“Ne Me Quitte Pas” is Belgian singer Jacques Brel’s single most famous song. Brel first released the song in 1959 and released an album with the same title in 1972. The meaning of “Ne Me Quitte Pas” is “Don’t leave me” or “Do not leave me”. At the bottom of the post we’ve included the French lyrics with English translation as well as listening on YouTube and Spotify.
The song’s lyrics are sorrowful in nature. In the lyrics, Brel begs for his lover not to leave him by repeatedly crying “Don’t leave me!” and creating poetic images of attracting forces in nature.
Brel wrote the song after a breakup with his lover Zizou (Suzanne Gabriello) following the disagreement over a pregnancy. The song has been performed by countless other artists in many other languages.
Lyrics analysis
French verb quitter meaning
The French verb quitter has two main definitions: to leave a place and to leave a person. For example, ‘Je quitte Paris’ means ‘I am leaving Paris’. ‘Je quitte ma femme’ means ‘I am leaving my wife’.
In the context of the song title, the meaning of ‘Ne me quitte pas’ is ‘Don’t leave me’. The phrase is in the imperative (commanding tense).
Il faut tout oublier
Translations of ‘il faut + infinitive’ include it’s necessary to, you have to, one has to. In this context of of these songs lyrics, ‘Il faut tout oublier’ can translate to either ‘you / we have to forget everything’.
This page covers the meanings of il faut in detail with example sentences.
Je creuserai la terre
‘Je creuserai la terre’ translates literally to ‘I will dig the earth’. The translation of creuser is to dig. However, creuser translates loosely to ‘work the land or earth’ in the context of these song lyric as Brel expresses that he’ll ‘work the land until after his death to cover her body in gold and light’.
In the above lyrics translation, we translated ‘Je t’inventerai des mots insensés’ to ‘For you I will make up incredible words’.
The French adjective insensé translates to insane, mad or crazy. However, a French-to-French definition is ‘incroyable’. Hence, we feel that ‘incredible’ works well with our translation.
Le rouge et le noir ne s’épousent-ils pas?
The line, ‘Le rouge et le noir ne s’épousent-ils?’ translates literally to ‘The red and the black, don’t they marry or mold to each other’.
Using the definition of épouser on wordreference.com, we translated s’epouser to ‘fuse’: The red and the black, do they not fuse together?’
Je ne vais plus pleurer, je ne vais plus parler
The lines, ‘Je ne vais plus pleurer, je ne vais plus parler’ translate to ‘I am not going to cry anymore, I am not going to speak anymore’.
The most basic rule for French negation is to wrap ne…pas around the verb. For example, ‘Je ne mange pas’ means I don’t eat.
In this situation, ‘ne + verb + plus’ means ‘anymore. This page covers the French negation rules in detail.
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Ne me Quitte Pas Lyrics French lyrics & English translation
Ne me quitte pas Il faut oublier Tout peut s’oublier Qui s’enfuit déjà Oublier le temps Des malentendus Et le temps perdu A savoir comment Oublier ces heures Qui tuaient parfois A coups de pourquoi Le cœur du bonheur Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas
Don’t leave me We must forget All can be forgotten That has already disappeared Forget the time Of misunderstandings And the wasted time To know how To forget these hours Which sometimes killed The blows of why, The heart of happiness Do not leave me Do not leave me Do not leave me Do not leave me
Moi je t’offrirai Des perles de pluie Venues de pays Où il ne pleut pas Je creuserai la terre Jusqu’après ma mort Pour couvrir ton corps D’or et de lumière Je ferai un domaine Où l’amour sera roi Où l’amour sera loi Où tu seras reine Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas
I will give you Pearls of rain Coming from countries Where it doesn’t rain I will work the land Until after my death To cover your bosom With gold and light I will create an area Where love will be king Where love will be the law Where you will be queen Do not leave me Do not leave me Do not leave me Do not leave me
Ne me quitte pas Je t’inventerai Des mots insensés Que tu comprendras Je te parlerai De ces amants-là Qui ont vu deux fois Leurs cœurs s’embraser Je te raconterai L’histoire de ce roi Mort de n’avoir pas Pu te rencontrer Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas
Don’t leave me For you I will make up Incredible words That you’ll understand And I’ll tell you About lovers Who saw their Hearts embrace two twice I’ll tell you about The story of a king Who died from from having not been able to meet you you. Don’t leave me Don’t leave me Don’t leave me Don’t leave me
On a vu souvent Rejaillir le feu D’un ancien volcan Qu’on croyait trop vieux Il est paraît-il Des terres brûlées Donnant plus de blé Qu’un meilleur avril Et quand vient le soir Pour qu’un ciel flamboie Le rouge et le noir Ne s’épousent-ils pas Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas
We’ve often seen Flames flowing from an Ancient volcano That one thought to be too old There exists, it seems Scorched fields That yield more wheat Than the best of April And when the evening comes A fiery sky The red and the black Do they not fuse together Don’t leave me Don’t leave me Don’t leave me Don’t leave me
Ne me quitte pas Je ne vais plus pleurer Je ne vais plus parler Je me cacherai là A te regarder Danser et sourire Et à t’écouter Chanter et puis rire Laisse-moi devenir L’ombre de ton ombre L’ombre de ta main L’ombre de ton chien Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas Ne me quitte pas
Don’t leave me I won’t cry anymore I won’t speak anymore Will hide Watching you Dancing and smiling And listening to you Singing and then laughing Let me become The shadow of your shadow The shadow of your hand The shadow of your dog Don’t leave me Don’t leave me Don’t leave me Don’t leave me
Listen to Ne Me Quitte Pas On YouTube & Spotify
Listen to the song and follow along with the French and English lyrics above.
Listen on Spotify
Here you can listen on Spotify if you have an account.
In addition to this song, you may also enjoy the following other top French songs: “La Vie en Rose” (Edith Piaf). “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” (Edith Piaf), Les Champs Eleysées (Joe Dassin) and “C’est Si Bon” (Yves Montand).
More French song lyrics:
C’est Si Bon
Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien
La Vie En Rose
Alouette
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"Ne me quitte pas" is considered by some as "Brel's ultimate classic". It was written after Brel's mistress "Zizou" (Suzanne Gabriello) threw him out of her life. Zizou was pregnant with Brel's child, but Brel refused to acknowledge the child as his own. Zizou later had an abortion due to Brel's actions.
NE ME QUITTE PAS (DON'T LEAVE ME): SUNG BY NINA SIMONE
In honor of Bastille Day, we offer the following song, Ne me quitte pas ("Don't leave me"), written in 1959 by the singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. This version is sung by the incomparable Nina Simone.
Brel married Thérèse "Miche" Michielsen in 1950, and the couple had three children. He also had a romantic relationship with actress and dancer Maddly Bamy from 1972 until his death in 1978.
Jacques Brel, in full Jacques Romain Georges Brel, (born April 8, 1929, Schaerbeeck, Belgium—died October 9, 1978, Bobigny, near Paris, France), Belgian singer and songwriter whose literate, passionate songs made him one of the most popular French-language musicians in Europe and gained him a worldwide following.
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