On Ne Change Pas Lyrics in English Céline Dion

Below, I translated the lyrics of the song On Ne Change Pas by Céline Dion from French to English.
We don't change
We just put other people's costumes on
We don't change
A jacket only hides a bit of what we see
We don't grow up
We only grow a little, just barely
Just the span of a dream, a daydream
And touch them with a fingertip
But we don't forget
The child who remains, almost naked
The moments of innocence
When we didn't know
We don't change
We take on airs and combat poses
We don't change
We fool ourselves, we think
That we're making choices
But if you scratch there
Just beneath the appearance, it trembles
A little one who looks like us
We know full well he's there
We hear him sometimes
His cheeky refrain
That keeps at it and repeats
don't leave me
We never forget
We always have a gesture
That betrays who we are
A prince, a valet
Under the crown, a gaze
An arrogance, a trait
Of a prince or of a valet
I know that so well
I've copied images
And the dreams I had
All those thousands of dreams
But so close to me
A skinny little girl
Walks in Charlemagne, anxious
And speaks to me softly
We don't change, we just put
Other people's costumes on, that's all
We don't change
We only hide ourselves for a moment
A little girl
Ungrateful and solitary, walks
And dreams in the snow
Forgetting the cold
If I put makeup on her
She disappears a bit
Long enough to watch me
And make fun of me
A little girl
A tiny little girl
A tiny little girl
A tiny little girl
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Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, RESERVES, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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SONG MEANING

Ever tried slipping into a fancy outfit and feeling like a brand-new you? Céline Dion’s “On Ne Change Pas” playfully reminds us that, beneath the glitter, nothing truly changes. The singer pictures life as a giant costume party: we grow taller, swap jackets, strike confident poses, yet our childhood selves are still humming in the background. That little girl or boy inside us peeks through every grin, every nervous gesture, every bold decision, whispering, “Don’t forget me.”

At its heart, the song says we can imitate heroes, copy magazine dreams, or hide behind layers of makeup, but sooner or later the mirror reveals who we’ve always been. Dion dances between nostalgia and empowerment, suggesting that our past is not a weight but a compass. Keep your crown, your valet mask, your warrior stance—just remember: the real magic lies in honoring the innocent, curious spirit that started it all.

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