We don’t give up!
A French song of struggle and of hope
Hi all,
Thank you for joining me for today’s song, “On Lâche Rien” (We Don’t Give Up!), by HK and the Saltimbanks. If you’d like to hear the song before you read the background, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.
Feel free to stand up and dance!
Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics (written in italics). Comments and questions are welcome. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below. TOEFL (PBT) 450+, Eiken 2, CEFR B1.
(786 words)
Background
On Lâche Rien was written in 2010. At the time, the French President was Nicolas Sarkozy, and there were many problems in French society. For example, the government wanted to raise the retirement age for pensions from 65 to 67 while keeping tax cuts for companies and the wealthy. The government said that spending on social programs would also need to be reduced. This led to protests all over France.
The Song
The song inspires people to stand up for what’s right. It talks about how life is not fair for many people, whether they live in big cities or in the countryside. The song says that these problems are tough and that people are getting more and more upset about it.
From deep in my ghetto / To the depths of your countryside
Our reality is the same / and everywhere revolt is brewing
We didn’t have our place in this world
We didn't have the right face to get a job (meaning there is discrimination based on the way you look)
We weren't born into privilege
We didn't have daddy's credit card
The lyrics also talk about how those with a lot of power purposely try to make it hard for regular people to work together and stand up against them.
The homeless, unemployed, workers / Peasants, immigrants, illegal immigrants
They (those in power) wanted to divide us / And I have to say, they succeeded
As long as it was each man for himself
Their system could prosper
But we had to wake up some day
And heads would have to roll again
During the French Revolution in the late 1700s, the French people used a special machine called the guillotine which they used in beheading, that is, cutting off a person's head as a very serious consequence for their actions. The phrase "heads will roll" probably became popular during this period, and we use it today to say that something really bad might happen to someone as a punishment.
…
Chorus:
We don’t give up! We don’t give up! We don’t give up! We don’t give up! (wallou)
…
The song says that people are not falling for the tricks and lies of powerful people:
They talked to us about equality / and like fools we believed them
“Democracy” my ass (makes me laugh)
If that were the case we would have known / What’s our ballot (voting) paper worth / Against the law of the market?
It's dumb, my dear countrymen, but we got fucked big time (we have been put in a very difficult situation)
What are human rights worth against the sale of an airbus?
The bottom line is there is only one rule, to sum it up:
“To sell oneself more in order to sell more”
The Republic is whoring (prostitutes itself) on the sidewalk of dictators
This means that the government puts a priority on business over the people’s interests. The “dictators” are the market and very powerful corporations in particular.
We don’t believe their sweet words anymore
Our leaders are liars
Here, they are showing the contrast between what the government says and what it actually does for society:
It's so stupid, so easy / to talk about peace and brotherhood / when the homeless are starving in the street / and when the illegals are hunted down
When they throw crumbs to workers / Just to pacify them / So they (the workers) wouldn’t go after the millionaire bosses /(who are) “Too precious for our society”
It's amazing how shielded they are / Our wealthy and powerful
There is no doubt, it helps / To be a friend of the President
In other words, if you have lots of money, you won’t be touched by the law, no matter how you treat the workers, the homeless, and immigrants.
Dear comrades, dear “voters” / Dear “citizen-consumers” The most important thing is for the citizens to continue shopping.
Stand united
The song asks for everyone to come together and work together to make things better.
The alarm clock has gone off
It’s time to reset the counters to zero
As long as there is struggle, there is hope
As long as there is life, there is fighting
As long as we fight, we are standing
As long as we are standing, we won’t give up
The rage to win flows in our veins
Now you know why we fight
Our ideal, much more than a dream
Another world, we have no choice
“On Lâche Rien” is a strong and important song. It talks about important issues like not having enough money, being treated unfairly, and people in power doing things that are not right. The song reminds us that, even though it might be hard to change things, we shouldn't give up on making things better.
Question:
What is one thing you think is unfair in your society?
VOCABULARY
pension 年金
inspire 鼓舞する
revolt 反乱
brewing 近づいてくる
discrimination 差別
privilege 特権
purposely 意図的に
peasants 農民
immigrant 移民
prosper 繁栄する
prostitute 身売り
dictator 独裁者
priority 優先度
starving 飢えている
crumb パン粉
pacify なだめる
precious 貴重な
shielded 守っている
comrade 同志
citizen-consumer 消費者市民
struggle 闘争
rage 激怒
flow 流れ
vein 静脈
ideal 理想
unfairly 不当に
SOURCES:
France Télévisions, Rauzy, C., & Hadadi, K. (2016, May 17). De Sarkozy à el Khomri, comment la chanson “on lâche rien” Est devenue l’hymne des manifs. Franceinfo. https://www.francetvinfo.fr/economie/emploi/carriere/vie-professionnelle/droit-du-travail/de-sarkozy-a-el-khomri-comment-la-chanson-on-lache-rien-est-devenue-l-hymne-des-manifs_1453183.html Accessed 7 Jan 2024.
On Lâche Rien by HK et les saltimbanks. SonicHits. https://sonichits.com/video/HK_et_les_Saltimbanks/On_L%C3%A2che_Rien Accessed 7 Jan 2024.
Thanks for sharing this great song! The world needs this song and these words right now.
The ebb and tide of right and left leaning leaders always leaves the neediest people either very vulnerable or just somewhat vulnerable respectively. It's a tough lot to be in but we have to give them so much credit for the courage to rise up, even knowing that their heads may role. It's dangerously close to where we're headed here in the US.