When Alain Bashung was one year old he was sent to the Strasbourg area, in Wingersheim, to stay with his grandparents. He spent his childhood in the country in a conservative environment. When he was five years old he discovered Music most notably Kurt Weill, as he played harmonica. He was also a Choirboy in the church at Wingersheim and played basket-ball. At School he was regarded serious child.
He returned to Paris in 1959, where he discovered the great names of Chanson Française, the radio, American Rock with Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. Whilst studying to become an accountant, he started a short lived Band with friends “les Dunces” whose style swong between Folk and Rockabilly. He quickly dropped his studies.
Bashung started a band with musicians met in Royan, a new band playing in Restaurants, Hotels and most of all the American bases. his career started with some difficulties with the release of his first single at 19 years of age “Pourquoi rêvez-vous des États-Unis ?” in 1966. He released a dozen singles, one using the pseudonym David Bergen, and two others. In 1971/1972 under the pseudonym "Hendrick Darmen" compositor and singer of the band “Monkey Bizness”. He wrote a number of songs for stars of the time like Noël Deschamps, but doesn't appear to have reached success.
In 1973, he played Robespierre in the Musical “La Révolution française” written by Claude-Michel Schönberg. He met Dick Rivers the singer of Les Chats Sauvages, for whom he composed and produced music.
He met musician Andy Scott and the songwriter Boris Bergman, and in 1977 wrote his first innovative LP “Romans photos”, though it was a Commercial failure in the context of Punk storming music.
In 1979, he released “Roulette russe”, a very dark and more Rock orientated album.
He confirmed his talent with critical acclaim and public success in 1981, with the rock influenced album “pizza”, mainly with one single from the album “Gaby, oh Gaby” that finally got Bashung success in the charts in 1981 followed by the single “Vertige de l'amour”, and started touring the bigger venues Notably “l'Olympia” in Paris.
In 1982, Bashung collaborated with Serge Gainsbourg on the complex album “Play blessures”, that did not achieve commercial success.
In 1983, he confused his fan base with an album deviating from the previous rock style, “Figure imposée”. In 1985, he came back with a number of titles written for “SOS Racisme” (anti-racism organisation).
In 1986, he released “Passé le Rio Grande”, which won him a “Victoire de la Musique”. Two singles achieved some success over the airwaves: “Malédiction” and “L'arrivée du tour”. However the album itself did not sell much.
In 1992, he started a long partnership with writer Jean Fauque, for “Osez Joséphine”, an album which also contains some cover of classic Rock such as “Night in White Satin”. His fan base grew and the album sold 350 000 copies. In 1994, he followed up with “Chatterton,” collaborating with Sonny Landreth, Ally McErlaine, Link Wray, Marc Ribot and Stéphane Belmondo. The key single extracted from this album is “Ma petite entreprise.” He started a two-year tour that results in the 1995 live album, “Confessions publiques.”
After recording a duet with Brigitte Fontaine "City" for her album "Les Palaces", Bashung returned to the musical world following a stint acting and in 1998 with “Fantaisie militaire”. While making this album in collaboration with Rodolphe Burger, Les Valentins and Jean-Marc Lederman. He will receive three Victoires de la Musique for the Album in 1999.
In 2002, he released the “L'imprudence” album to further critical acclaim. During the same year, he recorded with his wife, actress and comedian Chloé Mons “le Cantique des cantiques”. They created this title for their wedding in 2001, on a music written by Rodolphe Burger and on the basis a a new translation of the “Cantique des cantiques” from the Bible by the Author Olivier Cadiot.
In 2004, he released live double album “La tournée des grands espaces."
In 2005, for the twentieth Victoires de la Musique, he received an award for the best album of the last 20 years for “Fantaisie militaire.”
In the beginning of 2007, he participates in the tour “Les Aventuriers d'un autre Monde” with Jean-Louis Aubert (Téléphone), Cali, Daniel Darc, Richard Kolinka (Téléphone) and Raphaeël.
In March 2009, he recieved three Victoires de la Musique for his last album "Bleu Pétrol".
He passed away on March 14th, 2009 of complications of metastatic lung cancer.
Happe
Alain Bashung Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Qui s'ébranle
Non, tu vois pas
Tu n'es pas dans l'angle
Pas dans le triangle
Comme quand tu faisais du zèle
Comme quand je te volais dans les plumes
Par la porte entrebâillée
Je te vois rêver
À des ébats qui me blessent
À des ébats qui ne cessent
Peu à peu tout me happe
Je me dérobe, je me détache
Sans laisser d'auréole
Les cymbales, les symboles
Collent
On se rappelle
On se racole
Peu à peu tout me happe
Les vents de l'orgueil
Peu apaisés
Peu apaisés
Une poussière dans l'œil
Et le monde entier soudain se trouble
Comme quand tu faisais du zèle
Comme quand je te volais dans les plumes
Entre les dunes
Par la porte entrebâillée
Je te vois pleurer
Des romans-fleuves asséchés
Où jadis on nageait
Peu à peu tout me happe
Je me dérobe, je me détache
Sans laisser d'auréole
Les cymbales, les symboles
Collent
On se rappelle
On se racole
Peu à peu tout me happe
Tu vois ce convoi
Qui s'ébranle
Non, tu vois pas
The song "Happe" by Alain Bashung is a reflective and introspective piece about the detachment from someone's past self and how they no longer recognize or connect with certain aspects of their life. The first part of the song talks about a convoy that the singer notices but realizes the other person isn't able to see it because they aren't in the right angle or position. This can represent the idea that sometimes we might miss crucial moments or events in our lives because of our mindset, perspective or position.
Then, the lyrics go into memories of the past and how the singer and the other person used to interact, but that connection has since diminished. There's a sense of regret and sadness as the singer sees the other person dreaming about something that hurts them and how "bit by bit, everything catches up with" them, causing them to detach and move further away. They watch the other person cry and reminisce about shared experiences and how they used to "swim" in rivers of stories, now dried up.
Overall, "Happe" is a melancholic and reflective song about the unavoidable changes and growth that come with time and how sometimes, despite our best efforts, we lose connections and parts of ourselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu vois ce convoi
You see that procession
Qui s'ébranle
Moving away
Non, tu vois pas
No, you can't see it
Tu n'es pas dans l'angle
You're not in the right angle
Pas dans le triangle
Not in the triangle
Comme quand tu faisais du zèle
Like when you were overzealous
Comme quand je te volais dans les plumes
Like when I was pulling your feathers
Entre les dunes
Between the dunes
Par la porte entrebâillée
Through the partially open door
Je te vois rêver
I see you dreaming
À des ébats qui me blessent
About love-making sessions that hurt me
À des ébats qui ne cessent
Abbout never-ending love-making sessions
Peu à peu tout me happe
Gradually, everything overwhelms me
Je me dérobe, je me détache
I withdraw, I detach myself
Sans laisser d'auréole
Without leaving a halo
Les cymbales, les symboles
The cymbals, the symbols
Collent
Stick
On se rappelle
We remember
On se racole
We recruit each other
Les vents de l'orgueil
Prideful winds
Peu apaisés
Not very calm
Peu apaisés
Not very calm
Une poussière dans l'œil
A speck of dust in the eye
Et le monde entier soudain se trouble
And the whole world suddenly becomes chaotic
Je te vois pleurer
I see you cry
Des romans-fleuves asséchés
Dried-up epic love stories
Où jadis on nageait
Where once we swam
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Alain Bashung, Jean Marie Fauque
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Alain B.
on La fille de la maison des dunes
Elle verra la vie qu’il me faut
Dans du marc de thé chaud
Car elle sait tous les secrets du tarot
Je me noie dans ses cheveux noirs
(je) Suis enfin au pouvoir
Car elle m’apprend à aimer et à voir
Elle m’apprend à aimer et à voir
La fille de la maison des dunes
La fille des brumes
La fille de la maison des dunes
La fille des brumes
Je me vois comme un bout d’étoile
Dans sa boule de cristal
Et je ne vois pas bien ou est le mal
Où est le mal
D’accord elle est un peu sorcière
La fille aux mains de pierre
Mais elle m’apprend à aimer et à voir
Elle m’apprend à aimer et à voir
La fille de la maison des dunes
La fille des brumes
La fille de la maison des dunes
La fille des brumes
Plus je me la mets dans la tête
Plus j’deviens une sorte de mouette
Plus je vole dans son monde de flou
Plus je m’éloigne de vous
Je me brûle à son soleil noir
Terriens, bonsoir…
Oui elle m’apprend à aimer et à voir
Elle m’apprend à aimer et à voir
La fille de la maison des dunes
La fille des brumes
La fille de la maison des dunes
La fille des brumes
…