Elle avait de l'amour, pauvre Melody Nelson
She had love, poor Melody Nelson
Song translation
Ballade de Melody Nelson (Howie B remix)
Serge Gainsbourg
Learn Ballade de Melody Nelson (Howie B remix) by Serge Gainsbourg with lyrics, line-by-line translation, and interactive vocabulary practice.
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47 lines, first 47 translated
About this song
Ballade de Melody Nelson (Howie B remix) by Serge Gainsbourg is a great song to learn French through music. This page breaks down 47 lines with a clear, line-by-line translation, plus 7 key words such as nelson, melody, part. Singing along is one of the fastest ways to pick up natural pronunciation and make new phrases stick — far more memorable than plain word lists. Tap any line to open interactive mode and practice the vocabulary until you own it.
Lyrics and Translation
Line-by-line practice helps you understand the meaning and remember useful phrases.
Ouais, elle en avait des tonnes
Yeah, she had tons of them
Mais ses jours étaient comptés
But his days were numbered
14 automnes et 15 étés
14 autumns and 15 summers
Un petit animal que cette Melody Nelson
A little animal that Melody Nelson
Si adorable garçonne
So adorable flapper
Et si délicieuse enfant
And so delicious child
Que je n'ai connu qu'un instant
That I only knew for a moment
Oh, ma Melody, ma Melody Nelson
Oh, my Melody, my Melody Nelson
Aimable petite conne
Lovely little cunt
Tu étais la condition
You were the condition
Sine qua non de ma raison
Sine qua non of my reason
De ma raison
Of my reason
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson, Nelson, Nelson
Melody Nelson, Nelson, Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson, Nelson, Nelson
Melody Nelson, Nelson, Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson, Nelson, Nelson
Melody Nelson, Nelson, Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson
Melody Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Melody Nelson, Nelson, Nelson, Nelson
Melody Nelson, Nelson, Nelson, Nelson
Qu'à part moi-même
That apart from myself
Song Vocabulary
Key words from this song. Practice them in Langooo to remember them faster.
nelson
nelson
melody
melody
part
leaves
moi-mme
myself
elle
She
avait
had
raison
reason