Il faut naître à Monaco [English translation]

To have faith, you have to be a coalman.

To be badly shod, you have to be a shoemaker.

To seduce the crowd, you have to sing "La pêche aux moules"1

And to not pay taxes, you have to be born in Monaco!

And that's how it is, shame to anyone who thinks badly of it,

You must suffer in silence.

What's the point of wanting to leave France

If you're from the Auvergne2 region?

You can't do all at once

Whistle apero and opera.3

You can't, it's obvious

Pay cash when you're not satisfied

And the other way around!

To be a legionnaire - you have to feel the warm sand

To say the verses correctly - you have to be a grinder

To do business - you have to know how to bribe4

And to not pay taxes - you have to be born in Monaco!

And that's how it is, the English are British,

The botanical gardens.

What's the point in wanting to leave Africa

When you are from Ghana?

You can't do all at once

Whistle apero and opera.

You can't, it's obvious

Pay cash when you're not satisfied

And the other way around!

To be tough, you have to eat spinach.

To get up early, you must not go late to bed.

If you're Cousteau5, you have to put on a nice suit.

And to not pay taxes, you have to be born in Monaco!

And that's how it is, as La Fontaine6 said

Mironton, Mirontaine.7

What's the point in wanting to leave the stage

When nothing's holding you back?

You can't do all at once

Whistle apero and opera.

You can't, it's obvious

Pay cash when you're not satisfied

And the other way around!

1. La pêche aux moules (Fishing for mussels) is a children's song. https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=fs&p=35582. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auvergnat_(language)3. Siffler l’apéro et l’opéra literally means "Whistle the aperitif and the opera". In short, this reinforces the previous verse saying you can't do all at once. However, there's much more to it. This French text dives into the subject: http://pierrehenri.castel.free.fr/S%E9minaires%20ALI/signifiant4.htm4. This is a word play on "payer un pot [de vin]" (bribe) and "payer impôts" (pay taxes) which are pronounced the same way. Without the written lyrics, this verse can be heard as "To do business - you have to know how to pay taxes"5. This plays with the small difference in pronunciation between the name Cousteau and the adjective costaud (tough). Without the written lyrics, this verse can be heard as "If you're tough, you have to put on a nice suit". Jacques Cousteau was a researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Cousteau6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_de_La_Fontaine7. A verse of one of the most popular folk songs in French. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlbrough_s%27en_va-t-en_guerre