Alors On Danse Lyrics in English by Stromae

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Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Alors On Danse by Stromae from French to English.

These lyrics have verified word for word translations. Click any lyric word to see the translation and hear the pronunciation!

Verse 1

Who says study says work

Travail & travailler means work & to work while job / employment would be emploi

Who says a job says cash

Taf is a colloquial word for work, job

Who says money says expenses

Who says credit says debt owed

Créance = debt owned. Dette = debt owed.

Who says debt says bailiff

Huissier means bailiff, an official who takes away someone's possessions when they owe money.

He says you're sitting in deep shit

Or: Who tells you you're in deep trouble

Who says love says kids

Says forever and says divorce

Who says loved ones says mourning

Because the problems don't come alone

Car means because / since / as. Because is more commonly translated as parce que

Who says crisis says the whole world

Says famine, says Third World

Who says tiredness says waking up

Réveil = awakening = alarm clock

Still deaf from last night

Or: Still deaf from the party the day before

So we go out to forget all the problems

So we dance

So we dance... (x8)

Verse 2

And right then you tell yourself it's over

Because worse than that would be death

When you finally believe that you're getting out of it

When there's no more

And well, there's still more

Is it the music or the problems?

The problems or the music

Stromae is questioning if the problems or the partying are at fault here

It grabs you by the gut

It messes with your head

And then you pray for it to stop

But it's your body, it's not up to heaven

So you no longer plug your ears

And then you shout even louder

And it persists

Chorus

So we sing

'On' and 'Nous' both mean we. 'Nous' is more formal while 'On' technically means 'one', but is used as 'we' conversationally

So we sing

And then only when it’s over

So we dance

So we dance... (x8)

And well, there's still more (x8)

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Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, BECAUSE EDITIONS

Paul Van Haver

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huissier — bailiff

Huissier translates to "bailiff", an officer who seizes property for unpaid debts. It's a specific and dramatic word you definitely wouldn't expect to find in a world-famous dance track.

In the song, Stromae lists a chain reaction of life's problems, singing "Qui dit dette te dit huissier" (Who says debt says bailiff). This sharp contrast between the harsh reality of the verses and the euphoric escape of the chorus ("Alors on danse" / So we dance) is what makes the song so brilliant and powerful.

Belgian artist Stromae takes the dark spiral of everyday adult life and turns it straight into a relentless dance track. The song lays out a chain reaction of stress: school leads to work, love leads to kids, and forever leads to divorce. He packs the verses with French slang like taf [job] and thunes [cash], tracing how a paycheque quickly turns into credit, debt, and eventually a visit from the huissier [bailiff]. His lyrics are brutally blunt: Lui dit assis dans la merde [He says sitting in deep trouble, literally: sitting in the shit]. Even global issues like famine and the tiers-monde [Third World] pile onto the weight of waking up exhausted from the day before.

Instead of offering a fake solution, Stromae's answer is pure escapism: Alors on sort pour oublier tous les problèmes [So we go out to forget all the problems] and Alors on danse [So we dance]. He knows the relief is temporary. Just when you think you are finally out of trouble, Et ben y en a encore [Well, there is still more]. The beat takes over your guts (les tripes) and your head (la tête), making you yell and dance through the chaos simply because you have no other choice.

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Stromae Alors On Danse Lyrics