J'ai Osé [English translation]

Verse 1:

I always did things my way, I never listened to those who bad-mouthed me

I left those classrooms who found me too irritating quite early

I denied my halo when my wounds were too alive

Between the walls of a shady cell or on the back of a shooting star

I'm gone far away from home, where was I forcefully taken?

I went through my fears one after the other with my brattish zeal

I lifted up mountains, even when someone else made fun of me

I've known hell, and then the radiance of dawn

I wanted to understand who had ordained that this rotten world be that way

That we wouldn't ever be able to change it without being broken down by those wearing insignias

I wrote thousands of rhymes

Which barked at my insides while I let them out

Keep your jobs and your titles!

A wild one amongst all the wild ones swimming and watching the eclipse

Without any life belt, I swim

In life's immensity

Dry slope or summit, just know that I never forget where my scars come from

If I'm not here, it's become I'm wandering

Sheets of paper and pens on the battlefield

Fuck the liars and their ill-bred plans

Babylon made me sick, too

Chorus:

I dared to look at my faults (I looked at my faults)

Yes, I've crossed deserts (and I followed the Star)

I dared defy the times (I defied the times)

And I dared to believe in my dreams (because who else will do it in my place?)

When everyone wants to make you walk in line

(you can't walk in line!)

Because they made up the rules (I advocated disobedience)

I dared to turn down the orders (I turned down the orders)

And I dared to believe in myself (everyone has his own road, his own mission)

Verse 2:

I always was independent, I waited on no one

I thought life was monotonous, I didn't want to know the same area forever

I dared to walk around the globe and deflecting the codes

To unscrew the doors, I defied the times with my words

I had to face my fears, to test my faith

I had to get myself out of the shit, dreaming that my voice would be heard

There are those who pretended to know, who foresaw the slammer for me

Little smuggler at the other end of the world, recognized in almost every train station

So I start at full speed, I get moving

End of the platform, a bunch of false declarations

An emanation of unreal things (Pow!) arrives and gets out just like a violent explosion

Young vagabond who flees when the masses grow, friend of every stronghold

I spray-paint my coloured dreams on the gray walls of the nation

I broke and entered into the rap game

I'll take what life gives me

I grow up with every second, and with every second I give the finger to your bar-codes

I was told "Give up, it's too late" but I kept going

Frowned eyebrows, young insolent on the front

I dared defy the empire, man!

[Chorus]

Verse 3:

Had I listened to them, I would have become the shadow of myself

My heart was heavy, my soul was suffocating, I didn't have a chance, but I took one anyway

I would have become embittered by the lack of audacity in my life

Watching the trains go by, both my feet unmoving on the square

I would have ended up rusting from routine and its insanity

Only ever going around the neighborhood, just like everything was void of any meaning

So I jumped into nothingness, swam dive, into emptiness I throw myself

And then I dared to think for myself, to say out loud was I thought inside!

I dared to push the limit, to move the mountains

To brave what's forbidden, to follow the beating of my soul

I dared to ward off the curses and the schemes from long ago

Even if it meant offending those who say that your past condemns you

• Artist:Keny Arkana
• Album:Tout Tourne Autour du Soleil