This is 'French through chansons', a podcast that uses famous songs to explain the French language. The main purpose of this podcast is to familiarize you with listening to the French language, to absorb its pronunciation and to learn and remember new words in a fun way. And while you're at it, you'll also get to hear some really great French chansons from a variety of artists, from Charles Aznavour to Jacques Brel and from Dalida to Dave. I hope you’ll enjoy this podcast. Please leave your comments and questions (and any suggestions for chansons with links to their Youtube video) in the comment boxes below each article.

But first, some instructions... On this website you will find the lessons. Each lesson starts with a YouTube video of a song, with the complete French text underneath, annotated with translations of the words and sentences I want to discuss. It is best to first listen to the whole song once or several times, while reading the French text. That way you can get a feel for the language.

Next, you start the podcast which you will find under the text. I will comment on the French lyrics and try to give you tools to make the highlighted words easier to remember. And don't worry, for the time being I won't go into too much detail on grammar.

Have a good time, or… amusez-vous bien!