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.
Les rêves de vétérans
Alain Bashung Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quand tu subis
Quel après-midi
Ou l'heure d'ennui
C'est moi celui qui
Planqué dans la nuit
Cherche et puis détruit
J'nettoie, j'essuie
J'fais juste ce qu'on m'a dit
J'fais tomber la pluie
Je chasse je réduis
J'nettoie, j'essuie
J'nettoie, j'essuie
Une petite fille court, elle crie
Elle est jolie, doucement j'l'essuie
Elle disait "oui, oui merci"
J'ai pas appris à parler l'ennemi
Elles sont jolies, moi j'les essuie
J'dors mal la nuit
Moi j'les essuie
Comment tu cries
Quand tu subis?
Comment tu cries?
J'me rendais compte en dormant
Rien que des rêves de vétérans
On prend d'un bon sommeil et moi je tire à blanc
Des hélicoptères tournent au dessus d'mon lit
Sans un bruit
J'fais c'qu'on m'dit
J'nettoie, j'essuie
Tu suis?
J'nettoie, j'essuie
J'nettoie, j'essuie
The lyrics of Alain Bashung's song Les rêves de vétérans describe the horrors of war from the perspective of a soldier who is haunted by his experiences. The first verse talks about the mundane and boring afternoons during war, where the soldier is facing hours of boredom, while also subconsciously dealing with the traumas of war. The soldier describes himself as the one who hides in the night, seeking and destroying everything in his path, including the lives and livelihoods of civilians.
The chorus alludes to the soldier's emotional detachment from his actions, where he describes himself as simply doing what he was told to do - cleaning up and wiping off the dirt, blood and memories of his actions. The lyrics emphasize the soldier's inability to cope with the atrocities of war, as he recounts how he can only sleep through nightmares of gunfire, helicopters overhead and the cries of innocent children.
The final verse takes on a more reflective tone as the soldier realizes that he can no longer distinguish the dreams from his reality. His sleep is filled with nightmares, and his waking hours are consumed by thoughts of war. He is trapped in the war, unable to escape the endless cycle of violence and destruction.
Overall, Les rêves de vétérans is a poignant and haunting account of the mental and emotional toll of war on individuals who were forced to participate in it.
Line by Line Meaning
Comment tu cries
How do you scream?
Quand tu subis
When you're suffering
Quel après-midi
What an afternoon
Ou l'heure d'ennui
Or the hour of boredom
C'est moi celui qui
It's me, the one who
Planqué dans la nuit
Hidden in the night
Cherche et puis détruit
Seeks and then destroys
Les rizières, les vies
The rice paddies, the lives
J'nettoie, j'essuie
I clean, I wipe
J'fais juste ce qu'on m'a dit
I just do what I was told
J'fais tomber la pluie
I make the rain fall
Je chasse je réduis
I hunt, I reduce
Une petite fille court, elle crie
A little girl runs, she screams
Elle est jolie, doucement j'l'essuie
She's pretty, I gently wipe her
Elle disait "oui, oui merci"
She said "yes, yes, thank you"
J'ai pas appris à parler l'ennemi
I didn't learn to speak the enemy's language
Elles sont jolies, moi j'les essuie
They're pretty, I wipe them
J'dors mal la nuit
I sleep poorly at night
Moi j'les essuie
I wipe them
J'me rendais compte en dormant
I realized while sleeping
Rien que des rêves de vétérans
Only veteran's dreams
On prend d'un bon sommeil et moi je tire à blanc
People are sleeping soundly and I fire blanks
Des hélicoptères tournent au dessus d'mon lit
Helicopters circle above my bed
Sans un bruit
Without a sound
Tu suis?
You following?
J'nettoie, j'essuie
I clean, I wipe
J'nettoie, j'essuie
I clean, I wipe
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Arman Melies
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
…