Adila Sedraia, better known under the artistic name of Indila, was born on June 26, 1984 in Paris. She is a French singer-songwriter who describes herself as “a child of the world” because of her Algerian, Cambodian, Egyptian and Indian origins. With her artist name “Indila”, the French singer shows her love for India, one of her home countries.
Indila became known through many collaborations with French rappers such as Rohff, Soprano and Youssoupha. Artists such as Michael Jackson, Ismael Lo, Buika, Warda, Jacques Brel and Lata Mangeshkar have inspired her musical style. Indila sings as much in French as in English.
Her first single, “Dernière Danse” was released in November 2013. It is an extract from her album “Mini World” which was released on February 24, 2014 under the label “Capitol Music France”.
This single was the second most downloaded single in France. In her song “Dernière Danse”, she looks like a desperate girl who dances to escape from fear and loneliness. In this way, she rebels against the whole world and shows her strength.
Dernière Danse: French lyrics and English translation
[Verse 1]Oh ma douce souffrance
Oh my sweet suffering
Pourquoi s’acharner tu r’commences
Why do you keep at it again
Je ne suis qu’un être sans importance
I’m just an unimportant being
Sans lui je suis un peu « paro »
Without him I’m a bit lost
Je déambule seule dans le métro
I walk alone in the subway
Une dernière danse
One last dance
Pour oublier ma peine immense
To forget my immense sorrow
Je veux m’enfuir
I want to run away
Que tout r’commence
Let it all begin again
Oh ma douce souffrance
Oh my sweet suffering
Je remue le ciel, le jour, la nuit
I move the sky, day and night
Je danse avec le vent, la pluie
I dance with the wind, the rain
Un peu d’amour, un brin de miel
A little bit of love, a touch of honey
Et je danse, danse, danse, danse
And I dance, dance, dance, dance, dance
Danse, danse, danse
Dance, dance, dance
Et dans le bruit, je cours et j’ai peur
And in the noise, I run and I’m scared
Est-ce mon tour ?
Is it my turn?
Revient la douleur…
The pain comes back…
Dans tout Paris, je m’abandonne
All over Paris, I abandon myself
Et je m’envole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole
And I fly, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly
Que d’espérance…
So much hope…
Sur ce chemin en ton absence
On this path in your absence
J’ai beau trimer, sans toi ma vie
I work hard, but without you, my life
N’est qu’un décor qui brille, vide de sens
Is only a decor that shines, empty of meaning
Je remue le ciel, le jour, la nuit
I move the sky, day and night
Je danse avec le vent, la pluie
I dance with the wind, the rain
Un peu d’amour, un brin de miel
A little bit of love, a touch of honey
Et je danse, danse, danse, danse
And I dance, dance, dance, dance, dance
Danse, danse, danse
Dance, dance, dance
Et dans le bruit, je cours et j’ai peur
And in the noise, I run and I’m scared
Est-ce mon tour ?
Is it my turn?
Revient la douleur…
The pain comes back…
Dans tout Paris, je m’abandonne
All over Paris, I abandon myself
Et je m’envole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole
And I fly, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly
Dans cette douce souffrance
In this sweet suffering
Dont j’ai payé toutes les offenses
Of which I have paid all offenses
Écoute comme mon cœur est immense
Listen how big my heart is
Je suis une enfant du monde
I am a child of the world
Je remue le ciel, le jour, la nuit
I move the sky, day and night
Je danse avec le vent, la pluie
I dance with the wind, the rain
Un peu d’amour, un brin de miel
A little bit of love, a touch of honey
Et je danse, danse, danse, danse
And I dance, dance, dance, dance, dance
Danse, danse, danse
Dance, dance, dance
Et dans le bruit, je cours et j’ai peur
And in the noise, I run and I’m scared
Est-ce mon tour ?
Is it my turn?
Revient la douleur…
The pain comes back…
Dans tout Paris, je m’abandonne
All over Paris, I abandon myself
Et je m’envole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole, vole
And I fly, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly
Dernière Danse: Meaning and Story of the Song
In the song, Indila tells the story of a young foreigner who fights racism every day. In addition, she tells us about the pain she may feel.
In the first line, Indila plays with the words by using a phonetic resemblance between the word suffering and the expression “douce France”. This means that the cause of her suffering is her country: France. The words “douce” and “souffrance” do not fit together. There is also a reference to Charles Trenet’s song, Douce France, as she confirmed in an interview.
In the sixth line, she uses the word “paro”, which is a colloquial word. It means not being comfortable or not feeling good in a certain situation. In addition, she talks about wandering around, that is, walking around without knowing why she is here. Her life keeps going, but she wonders where she is going and she has no perspective.
In the chorus, she talks about moving the sky, which is an image of doing everything she can to achieve something. Indila uses this expression to say that she does everything to get by in this world and that she doesn’t stop.
Furthermore, the question “is it my turn” is a rhetorical question which means that she is not waiting for an answer, but is affirming what she is pretending to ask.
Furthermore, she talks about being a child of the world. She doesn’t feel attached to any identity and for that she is lost, because, already mentioned, Indila is of Algerian, Cambodian, Egyptian and Indian origin.
What do you think of this song? Let me know in the comments!
There are other great French musicians to discover, check out my list about French music artists!
