-M- (Matthieu Chedid) is a well-respected artist from France. Before releas… Read Full Bio ↴-M- (Matthieu Chedid) is a well-respected artist from France. Before releasing his own material, he used to be a favored session man for a great variety of pop and electronic acts. He creates extremely eclectic music, plays a whole host of instruments himself during recordings and has a large base of dedicated fans.

His music being so eclectic, it is hard to label him. However, the influence of Serge Gainsbourg can be traced in the way he uses the structures of Anglo-Saxon pop and funk, but blends them with the French tradition of complex lyrical wordplay and an emphasis on storytelling.

He his known for his unique hairstyle in the shape of an M, and praised for his amazing guitar playing abilities , and his grandiose live performances à la David Bowie (documented in the live album Le Tour de -M-).

He is Louis Chédid's son. Some of his texts (among which Bonobo) have been written by the writer Andrée Chédid, who happens to be his grandmother.

Cet Air
-M- Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Cet air, t'en souviens-tu?
Ce bel instant perdu
D'un Paris qui n'est plus
Cet air, t'en souviens-tu?
L'odeur d'un matin nu
D'un Mali dévêtu

Pars et ne te retourne pas

Chaque fois qu'une chose est sifflée
Un morceau de ta vie est passé
Vas, et tu le retrouveras

Cet air, t'en souviens-tu?
Se perdre dans les rues
Dans un saut continue
Cet air, t'en souviens-tu?
Souffler le soir venu
Vers ceux qui ne sont plus

Pars, et ne te retourne pas
Chaque fois qu'une chose est sifflée
Un morceau de ta vie est passé
Vas, et tu le retrouveras

Cet air, t'en souviens-tu?

Cet air, t'en souviens-tu?

Cet air je m'en souviens comme un rêve qui m'étreint
Toute la chaleur détient la douceur de sa main

Chaque fois qu'une chose est sifflée
Un morceau de ta vie est passé
Oui pars, et ne te retourne pas
Chaque fois qu'une chose est sifflée

Un morceau de ta vie est passé
Vas, et tu le retrouveras

Overall Meaning

The song “Cet Air” by -M- is a nostalgic tribute to a past time, place and memory that the singer longs to revisit. The lyrics are an ode to a moment in Paris that has been lost to time, along with the singer’s fleeting memories of Mali, evoked through a single scent. The refrain, “Cet air, t’en souviens-tu?” (“Do you remember that air?”) repeats throughout the song and serves as a haunting reminder that the past is gone and can only be revisited through memory.

The singer urges the listener to leave the present behind and venture forth without looking back in order to recapture moments from the past. In doing so, the listener may rediscover pieces of their life that have slipped away. The song suggests that memories and experiences are fleeting and are easily lost if one is not vigilant in preserving them. The final lyrics, “Cet air je m’en souviens comme un rêve qui m'étreint/Toute la chaleur détient la douceur de sa main” (I remember that air like a dream that grips me/All the warmth holds the sweetness of its hand), highlight the bittersweet nature of nostalgia and the powerful grip that memories can have.

Overall, “Cet Air” is a poignant and introspective meditation on memory and the longing to reconnect with the past.

Line by Line Meaning

Cet air, t'en souviens-tu?
Do you remember this tune?

Ce bel instant perdu
That beautiful lost moment

D'un Paris qui n'est plus
From a Paris that is no more

L'odeur d'un matin nu
The scent of a naked morning

D'un Mali dévêtu
Of an undressed Mali

Pars et ne te retourne pas
Leave and do not look back

Chaque fois qu'une chose est sifflée
Every time something is whistled

Un morceau de ta vie est passé
A piece of your life has passed

Vas, et tu le retrouveras
Go and you will find it again

Se perdre dans les rues
Getting lost in the streets