À Trop Courir Lyrics in English by Gaël Faye

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Below, I translated the lyrics of the song À Trop Courir by Gaël Faye from French to English.

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Defiant weeds crack the sidewalks

I don't sleep, I've got the insomnia of my dorm-town

All my life I filled my cart with illusions

I phone, I remote-control, I television

Quiet, we're rolling, we live, we laugh

But it feels like lip-sync

My banker is James Brown

And every month it's payback

Millions of Andy Warhols

Get restless on the station platform

For a fifteen-minute ride

On the glory train

We wanna be stars, just like the stars

Privacy sprawls in prime time, sells on PayPal

We enthrone mediocrity, more caviar than Big Mac

We cook up fast-food thought

In the kitchens of the ratings

Bread and circuses

To calm the empty bellies

Xanax in the riot

Prozac for the poor

Close your books if they teach you to hesitate

Beware, chasing life you might end up just existing

By running too hard after my dreams, I pull muscles in my heart

When I no longer believe, I grab the pen to gain some height

By running too hard after my dreams

In time, curves appear beneath my drowsy gaze

I tried to straighten my back chasing after my chimeras

I sent my dreams flying in paper planes

And I wanted the castle life while nodding off in a hutch

The sea is beautiful, Sir, I've erased the clouds

See the bags under my eyes, they invite me to travel

The sky is lovely, Ma'am, I've drawn the picture

So hear the bird that sings locked in its cage

By running too hard after my dreams, I pull muscles in my heart

When I no longer believe, I grab the pen to gain some height

By running too hard after my dreams

I've built worlds

I put in words and laughs, and tears

And then time carved my wrinkles and I'm scared

So I crave other smells for my nostrils

I dance, I spin, a tiny ballerina on a powder keg

The poetry I weave is lace to sew

When it's storming outside, I don't give a f*ck anymore

I made dreams out of nothing, now I've got nothing but dreams

And it's their law of the loins that makes me drift far out to sea

I saw my island, you know

Close to the goal, I'm finally going, I try

Bundles of rhymes so my soul can surface

I wanna make victims with flower weapons

I slow my pace

I catch my breath, sometimes

My dreams take their time

Facing the clock that spins

By running too hard after my dreams, I pull muscles in my heart

When I no longer believe, I grab the pen to gain some height

By running too hard after my dreams

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chimères — chimeras / pipe dreams

Chimères literally refers to a mythical beast, a chimera, but in French, it's commonly used to mean 'pipe dreams' or 'fanciful illusions'. It's a more poetic and less common word than simply 'rêves' (dreams).

In the song, Gaël Faye sings, "J'ai voulu décourber l'échine à courir après mes chimères" (I wanted to straighten my back from running after my pipe dreams). This line beautifully captures the exhaustion and futility of chasing unrealistic aspirations, making 'chimères' a very evocative and memorable word in this context.

Gaël Faye's "À Trop Courir" [Running Too Much] is a really thought-provoking track about the relentless pursuit of dreams and the often-disappointing reality of modern life. He talks about feeling stuck in a "cité dortoir" [dormitory city] with "l'insomnie" [insomnia], filling his "caddie d'illusions" [shopping cart of illusions]. It's a blunt look at how we're all chasing fame and success, like "des millions d'Andy Warhol s'impatientent sur le quai de la gare pour un quart d'heure de trajet dans le train de la gloire" [millions of Andy Warhols impatiently waiting on the train station platform for a fifteen-minute ride on the train of glory].

He criticizes the superficiality, where "l'intimité s'étale en prime time, se vend sur PayPal" [intimacy is spread out in prime time, sold on PayPal], and we're fed "une pensée fast food" [fast food thoughts]. But despite the disillusionment, there's a powerful message of resilience. Faye admits, "À trop courir après mes rêves, j'fais des claquages au cœur" [Running too much after my dreams, I pull a heart muscle], but when he loses faith, he takes "la plume pour prendre de la hauteur" [the pen to gain height]. It's a reminder to slow down, breathe, and find your own way to soar above the everyday grind.

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Gaël Faye À Trop Courir Lyrics