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.
Privé
Alain Bashung Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Je l'ai prévenu, m'a jamais écouté
Il avait soif d'elle jusqu'ici je comprends
Il aurait pas dû l'éliminer
En vingt ans de carrière jamais vu ça
On m'a fait des dossiers moins gros que ça
Monter sa nourrice en épingle
La nuit draguait un vieux parfum de furie
Juste eu le temps d'enfiler un imper
Fallait que je te retrouve avant que tu jures
À Khomenei I love you, rien à faire
Je voudrais bien le connaître ce sorcier pourri
Qu'arrête pas de faire tomber la pluie
On reprend au début
Qu'est-ce que tu faisais hier soir?
Tourne-toi je vais me remettre du noir
Je fais ça pour la France, retire ce que t'as dit
Qu'est-ce que tu faisais hier soir?
Qu'est-ce que tu faisais hier soir?
On t'a vu vendre des barbecues au noir
La nuit draguait un vieux parfum de furie
Juste eu le temps d'enfiler un imper
C'est le seul truc qu'on peut se faire
Après minuit I want you laisse-toi faire
Je voudrais bien le connaître ce sorcier pourri
Qu'arrête pas de faire tomber la pluie
D'abord tu butes une vieille, tu finis par voler
Qu'est-ce que tu faisais hier soir?
Qu'est-ce que tu faisais hier soir?
Qu'est-ce que tu faisais hier soir?
The lyrics to Alain Bashung's song Privé describe a story of a man who commits a series of crimes, culminating in the murder of an elderly woman. The singer in the song seems to know the man, and tries to warn him against his actions, but is ignored. The man's actions are described as inexplicable and shocking, with the singer saying that even the police would find it "dingue" or crazy. The second half of the song returns to a more typical love song theme, with the singer talking about a night of passion with someone, but ending with a repetition of the question "Qu'est-ce que tu faisais hier soir?" or "What were you doing last night?"
The lyrics of Privé seem to be deliberately disjointed and hard to follow, with the story of the man's crimes and the story of the singer's night of passion being loosely connected at best. However, one interpretation could be that the two stories are meant to be seen as two sides of the same coin - both involve a lack of control and a sense of being driven by impulses that are hard to understand or explain. The repetition of the question "What were you doing last night?" at the end of the song could be seen as a way of emphasizing this lack of understanding - the singer doesn't know what the person he's singing to was doing or thinking, just as the man he warned earlier seemed to be driven by forces beyond his control.
Line by Line Meaning
D'abord tu butes une vieille, tu finis par voler
You start by murdering an old woman, and end up stealing
Je l'ai prévenu, m'a jamais écouté
I warned him, but he never listened
Il avait soif d'elle jusqu'ici je comprends
I understand his thirst for her
Il aurait pas dû l'éliminer
He shouldn't have eliminated her
En vingt ans de carrière jamais vu ça
In twenty years of my career, I've never seen anything like this
On m'a fait des dossiers moins gros que ça
I've dealt with smaller cases than this
Monter sa nourrice en épingle
Making a big deal out of nothing
Même à la police on trouve ça dingue
Even the police find this crazy
La nuit draguait un vieux parfum de furie
The night was infused with a scent of fury
Juste eu le temps d'enfiler un imper
I only had time to throw on a coat
Fallait que je te retrouve avant que tu jures À Khomenei I love you, rien à faire
I had to find you before you swore your allegiance to Khomenei
Je voudrais bien le connaître ce sorcier pourri Qu'arrête pas de faire tomber la pluie
I really want to know that rotten wizard who won't stop making it rain
On reprend au début
Let's start over
Qu'est-ce que tu faisais hier soir?
What were you doing last night?
Tourne-toi je vais me remettre du noir
Turn around, I need some more black (ink)
Je fais ça pour la France, retire ce que t'as dit
I'm doing this for France, take back what you said
On t'a vu vendre des barbecues au noir
We saw you selling barbecues on the black market
C'est le seul truc qu'on peut se faire
It's the only thing we can do
Après minuit I want you laisse-toi faire
After midnight, I want you, let yourself go
Qu'est-ce que tu faisais hier soir?
What were you doing last night?
Qu'est-ce que tu faisais hier soir?
What were you doing last night?
D'abord tu butes une vieille, tu finis par voler
You start by murdering an old woman, and end up stealing
Lyrics © ALLO MUSIC EDITIONS, SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: Alain BASHUNG, Boris BERGMAN
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
…