Corbel now lives in Paris and performs in France and abroad. Her music blends ancient poems and compositions, celtic tunes and Mediterranean influences. She was noticed during her concerts and had the opportunity to play with the greatest “world music” artists:
La Ballade de Rose
Cécile Corbel Lyrics
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Elle prend son cartable
Elle court, comme en rêve
Les cheveux aux vent
Dix ans, à l'école
Aux neuf coups de l'horloge
Elle attend l'amour
Mais l'amour ne vient pas
Bouche cerise
Et parfum de Rose
Un jour, elle apprend
Qu'on l'aime en secret
Huit garçons galants
Sept font leur cour
Elle attend l'amour
Mais l'amour ne vient pas
Rose se lève
Toujours en retard
Dans le train qui file
Elle note dans un carnet
Six chagrins trop lourds
Cinq petites peines
Elle attend l'amour
Mais l'amour ne vient pas
Elle range les souvenirs
Dans des boîtes closes
Et le temps s'étire
Derrière les carreaux
Quatre photos qu'elle garde
Trois qu'elle repose
Elle attend l'amour
Mais l'amour ne vient pas
Une femme à l'église
Effeuille les roses
Elle cueille ses larmes
en bouquet d'argent
Un ou deux soupirs
Plus de rose sur la branche
Elle attend l'amour
Mais l'amour ne vient pas
Rose se lève
Elle prend son cartable
Elle court, comme en rêve
Les cheveux aux vent
Elle attendait l'amour
Je n'attends qu'une chose
Moi j'attends toujours
Un baiser de toi
J'attends toujours
Un baiser de toi
"La Ballade de Rose" by Cécile Corbel is a poignant song that tells the story of Rose, a girl who waits her entire life for love, but never finds it. The song opens with Rose waking up and getting ready for school, full of hope and anticipation for love. However, as she grows older, she realizes that love never came for her. She is courted by eight boys, but she waits for the one who never shows up.
The song follows Rose's lifelong wait for love, as she notes down her heartbreaks and stores her memories in boxes. The chorus repeats the lines "Elle attend l'amour, mais l'amour ne vient pas" which translates to "She waits for love, but love never comes". The final verse introduces a woman in an old church, who is plucking the petals off roses and collecting her tears in a silver bouquet. This seems to represent Rose's final fate, as she has waited for so long that she has become the woman in the church, unable to find love.
"La Ballade de Rose" is a melancholic yet beautiful song that captures the sense of waiting and longing for love that many people experience in their lives. The song's haunting melody and Cécile Corbel's ethereal voice add to the sense of sadness and nostalgia.
Line by Line Meaning
Rose se lève
Every day Rose wakes up and begins a new day
Elle prend son cartable
She prepares herself for a day of learning
Elle court, comme en rêve
Rose runs, fueled by her imagination and dreams
Les cheveux aux vent
Her hair flows in the wind as she runs
Dix ans, à l'école
She has spent ten years in school learning about life and love
Aux neuf coups de l'horloge
At nine o'clock every day, she waits for love
Elle attend l'amour
Rose waits patiently for love to come to her
Mais l'amour ne vient pas
But love does not come
Bouche cerise
Rose has a cherry-colored mouth
Et parfum de Rose
Rose has a sweet perfume like a rose
Un jour, elle apprend
One day she learns about a secret admirer
Qu'on l'aime en secret
Someone loves her but is too afraid to tell her
Huit garçons galants
Eight boys try to win her affections
Sept font leur cour
Seven of them try to woo her
Rose se lève
Rose wakes up again the next day
Toujours en retard
She is always running late
Dans le train qui file
She rides a train which speeds along
Elle note dans un carnet
She writes down her heartaches in a journal
Six chagrins trop lourds
Six heavy sorrows are weighing her down
Cinq petites peines
Five small pains that still linger
Elle attend l'amour
Rose waits patiently for love
Mais l'amour ne vient pas
But love does not come
Elle range les souvenirs
Rose puts away her memories
Dans des boîtes closes
She stores them away in closed boxes
Et le temps s'étire
Time passes and stretches on
Derrière les carreaux
Behind the windowpanes, she waits for love
Quatre photos qu'elle garde
There are four pictures that she treasures
Trois qu'elle repose
Three more, she sets aside
Elle attend l'amour
Rose waits patiently for love
Mais l'amour ne vient pas
But love does not come
Une femme à l'église
A woman in church
Effeuille les roses
She carefully picks off rose petals
Elle cueille ses larmes
She wipes away her tears
En bouquet d'argent
Collecting them like a bundle of silver flowers
Un ou deux soupirs
One or two sighs escape her lips
Plus de rose sur la branche
There are no more roses left on the branch
Elle attend l'amour
She waits patiently for love
Mais l'amour ne vient pas
But love does not come
Rose se lève
Rose wakes up once more
Elle prend son cartable
She grabs her schoolbag
Elle court, comme en rêve
She runs like she's in a dream
Les cheveux aux vent
Her hair blows in the wind as she runs
Elle attendait l'amour
She used to wait patiently for love
Je n'attends qu'une chose
But now, there's only one thing I'm waiting for
Moi j'attends toujours
I'm always waiting
Un baiser de toi
A kiss from you
J'attends toujours
I'm always waiting
Un baiser de toi
A kiss from you
Contributed by Adam V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.