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.
Nights In White Satin
Alain Bashung Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Never reaching the end
Letters I've written
Never meaning to send
Beauty I've always missed
With these eyes before
Just what the truth is
'cause I love you
Yes I love you
oh oh oh I love you
Gazing at people
Some hand in hand
Just what I'm going through
They can understand
Some try to tell me
Thoughts they cannot defend
Just what you want to be
You will be in the end
And I love you …
In "Nights in White Satin," Alain Bashung borrows the melancholic melody and lyrics of the original song by The Moody Blues. The ambiguity of the song is what has captured the hearts of listeners from generation to generation. The song's verses are packed with nostalgic and sad sentiments of departure and the loss of love. Bashung's rendition serves to evoke these sad emotions through his soft but imploring tone.
The first stanza of the song, "Nights in white satin / Never reaching the end / Letters I've written / Never meaning to send" embodies the melancholic mood of the entire song. The emblem of white satin suggests purity, while the words "never reaching the end" display a sense of longing or being unable to reach a desired goal. The letters that Bashung has written signify the amount of time spent ruminating about a lost love but ultimately never taking action. He's preserving the memories of what could have been, but never pursuing the relationship.
The second stanza, "Beauty I've always missed / With these eyes before / Just what the truth is / I can't say any more," is Bashung's allusion to a previous relationship or possibility that ended. The beauty he's missed is a metaphor for an opportunity lost, and he is very aware that it's a hole that cannot be filled. "Just what the truth is / I can't say any more" suggests that he's aware of what he's missed and what he desires, but he can't bring himself to define it any further. Throughout the song, the chorus repeats with a simple message: "I love you." His delivery of the chorus is more pleading and yearning than anything else, underscoring the sadness in the rest of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Nights in white satin
The singer feels like they're in the calm and peaceful moments of life.
Never reaching the end
Life seems to go on without a clear direction, so the singer can't see where the end is.
Letters I've written
The singer has got things to say, but it is impossible for them to say it, so they write letters instead.
Never meaning to send
These letters just express the feelings of the artist and they are never sent to anyone.
Beauty I've always missed
The artist has always missed the beautiful things, as they failed to recognize it before.
With these eyes before
The singer has failed to see the beauty before with their eyes, but now they are looking at life with a different perspective.
Just what the truth is
The singer is uncertain about the reality of things.
I can't say any more
The artist thinks they need more information to have better judgment.
'cause I love you
The artist declares that they love someone deeply.
Yes I love you
The artist reinforces their love for someone.
oh oh oh I love you
The singer repeats their love for someone.
Gazing at people
The artist is observing people around them.
Some hand in hand
Some people walk holding each other's hand.
Just what I'm going through
The singer is not sure about their state of mind and feelings.
They can understand
Other people can understand the singer's situation and feelings.
Some try to tell me
Some people are offering the artist advice based on their experiences.
Thoughts they cannot defend
However, these suggestions are not convincing and are not supported with logical arguments.
Just what you want to be
The singer uses an imperative expression to tell the listener they can be whatever they want.
You will be in the end
The future is uncertain, but the singer is positive that the listener will get where they want to be.
Contributed by Carson L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Marlene Gabriel
Ton charisme et la profondeur de ta voix nous manque. Heureusement qu'il nous reste ton beau répertoire qui te garde vivant.
Merci pour cette belle interprétation
Damien Carbenay
Bijou bijou est une tuerie.....❤
Claudie Guillamet
Magistral, sa voix est tellement profonde, superbe
Marie soleil Avoux
Super reprise ET SUBLIME VOIX DE ALAIN QUI M'A PLUE,SUPER CHANTEUR INOUBLIABLE
Tony Leridon
Toute ma jeunesse. Les meilleurs moments. Des années. Libres
Тэлик-Музыка со смыслом / Telik-Music with meaning
Настоящая живая красивая музыка ❤️🔥🙏
didier d'agostino
Superbe reprise arrangée à sa façon ... magnifique ...
Mickael Bauer
Tout ce que Mr Bashung a fait c'est de l'or en barre il restera à jamais gravé dans le cœur de la musique française❤des talents et artistes comme on entend plus de nos jours...malheureusement 😢merci pour tout on t'oublie pas champion🙏
yannick lemoine
Cette voix ❤️c'est incroyable 😮
Philippe Casala
sublime et émouvant