LE POETE NOIR Lyrics in English Kery James

Below, I translated the lyrics of the song LE POETE NOIR by Kery James from French to English.
Intro
Rappers and slammers
Write our language wonderfully
Intro
I gotta say, the leader of it all
The one who comes out on top is Kery James
Intro
And you're gonna hear him
Pay special attention to the lyrics
Intro
How beautiful it is
And how French it is
I blacken blank pages
With ebony ink
With the ink of my sorrows
I shout myself hoarse in the raging wind
My words take off
Like drifting clouds
I'm killed every day
In Molière's tongue
I strike back each blow
In Césaire's tongue
Black poet, I sing my loneliness
I dress hopes that dawn strips bare
I draw on dead leaves
In autumn colors
My poetry's born where summer falls asleep
When winter hums
Since writing's daring
I dare without half-measures
I have purple memories
Enough to make the sky blush
I come from endless cement towers
A graveyard of illusions
Where desires hide away
When tomorrows
Don't even promise anything anymore
Dying at twenty
Might seem romantic to you
Dragging through the day, I saw night born
We long believed living
Was killing boredom
Equality, I thought I saw her in silhouette
That night when poverty
Aimed a gun at my head
I blacken blank pages
With ebony ink
With the ink of my sorrows
I shout myself hoarse in the raging wind
My words take off
Like drifting clouds
I'm killed every day
In Molière's tongue
I strike back each blow
In Césaire's tongue
Black poet, I sing my loneliness
I dress hopes that dawn strips bare
Judged by my skin, I write on instinct
I open my arms to the world
But only sorrow holds me
So, forced smile
I'll never be French
Here, the colonists' sons are scared
Of being greatly replaced
My days will fade at sunrise
They'll wage it without me
Éric Zemmour's civil war
Fear of difference or health panic
Masked sheep
Think dictatorship's a relief
I live a bohemian life
I free myself through letters
I don't wait to be loved
I demand respect
Every instant I die
I'm not much
Can we make the world better
By sowing prose petals?
With ebony ink
With the ink of my sorrows
I shout myself hoarse in the raging wind
My words take off
Like drifting clouds
I'm killed every day
In Molière's tongue
I strike back each blow
In Césaire's tongue
Black poet, I sing my loneliness
I dress hopes that dawn strips bare
Black, black, black
I'm often in a
Black mood
I have
Black thoughts
Sometimes I see
Everything in black
My poetry is
Black mood
I'm often in a
Black, black, black, black
I have
Black, black, black, black
Sometimes I see
Black, black, black, black, black, black, black
My poetry is
Black mood
Lyrics and Translations Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
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SONG MEANING

Le Poète Noir is Kery James’ heartfelt manifesto about writing, identity, and resistance. With every line, the French-Caribbean rapper paints stark images of life in the concrete “cemetery of illusions,” where poverty, racism, and lost dreams weigh heavily on the soul. He “blackens white pages with ebony ink,” turning his personal pain into lyrical power. By answering prejudice “in the language of Césaire,” he honors great Black Francophone writers while reclaiming the French language for those it has often excluded. The chorus repeats like a storm cloud: he is killed daily by words, yet he strikes back with poetry that soars like shifting clouds.

At its core, the song is a proud declaration of survival. Kery James confronts stereotypes, rejects tokenism, and demands respect. He exposes the gap between France’s ideals and the harsh reality faced by its marginalized citizens, calling out political fear-mongering and “masked sheep” who embrace easy solutions. Even as he admits to moments of despair—“parfois je broie du noir” (sometimes I see everything in black)—he transforms that darkness into art, asking whether the world can be made better by scattering petals of prose. The result is a moving blend of vulnerability and defiance that invites listeners to appreciate both the beauty of French rap and the power of words to challenge injustice.

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