La Chanson des Escargots – Jacques Prévert
Welcome to your weekly immersion in French en poésie.
À méditer cette semaine
"La vie est une fleur dont l’amour est le miel." — Victor Hugo
"Life is a flower of which love is the honey."
La Chanson à savourer
Le Poème de la semaine
Jacques Prévert – La Chanson des Escargots qui vont à l’enterrement
This poem is one of my favorites, one I know by heart and used to whisper to my babies as a soft lullaby. There’s something timeless in its gentle rhythm, its quiet humor, and its deep tenderness. Prévert’s poems often find their way into music, and La Chanson des Escargots is no exception. After all, poetry and music are never far apart.
Laissez les mots vous emporter :
Tip: For the best learning experience, listen first, then read, then check the translation. Repetition is key, immerse yourself as much as you like!
Normal Speed Audio :
Les Paroles :
Slow Speed Audio:
La Traduction :
A la Rencontre du Poète :
Jacques Prévert (1900–1977) was a poet and screenwriter known for his simple yet lyrical style, celebrating everyday life with humor, tenderness, and depth. His words feel effortless but resonate deeply, sometimes playful, sometimes melancholic, toujours inoubliable.
Vocabulaire clé & Expressions :
Printemps – Spring
Enterrement – Funeral, burial
Feuille morte – Dead leaf (a common poetic image in French)
Hélas – Unfortunately
Prendre la peine de... – To take the time to do something
Si le cœur vous en dit – If you feel like it / If your heart desires
Vous verrez du pays – To travel, to see different places
Se mettre à... – To start doing something
Lentement – Slowly
Velours – Velvet
Points de Grammaire :
1. "S’en aller" – A poetic way to say "to leave"
Ils s'en vont dans le soir ... → “They are leaving in the evening...”
Similar to partir, but more expressive and often used in poetry.
2. Present Tense
The poem is written in the present tense (le présent), which is used for narration, general truths, and storytelling.
Examples:
Ils s’en vont → They go / They are going.
Ils arrivent → They arrive.
Prenez un verre de bière → Take a glass of beer.
C'est triste → It's sad.
Dernière Pensée
Jacques Prévert’s poem is a quiet celebration of life’s resilience, c’est un véritable hymne à la vie. Even in the presence of loss, the song continues, just as life and art persist through sorrow. The snails, slow and unhurried, move forward, reminding us that even in moments of stillness or grief, life finds a way to carry on. More than a reflection on time and loss, this poem is ultimately a celebration of life itself, of its ability to endure, to renew, and to sing again.
See you next week for another poetic journey. Bonne écoute, bonne lecture, et à bientôt.
Bonus: Le poème en chanson
🐌
Wow thank you so much! That was such a pretty poem. And I really appreciate the slower reading. I usually go straight for the translation when reading poetry but here I found my self wanting to figure it out. It has been years since my last French lesson and I was never very good. But I found myself pleasantly surprised by how many words I could pick out with a little concentration. I really like the line "sad not pretty" although I thought when I first read it that it was sad not happy. That line really struck me. I also liked the line about the fall night because I understood most of that line and I also knew the trees and plants were singing. I also knew something was dead in the first line but I thought it was a flower. I was surprised and happy the characters were snails. I knew that word looked familiar. I love the sound of this poem and the challenge of decoding it. The voice recordings were beautiful and I listened to them multiple times. What a lovely poem!