Cheryl Cole – Promise This

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  General Comment:Does anyone yet know what the song is truly about... my take on it is:-
  
  Alouette..uette..uette
  -> Skylark..lark..lark ("-uette" is the last part of "alouette")
  
  Déployer l'aile
  -> Spead your wings
  
  Plumerai les ailes
  -> Pluck your wings
  
  In the English part she mentions, "Before I pluck your wings- cover me, please spread your wings- cover me" at first I thought she's was asking someone to settle down with her- and plucking wings would be a way of proving he won't fly off with someone else.
  
  However she's making constant reference to death; "die before I wake", "By a thread we're hanging on", "On your knees you pray for me".. maybe it's the death of a relationship, which kind of makes sense.
  
  I do believe it may have been inspired by the French nursery rhyme called Alouette, which is a song about plucking a skylark of it's feathers (so they can cook and eat it).

  Flag ashudsonon October 31, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:Right, I think I have them as accurate as possible. I changed a few mistakes with the order of the french bits, and added that last bit (thanks guys for telling me about that bit, I totally forgot!)
  
  Also, the bit that is hard to distinguish, the "would you...on me" part, well, I've listened to it really hard a good few times and I'm pretty sure it's "would you restore me", but she pronounces "restore" as "ree-store", to keep it in time and to fit in with the French theme.
  
  Any other suggestions/interpretations, please message me with them! This song is probably gonna be huge in a few months time so I don't want people reading the wrong lyrics! Thanks :D

  Flag paperprincesson October 02, 2010   Link

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    Could someone please explain the french parts because some of us don't speak french? It would be perhaps easier to understand what the song is about. I hope it gets huge because although I don't usually listen to this kind of music it caught my attention and it's really good

    Flag EsseQuamViderion October 03, 2010  

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    Alouette uette uette = Lark uette uette.
    
    Déployer l'aile = Deploy the wing.
    
    Plumerai les ailes = Pluck the wings.
    
    It's basically saying that the person she is singing about is an angel of some sort, I think.

    Flag paperprincesson October 09, 2010  

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    she's also talking about a song bird supposedly, L'Alouette, the lark is also a play about joan of arc, maybe shes talking about something like that??
    
    alouette deployer i'aile= Skylark, deploy your wings
    
    or it could be that french childrens song the one that goes "alouette jonti alouette"

    Flag Northofbeautifulon October 19, 2010  

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    Yes the French part came as a surprise to me (I'm French) because those are the lyric of a popular nursery rhyme about a Lark (alouette). Like most nursery rhymes it doesn't make much sense ! It goes :
    
    Alouette, gentille alouette
    = Lark, nice lark
    
    Alouette, je te plumerai
    = Lark, I will pluck you
    
    Je te plumerai la tête
    = I will pluck your head
    
    Je te plumerai le bec
    = I will pluck your beak (!?!)
    
    I think it was used here firstly because it sounds quite good, the "ouette ouette" (I would write it with the "u" according to the french pronunciation, but it doesn't really mater).
    And then it's also a metaphor about freedom and captivity of course.
    
    One last thing, the way the french words are sung here is quite far from the true french pronunciation so it is really hard to understand, but you wrote
    
    "déployer l'aile " which is singular, so it would mean spread ONE wing - a rather strange concept.
    I would write it "déployer LES aileS" with the plural so it would make more sense to be speaking of both wings .
    And to me it sounds the same in both "(plumerai) les ailes" and "(déployer) les ailes" said "lay alay" :)

    Flag RiverGirlon November 18, 2010  

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    I think instead of 'restore me' could it be 'rest on me' ?
    Because she says that bit about 'time for sleeping' so she cud b telling whoever to rest his wings on her and cover her up. Then after that bit she says
    'before i pluck your wings
    Cover me please'
    In that 2nd verse she talks about walking through shadows and he's with and comforting her and by doing that, if he is an some kind of angel, he would cover her up with his wing :)

    Flag crazychick2point0on January 08, 2011  
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  General Comment:Sometimes she says "plumerai les ailes" in the chorus.
  
  The final bit is...
  
  Alouette
  Déployer les ailes
  Alouette
  Plumerai les ailes

  Flag Steveweiseron September 24, 2010   Link

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    agreed:
    
    Alouette
    Déployer les ailes
    Alouette
    Plumerai les ailes
    
    I can't get "would you.... on me"
    
    It's a quite difficult interpretation this song.

    Flag wsxxswon September 26, 2010  

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    all i know about the french bit is that she says something about deploying wings and plucking wings, the "alouette" bit, i don't understand much.
    
    maybe she's talking about overcoming maleria- or however you spell it- or she could just be talking about angels??

    Flag Northofbeautifulon October 19, 2010  

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    well apparently alouette means skylark, now this could have something to do with deploying/plucking wings xx

    Flag katielou36on October 29, 2010  

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