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.
Noir De Monde
Alain Bashung Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Grouille la foule dessaoulée
Ses envies au hachoir
À moi s'agrippent des grappes de tyrans
Des archanges aux blanches canines
Qu'on me disperse
Qu'on me dispense
Du son des leçons
Qu'on me dissipe
En moi se vautrent des divans
De l'aorte à la carotide
Circulent des rumeurs
À faire pâlir
Qu'on me disperse
Je suis noir de monde
Qu'on me dispense
Du son des leçons
Qu'on me distribue
À tous les Jésus
Je voudrais t'aimer comme un seul homme
Arrêter d'inonder la Somme
Avoir l'amour en bandoulière
L'amour en bandoulière
En moi gronde une ville
Grouille la foule dessaoulée
Ses envies au hachoir
À moi s'agrippent des grappes de tyrans
Des archanges aux blanches canines
Tueurs de mémoire à la conscience obèse
Jouent du Varèse
Qu'on me disloque
Qu'on me dispatche
Qu'on m'évapore
Qu'on me disperse
Je suis noir de monde
Qu'on me dispense
Du son des leçons
Qu'on me distribue
À tous les Jésus
Je voudrais t'aimer comme un seul homme
Arrêter d'inonder la Somme
Avoir l'amour en bandoulière
L'amour en bandoulière
Qu'on me disloque
Qu'on me disperse
Qu'on m'évapore
Qu'on me disperse
The lyrics of Alain BASHUNG's song "Noir De Monde" are intense and reflective of a sense of inner chaos and crowd-induced pressure. The opening lines, "En moi gronde une ville, Grouille la foule dessaoulée, Ses envies au hachoir," are a metaphor for the singer's emotional turmoil, indicating that within them there's a raging city with a crowd that is disillusioned and has their desires being chopped up. This could be interpreted as a reflection of the singer's innermost thoughts and anxiety that makes them feel overwhelmed and disconnected from the world around them.
The lines, "À moi s'agrippent des grappes de tyrans, Des archanges aux blanches canines," add to the interpretation of the song's lyrics as it speaks about grappling with the idea of being controlled by tyrants or outside voices that seek to influence the singer's decisions. The phrase, "Des archanges aux blanches canines" refers metaphorically to these external voices as "angels with white teeth" - appearing pure on the surface but imposing their will and influence. The chorus "Qu'on me disperse, Je suis noir de monde," emphasizes the need to break away and shatter the illusion of the crowd - the overwhelming darkness that surrounds them.
Overall, "Noir De Monde" lyrics suggest that the singer feels trapped by expectations and needs to break free to find love, as the song's closing line, "Je voudrais t'aimer comme un seul homme, Arrêter d'inonder la Somme, Avoir l'amour en bandoulière" expresses. The song's intensity and conflicting metaphors between machinery, architecture, and archangels make it a poetic tour de force, reflecting on the singer's personal feelings of isolation and desperation.
Line by Line Meaning
En moi gronde une ville
Inside of me, a city rumbles
Grouille la foule dessaoulée
A restless crowd swarms
Ses envies au hachoir
Its desires cut up like meat
À moi s'agrippent des grappes de tyrans
Clusters of tyrants cling to me
Des archanges aux blanches canines
Archangels with white teeth
Qu'on me disperse
Let me be scattered
Je suis noir de monde
I am black with the world
Qu'on me dispense
Let me be exempted
Du son des leçons
From the sound of lessons
Qu'on me dissipe
Let me be dispersed
En moi se vautrent des divans
Sofas wallow within me
De l'aorte à la carotide
From the aorta to the carotid
Circulent des rumeurs
Rumors circulate
À faire pâlir
Enough to make one pale
Qu'on me distribue
Let me be distributed
À tous les Jésus
To all the Jesuses
Je voudrais t'aimer comme un seul homme
I would like to love you as one man
Arrêter d'inonder la Somme
And stop flooding the Somme river
Avoir l'amour en bandoulière
To have love on my shoulder
L'amour en bandoulière
Love on my shoulder
Tueurs de mémoire à la conscience obèse
Memory killers with an obese conscience
Jouent du Varèse
Play Varèse music
Qu'on me disloque
Let me be disjointed
Qu'on me dispatche
Let me be dispatched
Qu'on m'évapore
Let me be vaporized
Qu'on me disperse
Let me be dispersed
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Alain Bashung, Christophe Calpini, Frederic Hachadourian, Jean Marie Fauque
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Alain Beyney
Sublime, Magique...
Sofia J
@Sandrine Vaudry merci pour votre réponse. Pouvez-vous me dire grosso modo qu'est ce que vous comprenez quand vous écoutez ses paroles. J'avoue je n'ai rien pigé et je suis impatiente d'avoir au moins une idée sans passer par la biographie. Merci d'avance 😊
Sandrine Vaudry
@Sofia J à son histoire personnelle, il faudrait lire une des biographies. Bashung un jour Bashung toujours 🌺
Sofia J
Oui mais je ne comprends rien... Le texte est complexe et il y a plein de métaphores. Ça tourne autour quoi l'histoire ?
Chedly Mahfoudh
Pink Floyd de la France!... les mots, la musique t'empote dans un autre monde; oui sublime
Patrick
irremplacable
Jean Baptiste
En effet, ce qui n'empêche pas encore l'excellence d'autres artistes francais ; je pense notamment à Mendelson ici (quelques morceaux essentiels : La Honte, L'Ardèche, Le Brouillard, 1983 (Barbara), Il n'y a pas d'autre rêve).
Stagger Lee
Quelle visionnaire cet homme mais que dieu ces chansons peuvent être dépressive et magique à la fois
Sofia J
@Stagger Lee merci d'avoir pris le temps de répondre. Ce qui m'a plu dans votre réponse c'est vers la fin ou vous dites: les gens ont besoin de croire! Mais, croire en quoi et c'est là où commence le vrai travail.
Très bonne journée et que la paix soit sur vous !
Stagger Lee
J’ai l’impression qu’il fait une œuvre satirique à la Georges Orwell en dénonçant ce qu’il se passe sur cette terre noir de monde tout en y ajoutant des espoirs lancinant qu’il ne peut arrêter de croire , car les gens on besoin de croire ..