San Clemente
Boulevard des airs Lyrics

This song by French band Boulevard des airs, titled "San Clemente," tells a story about a man who wants to write a piece about a certain street in his town, the Rue des Arts. He imagines himself sitting at a table in a salon on this street, tearing a piece of napkin while drunk and expressing his convictions about women, art, and important historical events like the protests in 1968 and the Algerian War of Independence. The singer feels torn between choosing to write about what he wants -- art, women, and poetry -- and what he should write about -- politics, the public, and taking sides between left-wing and right-wing ideologies. Civil unrest, injustice, and the human condition in relation to politics and history are also themes present in the song.

The repetition of the line "Et j'voulais vous parler des femmes, Et des bouts d'art, de leur parfum, De 68, que l'on condamne, Du mois d'octobre 61" (And I wanted to talk to you about women, And about art, their fragrance, About 68, which is condemned, About October '61) throughout the song seems to serve as a reminder of the things he wanted to write about but couldn't. The singer is stuck between his passion for art and women and his responsibility to write about society and politics. The song ends on a somewhat pessimistic note with the singer admitting to waiting for something that will never happen.

Overall, "San Clemente" is a poignant commentary on the everyman's struggles to negotiate between his individual wants and the larger societal expectations placed on him. It is a reflective and introspective song that pulls at the heartstrings of anyone who has ever felt torn between their passion and the demands of the world around them.