Literal translation
The sun makes me sing
Meaning
the sun puts me in a singing mood
Explanation
This phrase, presented as the motto of the cicada and, by extension, of Provençal people themselves, expresses the joy of living that the southern sun brings, to the point of spontaneously bringing forth song. The image is transparent: warmth and light act as a force that stirs voice and heart, much as the cicada bursts into song as soon as the sun beats down hard. It is used to say one feels good, light, carried along by the climate and by a certain southern art of living made of carefreeness and cheerfulness. The register is fond and identity laden: the phrase often serves, almost like an emblem, to sum up a trait attributed to the local people, between regional pride and gentle self mockery. The trailing ellipsis that often closes the sentence hints at an implicit continuation, that of a harsher winter when the song, like the cicada's, eventually falls silent.