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.
Sommes-Nous
Alain Bashung Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Au seuil de sa bonté
Un judas m'a lorgné
Et j'ai pris l'hiver en grippe
Seul m'ont laissé
Les jouets par milliers
Seul m'ont laissé
Sommes-nous la sécheresse
Sommes-nous la vaillance
Ou le dernier coquelicot?
J'ai décimé, décimé
Des armées de répondeurs
Occupés à se dire
Mes naufrages au saut du lit
Seul m'ont laissé
Nos héros préférés
Seul m'ont laissé
Nos absences
Sommes nous des gonzesses
Sommes-nous de connivence
Ou le dernier coquelicot?
Terre promise
Redis-moi ton nom
Dis-moi en face
Que tout s'efface
Sommes-nous la noblesse?
Sommes nous les eaux troubles?
Sommes-nous le souvenir?
J'ai commandé, décommandé
De mes yeux la prunelle
Balancé les jumelles
Pour ne garder que le flou
Seul m'ont laissé
Les passions immortelles
Seul m'ont laissé
Nos offenses
Sommes-nous la sécheresse?
Sommes-nous la romance?
Sommes-nous la sécheresse?
Sommes-nous la noblesse?
Sommes-nous les eaux troubles?
Sommes-nous le souvenir?
Sommes-nous?
Sommes nous?
The lyrics of Alain Bashung's "Sommes-Nous" express the uncertainty and confusion felt by the singer as they contemplate their place in the world. The singer describes tambourining at the threshold of someone's kindness only to be spied on, which leads them to take a dislike for winter. They feel left alone with thousands of toys and your advances but still unsure of where they stand.
The second verse sees the singer decimating armies of automated replies occupied with mentioning their own struggles, leaving them alone with their favourite heroes and absences. The singer contemplates whether they are women, complicit or the last poppy. In the bridge, he returns to the idea of wanting to know if they are the nobility, the troubled waters, or just the memories.
In the final verse, Bashung sings of commanding and countermanding the dilation of their pupils while tossing away their binoculars to keep from seeing things too clearly. The singer feels alone, but what's left are the eternal passions and offenses that distract us from larger questions, such as, are we drought, nobility, clouded waters or memories? "Sommes-Nous" provokes questions about individual and societal identities, leaving the listener with a sense of cultural dissonance, which is fitting for a song that mixes different genres like rock and pop.
Line by Line Meaning
J'ai tambouriné tambouriné
I knocked and knocked
Au seuil de sa bonté
At the threshold of her kindness
Un judas m'a lorgné
A peephole eyed me
Et j'ai pris l'hiver en grippe
And I took a dislike to winter
Seul m'ont laissé
Only left for me
Les jouets par milliers
Thousands of toys
Tes avances
Your advances
Sommes-nous la sécheresse
Are we the drought
Sommes-nous la vaillance
Are we the bravery
Ou le dernier coquelicot
Or the last poppy
J'ai décimé décimé
I killed and killed
Des armées de répondeurs
Armies of answering machines
Occupés à se dire
Busy telling themselves
Mes naufrages au saut du lit
My shipwrecks in the morning
Seul m'ont laissé
Only left for me
Nos héros préférés
Our favorite heroes
Nos absences
Our absences
Sommes nous des gonzesses
Are we weaklings
Sommes-nous de connivence
Are we in cahoots
Ou le dernier coquelicot
Or the last poppy
Terre promise
Promised land
Redis-moi ton nom
Tell me your name again
Dis-moi en face
Tell me to my face
Que tout s'efface
That everything disappears
Sommes-nous la noblesse
Are we the nobility
Sommes nous les eaux troubles
Are we the troubled waters
Sommes-nous le souvenir
Are we the memory
J'ai commandé décommandé
I ordered and cancelled
De mes yeux la prunelle
My pupils
Balancé les jumelles
Swung the binoculars
Pour ne garder que le flou
To keep only the blur
Seul m'ont laissé
Only left for me
Les passions immortelles
Immortal passions
Nos offenses
Our offenses
Sommes-nous la sécheresse
Are we the drought
Sommes-nous la romance
Are we the romance
Sommes-nous la sécheresse
Are we the drought
Sommes-nous la noblesse
Are we the nobility
Sommes-nous les eaux troubles
Are we the troubled waters
Sommes-nous le souvenir
Are we the memory
Sommes-nous
Are we
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Alain Bashung, Jean Marie Fauque, Richard Mortier
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
…