Le Travail C'est La Santé Lyrics in English Henri Salvador

Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Le Travail C'est La Santé by Henri Salvador from French to English.
Work is health
Doing nothing preserves it
The prisoners of work
Don't reach old age
Those people who gallop full speed
By car, subway or bike
Are they going to watch a funny movie
Nope, they're heading to work
Work is health
Doing nothing preserves it
The prisoners of work
Don't reach old age
They slog eleven months for vacation
And they're wiped out when they start
A month later, they're fit
But gotta get back to work
Come on, all of you there!
Work is health
Doing nothing preserves it
The prisoners of work
Don't reach old age
To think there are people galore
Who keep running after work
Yeah, crazy!
Work runs after me
It's nowhere near catching me
Work is health
Doing nothing preserves it
The prisoners of work
Don't reach old age
Now in the tiniest village
People work like savages
I don't get it anymore
To afford all the comforts
When they've got it all, well, they're dead
Work is health
Doing nothing preserves it
The prisoners of work
Don't reach old age
Come on once more, you lazy bunch!
Work is health
Doing nothing preserves it
The prisoners of work
Don't reach old age
Come on again, one more push!
Work is health
Doing nothing preserves it
The prisoners of work
Don't reach old age
Lyrics and Translations Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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SONG MEANING

Henri Salvador’s classic “Le Travail C’est La Santé” flips the famous French proverb on its head with a wink and a grin. Instead of glorifying hard work, Salvador cheekily claims that doing nothing is the best way to stay healthy. Through playful rhymes and jaunty rhythm, he paints workers as “prisoners du boulot” rushing from cars to subways to bikes, only to end up too tired to enjoy the few holidays they slave away for. The song pokes fun at the endless cycle: work eleven months, collapse on day-one of vacation, recover just in time to clock back in.

Beneath the humor lies a gentle protest against modern workaholism and consumerism. Salvador observes villagers toiling “comme des sauvages” just to buy comforts they will barely have time to enjoy. By proudly declaring that work keeps chasing him but will never catch up, he invites listeners to reclaim leisure, laugh at the rat race and remember that life’s real riches come from moments of rest, joy and music.

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