Look at me, I'm France from below
Unemployment and the crisis
Dude, I'm the one fighting it
What you don't know, what you don't get
Right downstairs from you
I grew up far from the wealthy circles
With parents who didn't speak a word of French
Forced the old man to come home from the site with a busted back
To make sure the bailiffs never showed up again
To help them out, I worked through high school
'Cause they always said diplomas bring a job
I spent my nights working my butt off
Till the day I aced my exams
I was the glimmer of hope
To finally get them out of the projects
But despite my résumé, every door slammed shut
They said overqualified, I'd say too brown
I started working as a security guard
It was temporary to cover the baby's arrival
But the years went by, the bills piled up
I walked into a bank in a balaclava and yelled
Look at me, I'm France from below
Unemployment and the crisis
Dude, I'm the one fighting it
What you don't know, what you don't get
Right downstairs from you
I grew up far from the wealthy circles
Totally French, from divorced parents
Thanks to a dad with a thing for booze
I had to quit school to help mama better
Pay for Johanna's diapers
The one who brings my smile back when things go bad
I already pictured her doctor or lawyer
But fate picked something else for my sister
At 16, a baby, rent to pay
The dad bailed, afraid to own up
Debts clogging her head, still no job
To buy milk and diapers for that little kid
She starts drinking to forget
Brain fried from smoking too much
One July night, belly full of pills
She starts screaming on the firemen's voicemail
Look at me, I'm France from below
Unemployment and the crisis
Dude, I'm the one fighting it
What you don't know, what you don't get
Right downstairs from you
Me, I grew up in comfort
I'm the heir to a mega-rich clan in the 16th
Class rep at a private school
Thanks to my dad's yearly donation
Always sharp in Dior, Armani or Dolce
I circle the globe in a private jet
I get my tickets wiped 'cause I lunch at the Élysée
I spend my nights at Cost, nostrils dusted
But she brought me a tiny baby
Said it was mine
And I had to step up
But that night she calls, belly full of pills
To calm her down I went to see my banker
A hooded guy came in, stuck me up and yelled
Look at me, I'm France from below
Unemployment and the crisis
Dude, I'm the one fighting it
What you don't know, what you don't get
Right downstairs from you