Et Si Tu N'existais Pas Lyrics in English Joe Dassin

Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Et Si Tu N'existais Pas by Joe Dassin from French to English.
And if you didn't exist
Tell me why I'd exist
To drift in a world without you
Without hope and without regret
And if you didn't exist
I'd try to invent love
Like a painter who sees beneath his fingers
The colors of day being born
And who can't believe it
And if you didn't exist
Tell me who I'd exist for
Strangers asleep in my arms
Whom I'd never love
And if you didn't exist
I'd be just one more dot
In this world that comes and goes
I'd feel lost
I'd need you
And if you didn't exist
Tell me how I'd exist
I could pretend to be me
But I wouldn't be real
And if you didn't exist
I think I'd have found it
The secret of life, the reason why
Simply to create you
And to look at you
And if you didn't exist
Tell me why I'd exist
To drift in a world without you
Without hope and without regret
And if you didn't exist
I'd try to invent love
Like a painter who sees beneath his fingers
The colors of day being born
Lyrics and Translations Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lyrics © CURCI FRANCE EDITION, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Claude Lemesle, Pasquale Losito, Pierre Delanoe, Toto Cutugno, Vito Pallavicini
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SONG MEANING

What would life be without you? That is the playful yet profound question Joe Dassin—an artist originally from Canada—asks throughout "Et Si Tu N'existais Pas." Each verse imagines a world stripped of the person he loves: a place sans espoir et sans regret (without hope and without remorse), where he would wander aimlessly, feel like just another speck in the crowd, or even try to reinvent love itself the way a painter brushes new colors onto a blank canvas. The song turns a simple hypothetical into an emotional roller-coaster, showing that his very identity, purpose, and joy are inseparably tied to this one special someone.

Behind its gentle melody lies an uplifting message: love gives meaning, color, and authenticity to our lives. Without the beloved, the singer would only be “pretending” to be himself, but with her, he discovers the secret of life—that we exist to create, cherish, and admire one another. In short, Dassin’s dreamy ballad celebrates how a single relationship can light up the entire world, transforming ordinary days into vivid works of art.

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