Ma philosophie
Amel Bent
How to study this song
“Ma philosophie” carries 38 French words, 9 adjectives and 24 verb forms — 71 study entries in all, graded B1-. Begin with philosophie, poing and tête: get those and most of the lines stop being guesswork. This one leans on its verbs: 24 distinct forms against 9 adjectives, so conjugation is where the effort goes. At this level part of the list will already be familiar; the rest is what closes the gap.
The words of this song, in several languages
Every word below is taken from this song and translated by us. Nothing here is the lyric itself — these are the individual words you need in order to follow it.
Vocabulary
| FR | EN | ES | IT | PT | NL | DE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| philosophie | philosophy | filosofía | filosofia | filosofia | filosofie | Philosophie |
| poing | fist | puño | pugno | punho | vuist | Faust |
| tête | head | cabeza | testa | cabeça | hoofd | Kopf |
| torse | chest, torso | torso, pecho | torace | tronco, peito |
What this song teaches you
Level · B1-
- Vocabulary words
- 38
- Adjectives
- 9
- Word combos
- 8
- Expressions
- 12
- Verb forms
- 24
- Quiz questions
- 35
More French songs at this level
Background
About the song
«Ma philosophie» is the song that turned Amel Bent from a talent-show contestant into one of the best-known voices in France. In 2004 Bent, then eighteen, reached third place in the second season of «Nouvelle Star», the French version of the «Idol» format broadcast on M6. She did not win, but she was the contestant the record industry noticed. Before the end of the year she had a contract with Jive, part of BMG, and on 29 November 2004 this was released as her first single, the calling card of her debut album «Un jour d’été», which reached the shops the following day.
The lyric was written by Bent together with the rapper Diam’s, who was herself becoming one of the most important names in French hip-hop at the time. The music is by the British songwriter Blair MacKichan, and the track was produced by Volodia and Jean-François Berger. The result sits between contemporary R&B and pop: a firm mid-tempo beat, a big sung chorus and verses that are delivered almost like a spoken statement. It is a mixture of rap-style writing and pop melody.
The song is a declaration of self-respect. The singer explains that she has only one rule for life, which is to be accepted as she is, and then lists everything she refuses to apologise for: her mixed origins, her body, the working-class neighbourhood where she grew up, and the insults she has had to hear. Instead of complaining, she describes herself standing tall and moving forward, ready to keep fighting and to aim as high as she can. She compares herself to the ace in a card game, the single card that can beat the king, and she insists that her background gave her far more love than hardship. The tone is not angry; it is proud, cheerful and stubborn.
For a learner of French the song is an excellent collection of everyday idioms about courage and pride: holding your head high, puffing out your chest, trying twice as hard, aiming for the moon, keeping going until the obstacle wears out. It also shows two small pronouns that French uses constantly, «y» and «en», the restrictive construction «ne … que» that means «only», and a clear simple future. The chorus drops the «ne» of the negation, exactly as people do in spoken French, which makes it a good example of the gap between written rules and the language of the street.
Over the years the song has outgrown its first audience. It is regularly described in France as a feminist anthem, it has been adopted at pride marches and demonstrations for diversity, and new artists keep recording their own versions of it two decades after its release.