La Vie Qu'on Aime Lyrics in English by Mentissa
Enraye comes from the verb enrayer, which literally means to jam, like when a machine's gears get stuck. It's a word you might use for a jammed printer or a rifle that won't fire.
In this song, Mentissa uses it in a powerful metaphorical sense, asking "Qu'est-ce qui nous enraye?" (What is it that's jamming us?). She's questioning what stops us from moving forward, as if an invisible mechanism in our lives has malfunctioned and brought everything to a halt. This unique imagery makes it a very memorable word.
Belgian singer Mentissa cuts right through empty reassurance in this track. She is completely done with people telling her that everything will work itself out: "Et je n'veux plus entendre / Que tout s'arrange toujours" ("And I don't want to hear anymore / That everything always works out"). Instead of sitting still, she announces "J'veux changer d'soleil" ("I want to change suns"), a fantastic French expression for seeking out a whole new horizon or restarting somewhere warmer and brighter. She looks at society running around on autopilot and bluntly asks what game everyone is playing when nothing holds up anymore: "Plus rien ne tient debout / Puisque le monde est fou / Dis-moi à quoi on joue" ("Nothing holds up anymore / Since the world is crazy / Tell me what game we're playing").
The real heart of the song is the clash between the dream and the daily grind. Mentissa asks: "Si c'est la vie qu'on aime / C'est quoi la vie qu'on mène" ("If this is the life we love / What is this life we lead?"). She notices how everyone races ahead ("On court à toute allure" - "We run at full speed") while carrying pain they know by heart, acting so numb that nothing can impress them anymore ("Comme si plus rien / Ne nous impressionnait" - "As if nothing / Impressed us anymore"). She uses the phrase "le monde est à bout" ("the world is at its limit" or "running on empty") to show people pushed right to the edge of burnout. It is an honest, restless wake-up call to stop sleepwalking through an exhausting existence.
