Mon Refuge Lyrics in English by Julien Clerc
Envoûter means 'to bewitch' or 'to enchant' in French. It carries a sense of being pulled under a spell, as if someone's charm leaves you with no will of your own, which makes it far more vivid than a plain word like 'to attract'.
In this song, the sirens use their irresistible allure to lure sailors toward their doom. The line "Écouter les sirènes envoûter les pêcheurs" ("Hear the sirens spellbind the fishermen") paints that dangerous, hypnotic charm at work.
Pack your bags and let your imagination sprint across the globe! In Mon Refuge, French singer-songwriter Julien Clerc dreams out loud of escaping the routine city he knows by heart. He paints postcard-perfect scenes one after another: winter mist over the port of Honfleur, cherry trees in bloom in Japan, mystical sirens calling to fishermen, shadowy forests, and the timeless pyramids of Egypt. Every “Emmène-moi” (“Take me away”) is a joyful plea for adventure, a reminder that the world is wide and bursting with wonder.
Yet the real destination is not a place. Wherever the journey leads, the narrator’s true sanctuary is the person beside him. Love turns park-bench kisses into endless Sundays and transforms each stop on the map into home. Before this companion, he says he had “never had a house”; now, in their arms, he finally has a refuge that travels with him. The song is both a passport and a love letter, inviting us to chase horizons while finding our safest shelter in the heart of someone we cherish.
