Learn French With Herve with these 11 Song Recommendations (Full Translations Included!)

Herve
LF Content Team | Updated on 2 February 2023
Learning French with Herve's music is fun, engaging, and includes a cultural aspect that is often missing from other language learning methods. It is also great way to supplement your learning and stay motivated to keep learning French!
Below are 11 song recommendations by Herve to get you started! Alongside each recommendation, you will find a snippet of the lyric translations with links to the full lyric translations and lessons for each of the songs!
CONTENTS SUMMARY
Si Bien Du Mal (So Much Wrong)
Huit heures, comme un crève-coeur, j'attendrai son nom
Sept heures, desert eagle, sans cible mais sensible
Six heures, en tant que mineur, sur mes ennuis
Cinq heures, par quel mystère, je crois qu'elle m'aime
Eight o'clock, like heartbreak, I'll wait for her name
Seven o'clock, Desert Eagle, no target but sensitive
Six o'clock, as a minor, on my troubles
Five o'clock, by what mystery, I think she loves me

Hervé's "Si Bien Du Mal" paints a neon-lit picture of a relationship that thrives on contradiction. As the clock ticks backward through the night — eight, seven, six… — the singer flips between hope and hurt, tracing the roller-coaster emotions of two people who keep wounding each other just as expertly as they fall back into each other’s arms. The repeated hours feel like checkpoints in an endless loop, showing how time doesn’t heal here so much as reset the same addictive game.

At the heart of the chorus, “On se fait si bien du mal” (We hurt each other so well) captures a love that’s half-pleasure, half-poison. He wonders why she disappears when he offers kindness, yet returns when the pain kicks in — a push-pull dynamic that’s almost animal in its instinct. The song’s pulsing beat mirrors this tension, making the listener feel both the exhilaration and exhaustion of passion that can’t decide whether it’s a cure or a curse.

Comme Tout Le Monde (Like Everyone)
Là j'veux bien m'perdre
En chemin
Tant qu'à y être
J'me demande plus
Right now I'm good with getting lost
Along the way
While I'm at it
I don't wonder anymore

Hop on the imaginary train Hervé sets in motion and look out the window with him. In “Comme Tout Le Monde” the French singer invites us to get a little lost, to stop obsessing over tomorrow, and to admit that most of us are just trying to keep our balance while the world speeds by. Some riders jump off, others pile in, and everyone is driven by the same hopes and fears. The lyrics feel like quick flashes of scenery—moments of doubt, sudden courage, and a cheeky confession that the harder he tries to be “authentic,” the sillier he sometimes feels.

At its heart, the song is an anthem for ordinary people who secretly wonder if anyone else is faking it. Hervé reminds us that missing direction, craving a sliver of light, and stumbling over honesty are part of the shared human ride. The chorus “Comme tout le monde” (“Like everyone”) is both comforting and ironic: we are all unique, yet united in our uncertainty. Let the track reassure you that it is fine to admit confusion, shine just enough light to keep the shadows interesting, and keep rolling forward—just like everyone else.

Encore (Again)
J'la ferais bien, cette route, à pied
Histoire de voir où j'suis passé
J'la ferais bien, cette route, à deux
Histoire d'y voir que du bleu
I'd walk that road on foot
Just to see where I've been
I'd walk that road, us two
Just to see nothing but blue

Encore is a road-trip of the heart. Hervé sings as if he is lacing up his shoes at dawn, eager to retrace every mile he has travelled and to discover brand-new scenery with someone by his side. The repeated images of blue – « du bleu », « blues indigo » – mix melancholy with hope, like looking at a stormy sky and believing sunshine is hiding behind the clouds. He admits he has not dreamed everything yet, so he wants to live it all and even lose it all if that is the price for feeling alive.

Between love and hate, calm seas and tempests, the singer keeps begging: “Look me in the eyes and promise me it is all blue.” That plea turns the song into a fearless manifesto for experience. Whether the road is taken on foot, by highway, or carried by whisky-fuelled courage, Hervé refuses half-measures. Encore invites us to chase fresh beginnings, embrace contradictions, and ask the world to dazzle us one more time.

Tout Ira Mieux (Everything Will Be Better)
J'aurai du mal à m'étendre
J'aurai du mal, tu sais
Sans mes bordels sans nom
Entre ombre et lumière
I'll have a hard time opening up
I'll have a hard time, you know
Without my nameless messes
Between shadow and light

Tout Ira Mieux is Hervé’s late-night pep talk to himself. The verses peel back the curtain on his restless mind: memories of reckless nights, battles with addiction, and the weight of regrets he “should have” handled differently. We follow him as he leaps from control tower dreams to bedroom lethargy, feeling metal in his back yet still craving to be “un homme meilleur.” It is raw, almost cinematic, filled with shadow-and-light images that show how easily joy slides into melancholy.

Through it all, the chorus repeats like a luminous mantra: "Tout ira mieux demain" (“Everything will be better tomorrow”). That simple line turns the confession into a song of resilience—acknowledging today’s chaos while refusing to give up on hope. Hervé invites us to chant along, making optimism feel rebellious and real, the perfect soundtrack for anyone trying to out-shine their own demons.

Rodéo (Rodeo)
J'porte un visage couleur béton
J'porte le blouson qu't'aimais bien sur moi
J'porte mes prisons, j'ai gardé espoir
Qu'y ait plus tes fantômes au parloir
I wear a concrete-colored face
I wear the jacket you liked on me
I carry my prisons, I kept hope
That your ghosts are gone from the booth

Hold on tight, because Hervé’s “Rodéo” is an emotional ride! 🐎💔 The French singer pictures himself stuck in an endless spin, racing across the world on a sputtering two-stroke motorbike while memories of a lost love buck and jolt inside his head. He still wears the jacket his partner adored, drags around “prisons” of regret, and hears only an “abstract smile” echoing from the past. Life without that special someone feels “pale” and “fade” (faded), and he swears he is worth no more than anyone else—he simply does not want anything better than them. In other words, this is not meant to be just a brief, wild rodeo. He longs for something real and lasting with the person who slipped away.

Under the pulsing synth-pop beat, “Rodéo” captures the rush of heartbreak: the mind replays old laughs, hopes the ghosts disappear, and flips between denial and desire at dizzying speed. The track’s energetic sound mirrors the chaos in his thoughts, turning pain into dance-floor catharsis. By the time the chorus repeats, we feel the push-and-pull ourselves—spinning in circles, craving stability, yet unable to let go of the thrill of love’s ride.

La Peur Des Mots (Fear Of Words)
La peur des mots
Voudrait nous faire croire que dans les villes
On se noie dans des murmures
On se pend au bout du fil
The fear of words
Wants to make us believe that in the cities
We drown in whispers
We hang at the end of the line

La Peur Des Mots plunges us into a city of half-heard whispers, where people “drown in murmurs” and cling to telephone lines like tightropes. Hervé paints the fear of words as a restless shadow that keeps us circling the point, afraid to say what we really feel. Instead of speaking, the narrator reaches for voluble caresses and urgent, stammered phrases that fizz with unspoken desire.

The repeated plea “Tue-moi, je te couvrirai de baisers” isn’t a literal death wish but a daring metaphor: “obliterate me with kisses, and I’ll cover you with mine.” It’s a call to shatter the walls that language builds and dive into raw, physical intimacy where words are no longer needed. The song captures the thrilling moment when silence breaks, fear evaporates, and passion finally finds its voice.

Addenda (Addendum)
Addenda, addenda
Parti de rien, je sais
Je suis là
J'ai pas su faire un centime sans les sentiments
Addenda, addenda
Started from nothing, I know
I'm here
I couldn't make a cent without feelings

What if every love story came with footnotes? In “Addenda”, French singer Hervé turns the idea of an addendum—a little extra note tacked on at the end—into a pulsing confession of love. Starting from nothing, he admits he can’t even earn “a cent without feelings,” then repeats a heartbeat-like refrain: “J’ai l’cœur qui bat pour toi, cent fois par minute.” The song feels like a scribbled margin note to a relationship, a place where he adds everything he forgot to say: the pride of making it on his own, the frustration of trying to “take the fold” when life still crumples, and the electric rush of a heart racing at double speed.

Hervé’s imagery is vivid and playful. The “camisole” that isolates him hints at emotional restraint, while the rings on his fingers become ironic trophies as he “runs solo” without his partner. Through buoyant synths and relentless repetition, he pleads for a reunion, proving that even the most independent spirit can have an appendix full of yearning. “Addenda” is both a club-ready anthem and a handwritten P.S., reminding us that love often needs a few afterthoughts to feel complete.

Monde Meilleur (Better World)
J'me défie d'l'actualité
Ça fait bien longtemps
Qu'j'oublie tous mes rêves
J'perdrai ma vie à la gagner
I distrust the news
It's been so long
I've forgotten all my dreams
I'll lose my life earning it

“Monde Meilleur” is Hervé’s rallying cry for anyone who feels trapped in the daily grind yet refuses to let their inner spark die. The French singer paints a picture of modern life where headlines overwhelm and the race for money swallows our time, but he keeps one eye fixed on a brighter horizon. Each line reminds us that while we may be “spending our lives earning them,” the real currency is our capacity to dream, to hope, and to believe that something better is possible.

At its heart, the song is a midnight conversation between exhaustion and optimism. Hervé admits to feeling isolated, short on credit, and “finishing on his knees,” yet the chorus blazes with undying hope: “Wake me up if we can dream of a better world.” That refrain invites listeners to shake off cynicism, reconnect with one another, and protect the flicker of belief burning inside. It is both a confession of fatigue and a powerful reminder that hope survives as long as we choose to keep dreaming together.

Maelström (Maelstrom)
Maelström on s'est porté disparu
L'encéphale en sait trop sur qui je suis plus
Mais cette fois mon soleil noir a terni
J'en re-veux bien de cette putain d'hystérie
Maelstrom we've gone missing
The brain knows too much about who I'm not anymore
But this time my black sun has faded
I'd take more of that f*cking hysteria

Maelström plunges us into a swirling inner storm where Hervé grapples with burnout, anxiety and the craving for release. The singer feels porté disparu (missing in action), as if he has slipped off the radar while his mind spirals in chaos. Images of a “black sun,” summer blizzards and smoldering fires paint a vivid portrait of depression mixed with lingering euphoria: he has tasted wild, hysterical highs but now lands gently, exhausted and unsure.

Amid this turbulence a single lifeline shines through: love. Over a hypnotic beat, Hervé pleads with his partner to remind him that life is still beautiful, because her words and desires are the only things that can “defend” him from the darkness. The song balances raw vulnerability with hope, turning personal struggle into a cathartic anthem about leaning on someone you trust while you navigate the whirlpool of your own emotions.

Cœur Poids Plume (Featherweight Heart)
Le silence a disparu
Ça me fait aussi peur que le vacarme
Aussi loin que je me souvienne
J'me souviens plus
Silence is gone
It scares me as much as the noise
As far back as I remember
I can't remember anymore

“Cœur Poids Plume” – literally “Feather-Weight Heart” – is Hervé’s poetic plunge into that dizzy moment when a relationship has cracked but the feelings are still fluttering around. The singer paces a city street, hearing the metro rumble beneath his feet while memories blur in and out of focus. Silence frightens him as much as noise, and he keeps repeating “Aussi loin que je me souvienne, j’me souviens plus” (“As far back as I remember, I don’t remember anymore”), showing how heartbreak can scramble time itself. Between the hum of the city and the static in his mind, he tries to “re-glue the little bits of you” like someone piecing together a broken photograph, yet every attempt reminds him of just how fragile – how feather-light – his heart now feels.

Despite the pain, there’s a strange buoyancy in the refrain “J’ai le cœur poids plume”. A feather is delicate but it also floats, and Hervé hints that vulnerability can become a kind of freedom. His promise “Je t’aimerai si tu m’aimes plus” (“I’ll love you if you love me no more”) sounds contradictory, yet it captures the messy after-shocks of love: fear, hope, resentment, tenderness – all pulsing to an electronic beat that echoes a racing, then faltering, heartbeat. In short, the song is a neon-lit confession of trying to heal, trying to remember, and discovering that a heart can be light enough to drift away or strong enough to rise again.

Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ma Nuit (The First Day Of The Rest Of My Night)
Wake up
Encore dans de beaux draps
Nuit blanche pour mes idées noires
J'rappelle ma mère ou des potes
Wake up
Still in a mess
Sleepless night for my dark thoughts
I call my mom or some buddies

Hervé turns the famous saying “the first day of the rest of your life” on its head and plunges us into the first day of the rest of my night – a place ruled by sleeplessness, glowing screens, and stubbornly dark thoughts. The singer wakes up already exhausted, tangled in his sheets and in his mind. He calls his mom, he scrolls through channels, he even hums a catchy na-na-na refrain, but nothing quite chases away the feeling that daylight never really arrives. Modern life keeps pulling him into its blue-light glow, and every attempt to reboot feels like a false start.

Yet, beneath the gloom, there is a spark of hope carried by the very melody he claims he cannot live without. The hypnotic chorus becomes both a lifeline and a confession: music is the thread that stitches his night together, giving him the courage to believe a brighter dawn might still break. The result is a bittersweet anthem for anyone who has ever watched the clock crawl toward morning, headphones on, waiting for a new beginning that always seems just out of reach.

We have more songs with translations on our website and mobile app. You can find the links to the website and our mobile app below. We hope you enjoy learning French with music!