Whatever the path,
the back streets your fate opened,
wherever we might stand, wherever we might come from1
each avenue reminds us that it's tied to them.
Oh, I go2 but I don't forget anything
out of love for my people3.
(chorus: )
In the heart of the street, where lives are crossing,
is engraved in my soul what I've learned there4.
My sufferings and my joys, my longings.
In the heart of the street, that's where I grew up.
I see its warmth here5, its fire is priceless.
there is engraved in my soul what I've learned there,
in the heart of the street, where lives are crossing.
How could I6 deny the steel I was forged with?
What use would be to forget the unrest coming from our districts?
(to forget) the one I have been once?
Oh, in the strife you get to know that
Nobody can take it from you7
(chorus)
1. I suspect the French is wrong here.
It could be either:
"chaque avenue nous rappelle ses liens avec l'endroit d'ou l'on vient" (each avenue reminds us of the ties we have with the place we come from), or
"d'où qu'on vienne, chaque avenue nous rapelle ses liens" (wherever we might come from, each avenue reminds us of its ties [with the aforementioned back streets])2. poor French here. More like "je m'en vais"3. or "homies" or "relatives"4. this awkward image implies that her soul lies in the heart of the street5. the French is redundant too6. I assume "comment faire pour renier" is implied7. these last two lines do not make much sense IMHO