Te souviens-tu ? | Lyrics [English + Français]

Te souviens tu ? (Do you remember?) is a French song written by Émile Debraux and set to music by Joseph-Denis Doche in 1817, shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. It speaks of a captain meeting his loyal comrade who once saved his life and fought alongside him faithfully for years but now fallen into ruin.
Paroles en français:
1
Te souviens-tu, disait un capitaine
Au vétéran qui mendiait son pain,
Te souviens-tu qu'autrefois dans la plaine,
Tu détournas un sabre de mon sein ?
Sous les drapeaux d'une mère chérie,
Tous deux jadis nous avons combattu ;
Je m'en souviens, car je te dois la vie :
Mais, toi, soldat, dis-moi, t'en souviens-tu ?
2
Te souviens-tu de ces jours trop rapides,
Où le Français acquit tant de renom !
Te souviens-tu que sur les pyramides,
Chacun de nous osa graver son nom ?
Malgré les vents, malgré la terre et l'onde,
On vit flotter, après l'avoir vaincu,
Nos étendard sur le berceau du monde :
Dis-moi, soldat, dis-moi, t'en souviens-tu ?
3
Te souviens-tu que les preux d'Italie
Ont vainement combattu contre nous ?
Te souviens-tu que les preux d'Ibérie
Devant nos chefs ont plié les genoux ?
Te souviens-tu qu'aux champs de l'Allemagne
Nos bataillons, arrivant impromptu,
En quatre jours ont fait une campagne :
Dis-moi, soldat, dis-moi, t'en souviens-tu ?
4
Te souviens-tu de ces plaines glacées
Que les Français, abordaient en vainqueur,
Et sur leurs fronts les neiges amassées
Glacer leurs corps sans refroidir leurs cœurs ?
Souvent alors, au milieu des alarmes,
Nos pleurs coulaient, mais notre œil abattu
Brillait encore lorsqu'on volait aux armes
Dis-moi, soldat, dis-moi, t'en souviens-tu?
5
Te souviens- tu qu'un jour notre patrie
Vivante encore descendit au cercueil,
Et que l'on vit, dans Lutèce flétrie,
Les étrangers marcher avec orgueil ?
Garde en ton cœur ce jour pour le maudire,
Garde en ton cœur ces voix qui se sont tues,
Qu'un chef jamais n'ait besoin de te dire :
Dis-moi, soldat, dis-moi, t'en souviens-tu ?
6
Te souviens-tu ?... Mais ici ma voix tremble,
Car je n'ai plus de noble souvenir ;
Bientôt, l'ami, nous pleurerons ensemble,
En attendant un meilleur avenir.
Mais si la mort, planant sur nos chaumière,
Me rappelait le repos qui m'est dû,
Tu fermeras doucement ma paupière,
En me disant Soldat, t'en souviens-tu ?
Lyrics in English:
1
Do you remember, said the captain
To the veteran begging his bread
Do you remember that once in the plain,
You turned away a sabre from my breast?
Both of us once fought together;
I remember because I owe you my life:
But you, soldier, tell me: do you remember?
2
Do you remember those days so fast,
When the French acquired such renown!
Do you remember that under the pyramids,
Each of us dared engrave his name?
In spite of the wind, the earth and the sea,
We saw, after defeating it,
Our standard floating over the cradle of the world:
Tell me, soldier, tell me: do you remember?
3
Do you remember the brave men of Italy
Fighting us in vain?
Do you remember the valiant ones of Iberia
Who before our leaders bent their knees?
Do you remember on the fields of Germany
Our battalions arrived impromptu,
And in four days had made a campaign:
Tell me, soldier, tell me: do you remember?
4
Do you remember those icy plains
That the French, approached as victors,
And on their heads the amassed snow
Froze their bodies without cooling their hearts?
Often, in the midst of the alarms
Our tears flowed, but our dejected eye
Shone still when flying to arms
Tell me, soldier, tell me: do you remember?
5
Do you remember the day that our
Homeland descended living to the grave,
And that we live in withered Lutetia,
The foreigners marching proudly?
Keep in your heart this day to curse it,
Keep in your heart those voices now fallen silent,
Let a superior never need to tell you:
Tell me, soldier, tell me: do you remember?
6
Do you remember?… But here my voice trembles,
For I have no more noble memories;
Soon, friend, we will weep together,
And await a better future.
But if the dead, hovering over our cottage,
Remind me of my due rest,
You will gently close my eyes,
By telling me Soldier: do you remember?

[@AmphiStuG]

"Our standard floating over the cradle of the world, do you remember?" Is an awesome and breathtaking line, don't you agree?

[@gigijeanne6619]

oui

[@elenaproperzi2376]

M❤❤

[@AlexC-ou4ju]

It's easy to think of the napoleonic wars as an age of war, pillage and looting but we must remember the glory, innovation, intellectual advances honour it brough about and that these men fought, struggled and sacrificed their youth for the glory of Napoleon 'The Enlightenment on Horseback' Bonaparte. Europe had never seen such progress before, and it is no surprise that everyone saw him as Caesar or Alexander reborn. It is a great shame on Europe's history and potential that he was eventually brought low.

[@user-sk2vy5kq2i]

Vive la France , vive l'empereur , glory to France , glory to the Emperor. ❤

[@francisfouquet1442]

Vive l'empereur.vive la grande armée. Et surtout vive la FRANCE. 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷❤

[@Belisarius536]

Bonne chance avec ça avec L’immigration de masse. Le pays peut survivre, mais pas le peuple française.

[@Belisarius536]

bonne chance avec ça avec l’immigraton de maSe. le pays peut survivre, mais pas le peuple français.

[@Falkriim]

I’m an Englishman and even I love this song.

[@ccaffie1231]

it's unfortunate this hasn't gotten much attention, you can really feel the emotion in the song
it's not flat sadness but reminiscence and closeness with a sense of tragedy
excuse me for crying a bit ;^;
debraux and doche did a great job making this

[@StormForthcoming]

*pain*

[@stefano1895]

Vive l'Empereur! Vive le Roi d'Italie! 🇨🇵🇮🇹

[@josselinjosselin4260]

j'en ai pleuré;;

[@kevinDMC12]

*VIVE L'EMPREUR!*

[@grenadierinvictus6791]

“ My god that man does war.. “

[@RandomJJSFan]

good song (its meant to be sad)

[@nicolasdubus669]

Slava Ukraini ! You're so brave

[@ChefderAbwehr]

1:08 Is the word 'flotter' left out by the singer? I cannot make it out lol. I need help^^

[@MelerionTheFirst]

🥺😥🇨🇵❤️

[@FondationSCP1309]

Vive la république et vive la France 🇫🇷

[@nicolasdubus669]

Pour la République et pour la Nation !

[@user-oq8dk5zy2l]

Here is where men cried

[@MHDebidour]

"Sein" here has to be translated as chest and not breast

[@louiskoenig9719]

Un anglo-saxon prude ?? 😂

[@Belisarius536]

No, the lyrics are it’s translated into English and you have to translate into colloquial speech for better understanding of the speakers of the lanaguge it has been translated to instead of a word for word exchange.
Even if breast is the direct translation from French; it’s not how it’s used in English. In English chest is used for men whereas breast is used for women.
So it’s a much better accurate translation.

[@Te_arii_no_bora-bora]

@@Belisarius536no because in the song those are men talking so that’s not very accurate

[@Belisarius536]

@@Te_arii_no_bora-bora and how would a person who only speaks English understand that without subtitles?
It’s converted to English for the English ear away from the French.
If it’s just two french talking it means nothing to an English speaker without translation.

[@Te_arii_no_bora-bora]

@@Belisarius536 hm i guess you’re right then

[@user-oq8dk5zy2l]

La France, l'Armee, Josephine

[@samukis272]

I'd kindly recommend listening to the German version "Ich bin Soldat" - makes so much more sense...

[@Solkian66619]

how this version doesn't make sense?
And this song is originally french. wtf

[@samukis272]

@@Solkian66619 This song is an oficer's nationalist reverie, glorifying the Napoleonic wars. Ich bin Soldat, set to the same tune, tells about how the common soldier doesn't want to kill anybody, just wants to go home to his family and live a good life. Given recent events, I'd warmly suggest listening to it.

[@user-fn7pz7ju7y]

I also like to recommend listening to "Paris pour un beefsteak" which is about the Paris Commue.

[@MajorDenisBloodnok]

Ich bin Soldat was written, for the words, in 1870, using the music of Te souviens-tu ? composed in 1817 by Joseph-Denis Doche.
Exept for the music, the two songs have nothing in common. Ich bin Soldat is an anti-war song whereas Te souviens-tu? is about the reminiscences of the glory, adventures and suffering of two ex soldiers of Napoleon, now two demi-soldes (half-payed soldiers thrown out of the army by the royalist government of the Restauration).

[@Ketsen]

@@samukis272 I think thqt it depends of the situation, I think soldiers sometimes were proud to defend their country, but in more recent ones I think war became very difficult

[@oihanlarranegi472]

It's easy to think of the napoleonic wars as an age of glory and honour, but we must remember that these men fought, looted, raped, and killed for the glory of a megalomaniac. Europe had never seen such devastation before, and it is no surprise that everyone tried to avoid a repetition of it during the 19th century.

[@iparipaitegianiparipaitegi4643]

borrokatu ziren Europako erregeek gerra deklaratu zietelakotz.

[@oihanlarranegi472]

@@iparipaitegianiparipaitegi4643 lehen gerretan bai, baina frantsesek ez zuten batere beharrik Egipto, Espainia, Prusia edo Errusiara joateko, eta hala egin zuten. Napoleon buruzagi ikusgarria izan zen, dudarik gabe, baina ez nuke heroi deituko. Bere handinahikeria zuen arrazoitzat, besterik ez.

[@iparipaitegianiparipaitegi4643]

@@oihanlarranegi472 etenik gabeko koalizioak sortu ziren Frantzia zapaltzeko, Britainia Handiak finantzatutako koalizioak. gerrak 1792tik 1815era iraun zuen eta erregeek irabazi zutenean baino ez zen amaitu. Espainiako gerra Ingalaterraren aurkako borrokaren ondorioa baino ez zen izan.

[@Weederzful]

You just dont get it

[@kevinDMC12]

congratulations you just discover what happened in every wars since the birth of man
idiot