Chacun Son Vice Lyrics ( English Translation ) – Alonzo

(Intro)
Stop right now, your evening smells like a mess.
Plus you’re a slut, when there are cops you run away.
Your good friends leave you, they love their cash too much.
They don’t want to miss the train of life just for the trip.

(Verse 1)
Marseille is a hood story, it sells jokes.
Let it hang around the block, light your cigarette with a Glock.
Light up the era with my friends in Glock cars, hoo.
Consuming is all well and good but it creates holes in the budget.
Whether it’s rock, reggae, techno or hip-hop,
Each his vice, each in his matrix they slip, they swallow.
We think we can all escape, but it only sticks to us, glues us down.
The others who don’t consume have too much stress and compensate.
But it takes time to understand.

(Chorus)
Hello France, hello World.
Like Weezy and Birdman, I make the birds fly.
The different trends have all become drugs.
We all have something we’re addicted to.
Even if we don’t have money, you know, we each have our vices, you know.

(Verse 2)
The decomposed face during the day, at night—who?
Sami, Mélissa, Rachida, Chloé, David, Kader, Marc or Fatoumata.
Big doses of bad news, little partier, so we’ll talk about it later.
Who among us will have the longest life expectancy?
Growth is disrupted by grams of hash.
Out of breath on the stairs when I go to see my mama.
Wasted, buzzed, nothing scary,
Even when you get behind the wheel.
Like my brother Karim, I have the axe between my thighs.
Not gallant, but mashallah we aren’t in the worst, we don’t sniff the pure.
Maddening, day by day there are new vices.
There’s the double apple, there’s the white grape.
The hookah gets you hooked.
Fruity tobacco for the lighter ones.
Wallah, they think they’re spared, you’re gonna die, little gingerbread.

(Chorus)
The different trends have all become drugs.
We all have something we’re addicted to.
Even if we don’t have money, you know, we each have our vices, you know.

(Verse 3)
Dreams in your eyes, you see, and to get there sometimes
You use your vice, you’re not free no matter what they say.
We are full of vices, full of desire.
Hey yo Flash, announcement to the masses,
Who take refuge in packs of Marlboro Lights.
The system puts us to sleep, we follow, lazy when we work.
That’s why little brother’s lost his spark.
Wallah, it gets serious whatever your size.
All a vice despite the slogans and the big music videos.
The reality outside, we want to escape it.
If it’s your last one tonight, I’ll tell you bsartek—watch out, watch out, watch out.

(Outro)
Look, everyone has their own vice, alcohol or hookah, hash or ecstasy.
Gotta stop this, that’s it.
Don’t be a fool, don’t be a fool, don’t be a fool.
Everyone has their own vice and everyone in their matrix slips into it.
Tell them, Kassim.

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Lyrics Meaning

This song is a raw and critical social commentary on modern addiction, escapism, and the vices that permeate contemporary urban life, particularly within the context of French banlieue (suburban) culture.

Core Themes & Interpretation:

• Vices as Social Epidemic: The central thesis is that “different trends have all become drugs.” The song argues that beyond traditional substances (hash, alcohol), modern society is addicted to lifestyle, trends, music scenes, social media, and consumerism. These are framed as new, pervasive “vices” that people use to cope, escape, or belong.

• Escapism from Harsh Reality: The lyrics paint a picture of a gritty, stressful reality—evoked through references to police, financial struggle (“holes in the budget”), and urban tension (“Marseille is a hood story”). Vices are presented as a universal, if flawed, coping mechanism to “escape the reality outside.” This includes everything from partying and substance use to obsessive careerism or materialism (“they love their cash too much”).

• Critique of Hypocrisy & Complacency: The song calls out the illusion of control. People think they are escaping or making choices (“Each in his matrix”), but they are actually being controlled by their addictions (“it only sticks to us, glues us down”). It mocks those who think lighter vices (“fruity tobacco”) spare them from consequences (“you’re gonna die, little gingerbread”).

• Generational & Systemic Despair: There’s an undertone of systemic critique. “The system puts us to sleep, we follow, lazy when we work” suggests a feeling of being numbed and demotivated by societal structures. The rhetorical question “Who among us will have the longest life expectancy?” highlights a generational fatalism born from this environment.

• Cultural Identity & Street Reality: The use of Arabic/Berber words (wallah, mashallah, bsartek), French verlan (meuf), and references to specific neighborhoods root the song in a multicultural, working-class French context. The “axe between the thighs” is a powerful metaphor for carrying constant readiness for violence or struggle, a testament to a tense environment.

• Ambiguous Stance: The narrator isn’t purely preachy. He implicates himself (“we are full of vices”) and portrays the scene with a mix of condemnation and familiarity. The closing, repetitive warning “Don’t be a fool” feels like a weary plea for awareness, both to himself and his community, acknowledging how easy it is to slip into these cycles.

Overall Essence:
The song is a stark, observational portrait of a generation seeking refuge from pressure, boredom, and systemic neglect through any available outlet. It’s less a judgment and more a grim diagnosis of social illness, highlighting how addiction manifests in myriad modern forms, trapping individuals in cycles of escapism that ultimately compound their problems. It’s a call for self-awareness amidst the haze.