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.
Le dimanche à Tchernobyl
Alain Bashung Lyrics
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J'empile torchons vinyles
Évangiles
Mes paupières sont lourdes
Mon corps s'engourdit
C'est pas le chlore
C'est pas la chlorophylle
Tu m'irradieras encore longtemps
Bien après la fin
Tu m'irradieras encore longtemps
Au-delà des portes closes
Le dimanche à Tchernobyl
J'harangue le soleil
J'harangue les sardines
Dans la rougeur des canaux
À la centrale y a carnaval
Java javel
Cerveau vaisselle
Chaque jour se rit de moi
Indolore
Tu m'irradieras encore longtemps
Bien après la fin
Tu m'irradieras encore longtemps
Le dimanche à Tchernobyl
J'empile torchons vinyles
Évangiles
Sortir en lamé
En ciré
Sortir du chapeau
Comme à l'accoutumée
Tu m'irradieras encore longtemps
Tu m'irradieras encore longtemps
Le dimanche à Tchernobyl
Tu m'irradieras encore longtemps
Tu m'irradieras encore longtemps
Au-delà des portes closes
Tu m'irradieras encore longtemps
Bien après la fin
Tu m'irradieras encore longtemps
In Alain Bashung's song "Le dimanche à Tchernobyl," the lyrics are evocative of the tragedy of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. The song paints a picture of a desolate landscape, with the singer spending their Sunday in an unappealing and abandoned place. The repetition of the line "Tu m'irradieras encore longtemps" (You will irradiate me for a long time) adds to this bleak imagery, with the singer accepting their fate of living with the dangerous side effects of radiation exposure.
The lyrics also touch on the idea of escapism. The singer finds solace in piling up torchons (dish towels) and vinyl records, and in reciting evangiles (Gospels). These items provide a sense of comfort and familiarity in an otherwise unfamiliar and frightening environment. The idea of a carnaval (carnival) at the center of the nuclear disaster is a jarring contrast, and the mention of javel (bleach) and cerveau vaisselle (dishwashing liquid) adds to the surrealism of the scene.
Line by Line Meaning
Le dimanche à Tchernobyl
The singer is spending his Sunday in Chernobyl
J'empile torchons vinyles
He is stacking dish towels and vinyl records
Évangiles
He is reading religious texts
Mes paupières sont lourdes
He is feeling tired and sleepy
Mon corps s'engourdit
His body is numb and sluggish
C'est pas le chlore
The cause of his symptoms is not chlorine
C'est pas la chlorophylle
The cause of his symptoms is not chlorophyll
Tu m'irradieras encore longtemps
He is being exposed to radiation and will feel its effects for a long time
Bien après la fin
Even after death, he will still feel the effects of radiation exposure
Au-delà des portes closes
Even beyond closed doors and barriers, radiation can still affect him
J'harangue le soleil
He is addressing and railing against the sun
J'harangue les sardines
He is also addressing and railing against the fish in the canals
Dans la rougeur des canaux
The canals are red, possibly due to the radiation
À la centrale y a carnaval
There is a carnival taking place at the nuclear power plant
Java javel
The singer may be intoxicated and associating the chemical bleach with the dance style Java
Cerveau vaisselle
He might be suggesting that his brain is being washed like dishes with chemicals
Chaque jour se rit de moi
He feels like every day mocks him and his situation
Indolore
He is enduring radiation exposure without feeling pain
Sortir en lamé
He is dressing up in lame fabric
En ciré
He is also wearing a raincoat
Sortir du chapeau
He is pulling something out of his hat, possibly a magic trick
Comme à l'accoutumée
As is his custom or tradition
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING FRANCE, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Alain Bashung, Ludovic Bource, Christophe Calpini, Jean Fauque, Fred Hachadourian
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ianis Guerin
Pas un jour ou je n'écoute pas au moins une chanson de l'Imprudence. Pas un jour ou je n'écris pas sur l'imprudence. Un réflexe de survie grâce à cet album d'une rare mélancolie.
Philippe Cirse
Sombre, dépressive mais tellement belle, belle comme l'absence , belle comme le désespoir et le renoncement !
samir matallah
Enorme morceau !
emmanuel leibniz
l'instru est entre Nine Inch Nails et la musique d'un animé sorti des studios ghibli!
feud back
le king
La Mansarde ét★ilée
Bashung, merci de corriger :)
Mathieu Hellot
né Alain Baschung
Damian Otto
j" adore dédié a frederic R
Bernard AHA
Tu m' irradieras encore longtemps ....
tony jj
Noir avec une zest de poésie