Fils De Joie Lyrics in English Stromae

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Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Fils De Joie by Stromae from French to English.

Being alone's hard

And now, it's been years

And judging's easy

Especially when you haven't tried it

The hardest part, well, was the first time

Then the toughest thing is knowing

When it'll be the last time

It's true, I'm not against it

A little tenderness now and then

And then, this time, well

I could do it while insulting her

Yeah, everything in life is negotiable

For a fee

Besides, I'm probably her best customer

But

So leave my mom

Yeah, I know

It's true she's not perfect

She's a hero

And it'll always be proudly

That I'll speak of her

I'm a son of a b*tch, as they say

After all she's done for them

Forgive their stupidity

Oh dear mother

They dehumanize you

It's easier

The same ones court you

And everybody closes their eyes

Why does everybody hate me?

Since I'm the one who feeds them

Their lives would be much humbler

Without me, they'd be rotten

The bed and safety

Have a price, Ma'am

Well yeah, in life everything's paid for

So nobody ever taught you that?

They accuse me of doing

Human trafficking

But fifty, forty, thirty

Or twenty percent, that's already good

They shouldn't start thinking

They're models

Ladies, or should I say wh*res

But

So leave my mom

Yeah, I know

It's true she's not perfect

She's a hero

And it'll always be proudly

That I'll speak of her

I'm a son of a b*tch, as they say

After all she's done for them

Forgive their stupidity

Oh dear mother

They dehumanize you

It's easier

The same ones court you

And everybody closes their eyes

I know it's your job

But I gotta do mine, right?

Between yours and mine

The difference

Is that I pay taxes

Come on, move along, Ma'am

Take back your papers

And what's left of your dignity

Poor woman

Get yourself a real job

But

So leave my mom

Yeah, I know

It's true she's not perfect

She's a hero

And it'll always be proudly

That I'll speak of her

I'm a son of a b*tch, as they say

After all she's done for them

Forgive their stupidity

Oh dear mother

They dehumanize you

It's easier

The same ones court you

And everybody closes their eyes

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SONG MEANING

**Stromae’s “Fils De Joie” throws us into a vibrant, theatrical mini-drama where the singer adopts several roles to expose society’s love-hate relationship with sex work. The main narrator is a proud son of a prostitute who defends his mother’s dignity while mocking those who buy her services in secret and insult her in public. By flipping the hurtful insult fils de pute into the playful title fils de joie (child of joy), Stromae invites us to question who really deserves the shame: the woman who works to survive, or the hypocrites who judge her.

The track then jumps between the voices of a cynical client, an exploitative pimp and a cold-hearted policeman, creating a dizzying carousel of viewpoints that reveal greed, moral double standards and institutional neglect. With infectious rhythms and razor-sharp lyrics, Stromae turns a personal story into a wider social critique, reminding listeners that empathy costs nothing, while prejudice and exploitation cost lives.

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Stromae Fils De Joie Lyrics