| Quoi d’plus solitaire, qu’avoir l’destin comme pre, l’mal comme compre
| What could be more lonely than having destiny as a father, evil as understanding
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| Quoi faire part s’taire, quand la mort t’guette sur l’asphalte
| What to do to keep quiet, when death awaits you on the asphalt
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| Les pieds sur terre, les yeux rivs sur les autres, quand ils rentraient
| Feet on the ground, eyes riveted on the others, when they returned
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| Moi j’tais, aux mmes endroits fixs, la tte dans les toiles, et Fallait-la voir, cette putain d’toile, irrelle que f’sait ma vie
| Me, I was, in the same fixed places, my head in the stars, and Was it necessary to see it, this fucking star, unreal that my life makes
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| La principale, celle qui s’trouve dans la rue, hlas la spirale
| The main one, the one in the street, alas the spiral
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| Celle qui t’mne vers l’gouffre, ou droit vers l’univers carcral
| The one that takes you to the abyss, or straight to the prison universe
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| O les gosses, s’perdent o pour la plupart des mes souffrent, o les lames
| O the kids get lost where most souls suffer, where the blades
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| s’ouvrent
| open
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| O on t’prouve, qu’seule la force t’couvre, et qu’les faibles crvent
| Where you are tested, only strength covers you, and the weak die
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| Dans c’milieu, fallait pas tre prt, mais dtermin sans trve
| In this environment, you shouldn't be ready, but relentlessly determined
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| Quand ils rentraient chez eux, j’trouvais qu’ils trahissaient la cause ouais
| When they came home, I thought they betrayed the cause yeah
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| Pour moi y’avait pas d’pause, on tait l, fallait occuper l’terrain
| For me there was no break, we were there, we had to occupy the field
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| Quand ils rentraient chez eux, la force, vire la haine, celle qui cerne
| When they returned home, the force, turns the hatred, that which surrounds
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| Berne, les proies ternes, qui s’perdaient, dans nos ruelles
| Bern, the dull prey, which got lost, in our alleys
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| O rgne l’cruel, l’ring des duels, l’truc habituel
| O rgne the cruel, the ring of duels, the usual thing
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| Sauf qu’l, on voulait surtout pas qu’nos coeurs s’glent, Mam’zelle
| Except that, above all, we didn't want our hearts to go wrong, Mam'zelle
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| Malgr tout, on vivait peut-tre mieux qu’ceux qu’avaient tout
| Despite everything, maybe we lived better than those who had everything
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| On riait au maximum, sachant qu’on avanait dans l’flou
| We laughed to the fullest, knowing that we were moving forward in the blur
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| C’tait l’but, pas crever, vivre, dire qu’on existe, mme ivres
| That was the goal, not to die, to live, to say that we exist, even drunk
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| Ma main libre, livre ma fibre, quand nos coeurs vibrent
| My free hand, deliver my fiber, when our hearts vibrate
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| Cible, la mme chose, Rh, ma passion la zik
| Target, the same thing, Rh, my passion the zik
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| L’motion, chez nous, a jamais t basique
| Emotion, with us, has never been basic
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| Quand ils rentraient chez eux, j’avais toujours d’ct une p’tite larme
| When they came home, I always had a little tear on my side
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| L’fait d’avoir grandi, sans pre ni mre, m’a fait couler trop d’grammes
| The fact of having grown up, without a father or a mother, made me sink too many grams
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| Toujours de ceux qui restaient au sol colls, dans le dcor
| Always of those who remained on the ground glued, in the decor
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| Comme ces bancs, devant l’ocan bant
| Like these benches, in front of the bant ocean
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| 100 fois le monde fut refait rves conqurants
| 100 times the world was remade conquering dreams
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| Les pieds dedans on luttait vaillamment
| Feet in we fought valiantly
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| A l’heure o les autres rentraient les survivants
| As the others returned the survivors
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| Errer dehors cherchant la clef des champs
| Wander outside seeking the key to the fields
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| Les nuages chevauchant, l’espoir s’accrochant;
| Clouds riding, hope clinging;
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| Malgr a, on riait frquemment
| Despite that, we laughed frequently
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| Sous le lampadaire, a chambrait mchamment
| Beneath the lamppost, it was chambering wickedly
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| Inconscients, peut-tre, alors que dj du son, nous tions les amants
| Unconscious, perhaps, when already sound, we were the lovers
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| Le principal soucis, c’tait pas de manger dcemment
| The main concern was not to eat decently
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| J’rentrais doucement, c’t’heure tardive, quand le soleil chassait la nuit
| I was coming home slowly, it's late hour, when the sun chased away the night
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| Rempli d’exploits dans cet’jungle, o tous les jours j’chassais l’ennui sur les
| Filled with exploits in this jungle, where every day I hunted boredom on the
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| Marches, des heures sur le derche, blotti sur une seule barre de mtal
| Steps, hours on the derche, huddled on a single metal bar
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| Misre mentale, 10 balles en poche avec une Marlboro Light
| Mental misery, 10 in the pocket with a Marlboro Light
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| Moi, j’chiale pas, je relate, c’tait pas l’ghetto, mais que pouvais-je
| Me, I don't cry, I relate, it wasn't the ghetto, but what could I
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| Esprer d’mieux, en quittant l’domicile de mon pre si tt Ma mre croyait qu’j’trainais dans l’mtro, faisant la manche
| Hoping for better, leaving my father's house so soon My mother thought I was hanging out in the subway, begging
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| Mais j’comptais les minutes ma montre, et tous ces putains d’jours c’tait
| But I was counting the minutes on my watch, and all those fucking days it was
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| Dimanche
| Sunday
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| Comme quand j’retirais l’huile, sur mes lvres, de mon revers de manche
| Like when I removed the oil, on my lips, from my cuff
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| Regrettant les repas d’Man, quand j’tais mme, devant mon verre de menthe
| Regretting the meals of Man, when I was even, in front of my glass of mint
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| Ouais timide, facilement vert de honte, cet air me hante
| Yeah shy, easily green with shame, that look haunts me
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| C’est bte comme on en arrive har ces petits cons pleins d’chance
| It's silly how it comes to these lucky little cunts
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| Quand ils rentraient chez eux, l’assiette fumait la maison
| When they got home the plate smoked the house
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| J’fumais des bongs draison, dernier con rester assis sur l’banc
| I was smoking bongs draison, last idiot to stay seated on the bench
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| Prsent chaque saison, rimes magistrales, forges l o l’homme
| Present every season, masterful rhymes, forged where man
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| Se forge, affrontant l’froid glacial en parka les nuits de mistral
| Is forged, facing the freezing cold in a parka on mistral nights
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| La tte dans les toiles, mes couteurs, crachaient l’son d’Marley Marl
| Head in the stars, my headphones, spitting the sound of Marley Marl
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| J’voulais m’faire la malle, sentiments poss sur un carnet sale
| I wanted to make the trunk, feelings poss on a dirty notebook
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| A force de lire, j’compris qu’Dieu n’a d’gal, j’tais dans l’noir
| By dint of reading, I understood that God has no equal, I was in the dark
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| Et savoir que personne tendrait la main pour m’en sortir m’a fait mal
| And knowing that no one would reach out to get me out hurt me
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| Quand ils rentraient sur le palier laissant soucis et crasses
| When they came back on the landing leaving worries and grime
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| J’suis rest l subir, jusqu' c’que mon propre thorax m’crase
| I stayed there to suffer, until my own chest crushed me
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| Comme quoi, le silence de la douleur est parfois bien plus fort que le bruit de la rage
| Like what, the silence of pain is sometimes much louder than the sound of rage
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| Toujours de ceux qui restaient au sol colls, dans le dcor
| Always of those who remained on the ground glued, in the decor
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| Comme ces bancs matre sant
| Like these master health benches
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| C’trottoir a vu natre un nombre d’MC consquents
| This sidewalk has seen the birth of a number of substantial MCs
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| Une grappe de persistants
| A Cluster of Persistent
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| Peu peu s’forgeant l’heure o d’autres patientaient leur repas
| Gradually forging the time when others waited for their meal
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| S’rchauffant, nous on parlait au vent
| Warming up, we were talking to the wind
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| Les nuages chevauchant
| The clouds riding
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| L’estomac rugissant
| The roaring stomach
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| La musique mrissant
| The music grows
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| Nos rves se dressant vers le firmament
| Our dreams rising to the firmament
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| C’est pas qu’on voulait fuir maman
| It's not that we wanted to run away from mom
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| Mais ce truc, on y tenait fermement
| But this stuff, we held on tight
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| Ca nous a fait grandir, patiemment mrir
| It made us grow, patiently mature
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| L’envie de dire
| The urge to say
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| Commencer s’languir | start to yearn |