me know in the comments below. Thank you!