Petit matin
Emilie-Claire Barlow Lyrics
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Je r'garde le derrière des maisons
Les femmes sont à leur cuisine
Y a des oiseaux qui s' font la cour
Sur les fils du Bell Téléphone
Et dans l'oeil crevé de ma cour
Il pousse un gros transformateur
Au coeur de ce qui fut un chêne
Des airs à faire pendre un merle
Les enfants s'amusent dehors
Dans la sloche un collier de perles
Au hasard j'ouvre le journal
Crime passionnel rue Lacordaire
Paraît qu' ça va d' plus en plus mal
Pour les mangeurs de pomme de terre
Paraît aussi qu' le Président
S'amuse à jouer à la roulette
Entr' deux annonces à la page cent
Je trouve cet air de ma grand'mère
Et pour les mots je mets l' phono
De mon p'tit matin solitaire
Dommage que ce soit si gris
J'aurais voulu dire autre chose
Faudrait recommencer la vie
The lyrics of Emilie-Claire Barlow's song Petit matin describe the atmosphere of the early morning in an urban environment. The singer observes the smoke from factories and the backs of houses while drinking her coffee. She notices women cooking in their kitchens and birds courting on the telephone wires. In her backyard, there is a large transformer that has taken over what was once a majestic oak tree. Children are playing outside in the slush, and the singer reads about a passion crime on Lacordaire street while randomly flipping through the newspaper. She learns that things are getting worse for the potato eaters and that the president is playing roulette between the page's advertisements. The singer then finds a melody from her grandmother and adds her own words as she wishes that her morning was less gray and that she could start her life again.
The song's vivid imagery and descriptive language create a compelling atmosphere of the urban environment. The lyrics describe the beauty of the natural world - birds, trees, and children playing - amidst the harsh surroundings of factories and concrete. The transformer and its impact on the oak tree represent the theme of progress and development's cost. The news of the passion crime and the president's actions highlights the political and social issues that accompany modern societies' progress.
Line by Line Meaning
Petit café, fumée d'usines
In this small cafe, the smoke from nearby factories permeates the air
Je r'garde le derrière des maisons
I gaze upon the backs of the houses behind me
Les femmes sont à leur cuisine
The women are in their kitchens, likely preparing meals for their families
Y a des oiseaux qui s' font la cour
Birds are courting each other on the telephone wires
Sur les fils du Bell Téléphone
They are doing so on the Bell Telephone wires
Et dans l'oeil crevé de ma cour
And in the empty socket of my courtyard
Il pousse un gros transformateur
There is a large transformer growing in the heart of what used to be an oak tree
Au coeur de ce qui fut un chêne
The transformer is in the center of what used to be a tree
Des airs à faire pendre un merle
The atmosphere is so heavy and depressing, it could make a blackbird hang itself
Les enfants s'amusent dehors
The children are playing outside despite the grim surroundings
Dans la sloche un collier de perles
A necklace of pearls lies in the slush
Au hasard j'ouvre le journal
I randomly open the newspaper
Crime passionnel rue Lacordaire
A crime of passion has occurred on Lacordaire Street
Paraît qu' ça va d' plus en plus mal
It seems that everything is getting worse and worse
Pour les mangeurs de pomme de terre
For the potato eaters
Paraît aussi qu' le Président
It also seems that the President
S'amuse à jouer à la roulette
Is amusing himself by playing roulette
Entr' deux annonces à la page cent
In between two advertisements on page one hundred
Je trouve cet air de ma grand'mère
I find this melody from my grandmother
Et pour les mots je mets l'phono
And for the words, I put on the phonograph
De mon p'tit matin solitaire
During my solitary little morning
Dommage que ce soit si gris
It's a shame that it's so gray
J'aurais voulu dire autre chose
I would have liked to say something else
Faudrait recommencer la vie
We would have to start life over again
Contributed by Logan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.