Je Viens De Là

We can't really say we choose our place of birth
What the five senses will gradually discover
One day my parents settled down, so here I am
These are the sidewalks that saw my first steps

I come from where guys hang out in groups to pass the time
I come from where down below they play soccer in the middle of the night
I come from where we pay attention to the brand of our clothes
And even if we buy them at the market, we don't joke about style
I come from where language is in constant evolution:
Verlan, reubeu, slang, a big creative process
Researchers, linguists come to us for appointments
We don't always have the same dictionary, but we have more words than you

I come from where young people all have a mastery of jokes
A Ph.D. in small talk, a quick-witted response
Street smarts, everyday resourcefulness
Call it what you want, but for us, hold on tight
We swear on our mother's life at the age of nine
We curse easily but with an innovative vocabulary

I come from where at the first parties they're already dancing wildly
I come from where our first dates happen around a gyro
I come from where we love rap, music that sweats
That feels real, that conveys, that testifies, that breathes
I come from where there's heavy beats and plenty of bitter rhymes
I come from where it's not shocking that a group is called 'fuck your mother'

CHORUS:
I come from there and I love it despite what others may think
To each their own territory, to each their own France
If I pay tribute to these places with every breath
It's because this is where I drew all my inspiration

I come from where at twelve years old temptation calls you
To illicit business and shady dealings
I come from where it's too easy to take the wrong path
And to choose your way you have to push aside many doubts
I come from where violence is a very familiar neighbor;
A guy bleeding in the schoolyard is a weekly sight
I come from where too often a bunch of dirty kids
Earn their pocket money by snatching handbags

I come from where we become athletes, artists, singers
But also lawyers, civil servants, or executives
Don't get it wrong, I still have plenty of jobs on my list
Avoid preconceived ideas and journalist clichés

I come from where we exchange, I come from where we mix
For me, it's the absence of noise and smells that bothers me
I come from where the rainbow doesn't have six colors but eighteen
I come from where France is a cosmopolitan country

I come from where more than anywhere else there's a real energy
I really feel that thing, it's not demagoguery
We don't have a monopoly on merit, nor a monopoly on envy
But where I come from, it's definitely a good school of life
I come from where we're a bit wary and often paranoid
We often think we're not liked, but maybe it's not completely false
You should see how they talk about where I come from on TV
If I didn't know it, I wouldn't even take my dog there

CHORUS:
I come from there and I love it despite what others may think
To each their own territory, to each their own France
If I pay tribute to these places with every breath
It's because this is where I drew all my inspiration

I come from where like everywhere, we dream when we sleep
I come from where people are born, people love, people die
You see, where I come from is like any place on earth
It's just a small region with a strong character
I come from where we're proud to tell where we come from
I don't know why, but that's how it is, we're all a bit chauvinistic
I could have lived something else elsewhere, it's too bad or it's for the best
It's here that I grew up, that I built myself, I come from the suburbs.