In these lockdown times we paused a bit
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Far from frantic rushing we opened our eyes
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In these troubled times, it sometimes feels good
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To start thinking again even if it's not by choice
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So between kids' screams and schoolwork
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Between masks and gloves, between fear and anger
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Seeing the leaders freak out in their muddled handling
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In these lockdown times, we ask ourselves questions
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What if this virus had lots of other virtues
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Besides attacking our vulnerable lungs
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What if it also tried to give us back our sight
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About lifestyles that have turned harmful
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If we have to save our lives by staying safe at home
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We finally let the Earth recover what we took from her
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Nature lays down its law, taking back its rights
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Avenging itself for our arrogance and our contempt
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And is it chance that this vile virus
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Doesn't attack the youngest, doesn't hit the kids
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It goes after the adults responsible for this world
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It condemns our drift and spares the innocents
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This grown-up world has become so frail
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The established order blew up in pieces
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Earthlings remember they're human and fragile
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And maybe feel it's time to wipe the slate clean
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What if this virus had many other powers
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Besides attacking our breathing
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What if it also tried to give us back our memory
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Of the values forgotten behind our ambitions
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We suddenly find ourselves alike, united
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All in the same boat to face the virus
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It was a bit less the case for fighting poverty
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We were less united to welcome the Aquarius
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And what if this virus had the huge gift
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Of reminding us what really matters
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Trips, outings, money are no longer the norm
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And from our windows we relearn to look at the sky
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We've got time for family, we slow down work
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And even with the outside we strengthen bonds
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We reinvent our rituals, full of ideas, discoveries
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And every day we check up on our elders
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And what if this virus showed us who the real heroes are
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Those who were already toiling far from our thoughts
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Only now do they make the front page
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While the CAC 40 is in quarantine
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Long before Corona the hospital was suffocating
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It coughed up misery and overload
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Our leaders discover there's reason to worry
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Now that there's a line for intensive care
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We suddenly recognize those who help us live
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While the state suffocates all our public services
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Those who clean the streets, who transport and who deliver
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We rediscover the invisible ones of the republic
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So when this virus leaves the way it came
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What'll be left of all its side effects
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What will we have gained with all we lost
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Will our dead have had a saving fate