“Alors on danse” (so we dance) was Stromae's breakthrough in 2009–10. Over a minimal dance beat, he lists the weight of adult life: studies, then work, then money, debts, love that turns into children and then divorce, worries and more worries — and every time, the conclusion: so we dance. It's a party song that's secretly about escape.
The Brussels singer, son of a Rwandan father and a Belgian mother, topped charts across Europe with it. The verses are almost spoken, which is a gift for learners.
Listen for the chain of “qui dit… dit…” (whoever says X says Y), a very French way to link ideas, and the everyday vocabulary of work and money: le boulot, les dettes, l'argent.