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.
Ode à la vie
Alain Bashung Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Elle a jonché de sopalin des torrents de larmes
Mais l'ampleur m'a fait me fissurer
Ode à la vie
Ode à la poésie
Ode à la parodie
Fait des longueurs à longueur d'odyssée
Brasse petit verni
À bras raccourcis
Brasse petit gabarit
Brasse
Brasse
Engloutis mes péchés véniels
Mes blasphèmes en apnée
Brasse
Elle a jonché d'orchidées l'enfer de ma marelle
Elle a saupoudré de courage mes limbes
Elle m'a arraché un sourire
Elle m'a dit polie, polisson ces gravillons
Ode à la vie
Ode à la poésie
Ode à la parodie
J'fais la noce
J'fais la noce avec Yasmina
Je divorce avec la Grande Ourse
Aux équinoxes il arrive que je penche
Ode à la vie
Ode à la poésie
Ode à la presbytie
Aux orties les ciels de réglisse
Au pilori mes éclipses
À la trappe rodéos, corridas, civière, sparadrap
À découvert le ventre à l'air
Ancré dans la baie du bonheur
Lancés de frisbees dans les jardins de Libreville
Lancé, hop, attrape, loupé
J'fais la noce
J'fais la noce avec Yasmina
Je divorce avec la Grande Ourse
Aux équinoxes il arrive que je penche
J'fais la noce
J'fais la noce avec Monica
J'fais la noce
Ode à la vie
Elle a jonché d'or et de jade ma routine
Elle a jonché de sopalin des torrents de larmes
Mais l'ampleur m'a fait me fissurer
Ode à la vie
Ode à la parodie
Ode à la poésie
Ode à la vie
Ode à la vie
The lyrics of this song by the late French singer-songwriter Alain Bashung are a beautiful celebration of life, with its ups and downs, and a tribute to the power of poetry and humor to help us navigate through it. The first stanza describes how life has adorned the singer's routine with gold, jade, and orchids, but also made him shed torrents of tears that threatened to crack him open. However, despite the challenges, he chooses to sing an ode to life (ode à la vie), to poetry, and to parody, a way of telling us that even in the darkest moments, we should keep looking for beauty, truth, and laughter.
The chorus goes on to repeat this mantra of "ode to life, poetry, and parody" and adds a playful refrain that describes a little swimmer (petit baigneur) doing laps in an endless journey (odyssée). The lyrics then switch to more personal and intimate confessions, as the singer asks life to forgive his venial sins, his blasphemies, and embrace him with open arms. He tells life that he will keep swimming, brushing off the obstacles and the failures (brasse, brasse), and finding courage in the midst of limbo.
Line by Line Meaning
Elle a jonché d'or et de jade ma routine
My everyday life has been covered with wealth and luxury
Elle a jonché de sopalin des torrents de larmes
My tears have soaked up entire rolls of paper towels
Mais l'ampleur m’a fait me fissurer
The weight of everything has caused me to crack
Ode à la vie
Ode to life
Ode à la poésie
Ode to poetry
Ode à la parodie
Ode to parody
Petit baigneur
Little swimmer
Fait des longueurs à longueur d'odyssée
Swimming lengths on an endless journey
Brasse petit verni
Breaststroke, little varnished one
À bras raccourcis
With short arms
Brasse petit gabarit
Breaststroke, little size
Brasse
Swim
Engloutis mes péchés véniels
Swallowing up my venial sins
Mes blasphèmes en apnée
My blasphemies are held underwater
Elle a jonché d'orchidées l'enfer de ma marelle
Even hell is covered in orchids on my hopscotch board
Elle a saupoudré de courage mes limbes
She sprinkled courage into my limbo
Elle m'a arraché un sourire
She elicited a smile from me
Elle m'a dit polie polisson ces gravillons
She politely called these pebbles 'rascals'
J'fais la noce
I'm celebrating
J'fais la noce avec Yasmina
I'm celebrating with Yasmina
Je divorce avec la Grande Ourse
I'm divorcing from the Big Dipper
Aux équinoxes il arrive que je penche
During the equinoxes, I sometimes lean
Ode à la presbytie
Ode to presbyopia
Aux orties les ciels de réglisse
Tossing licorice skies into the ditch
Au pilori mes éclipses
Putting my eclipses on the pillory
À la trappe rodéos corridas civière sparadrap
Throwing rodeos, bullfights, stretchers, and dressings in the trash
À découvert le ventre à l'air
Exposed and belly up
Ancré dans la baie du bonheur
Anchored in the bay of happiness
Lancer des frisbees dans les jardins de Libreville
Throwing frisbees in the gardens of Libreville
Lancé. Hop. Attrape. Loupé
Thrown. Hop. Catch. Missed
J'fais la noce avec Monica
I'm celebrating with Monica
Ode à la vie
Ode to life
Ode à la parodie
Ode to parody
Ode à la poésie
Ode to poetry
Ode à la vie
Ode to life
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Alain Bashung, Jean Marie Fauque, Jean-Marc Lederman
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
…