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.
Volutes
Alain Bashung Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vos luttes font des nuées
Des nuées de scrupules
Vos luttes partent en fumée
Vers des flûtes enchantées
Et de cruelles espérances
Des dagues et des lances
En toute innocence
Vos luttes partent en fumée
Sous les yeux embués
D'étranges libellules
Pour une grimace et un rictus
De plus
J'fais des heures sup'
J'cloue des clous sur des nuages
Un marteau au fond du garage
J'cloue des clous sur des nuages
Sans échafaudage
Et mon corps de se vouer
À des lunes surdouées
Aux courbes souveraines
Pleines, pleines
Vos luttes partent en fumée
Sous des soleils qui s'ignorent
Dor- dormez
Mes réponses allongées
Mes que dire, mes que faire
Mais comment ça tient en l'air
Ces deux hémisphères
Par quel mystère
J'cloue des clous sur des nuages
Un marteau au fond du garage
J'cloue des clous sur des nuages
Sans échafaudage
Vos luttes partent en fumée
The lyrics of Alain Bashung's song Volutes can be interpreted as describing a state of apathy towards the struggles and conflicts that make up life. The opening lines, "Vos luttes partent en fumée, vos luttes font des nuées, des nuées de scrupules", suggest that these "struggles" are evaporating, disappearing as if they never mattered in the first place. The next lines, "Vos luttes partent en fumée, vers des flûtes enchantées, et de cruelles espérances me lancent", imply that these struggles are being replaced by empty promises or illusions that do not hold any meaning or significance.
As the song progresses, Bashung describes his own reaction to this state of apathy. He notes that he is being attacked by "daggers and lances" but in "all innocence". He then describes a surreal scene where he is hammering nails into clouds without a scaffold, suggesting that he is detached from reality and is engaging in pointless activities. The lyrics later touch on the idea of a divide between the two halves of the brain, with Bashung wondering how these two hemispheres are held together and questioning the mystery behind it. The song concludes with the repeated line, "Vos luttes partent en fumée", once again highlighting the idea that everything is ultimately transient and that the struggles and conflicts of life are ultimately insignificant.
Line by Line Meaning
Vos luttes partent en fumée
Your struggles are dissipating
Vos luttes font des nuées
Your struggles create clouds
Des nuées de scrupules
Clouds of scruples
Vos luttes partent en fumée
Your struggles are going up in smoke
Vers des flûtes enchantées
Towards enchanted flutes
Et de cruelles espérances
And cruel hopes
Me lancent
They throw at me
Des dagues et des lances
Daggers and spears
En toute innocence
In all innocence
Vos luttes partent en fumée
Your struggles are dissipating
Sous les yeux embués
Under misty eyes
D'étranges libellules
Of strange dragonflies
Pour une grimace et un rictus
For a grimace and a smirk
De plus
One more
J'fais des heures sup'
I'm working overtime
J'cloue des clous sur des nuages
I hammer nails onto clouds
Un marteau au fond du garage
A hammer in the back of the garage
J'cloue des clous sur des nuages
I hammer nails onto clouds
Sans échafaudage
Without a scaffold
Et mon corps de se vouer
And my body to devote itself
À des lunes surdouées
To gifted moons
Aux courbes souveraines
To sovereign curves
Pleines, pleines
Full, full
Vos luttes partent en fumée
Your struggles are dissipating
Sous des soleils qui s'ignorent
Under suns that ignore each other
Dor-dormez
Sleep, sleep
Mes réponses allongées
My lengthy answers
Mes que dire, mes que faire
My what to say, what to do
Mais comment ça tient en l'air
But how does it stay in the air
Ces deux hémisphères
These two hemispheres
Par quel mystère
By what mystery
J'cloue des clous sur des nuages
I hammer nails onto clouds
Un marteau au fond du garage
A hammer in the back of the garage
J'cloue des clous sur des nuages
I hammer nails onto clouds
Sans échafaudage
Without a scaffold
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Alain Bashung, Jean Marie Fauque
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Logh HORRUZZ
Quelle "classe" il avait Mr Bashung... Rock, poésie, mélodies envoûtantes... Un vrai comme aucun autre en France. Merci à vous Alain
Tom yard
Quelle classe tout est parfait.
Du groove de l'émotion de du rock'n'roll...
Magnifique 🙏
Pascalou De Poulpiquet De Kergonan
Notre poète s’en est allé, mais son héritage intemporel est là pour toujours nous émerveiller tant et tant.
Comme je vous aime Monsieur. !!!!
Medilano
Merci Alain ! Pour tous ce que vous avez donné à la musique !
Christophe Abgrall
Chef d'œuvre !!!voix éraillée comme il faut, entouré de très bons Zicos! Sublissime 😮
Yves Stoeckel
Il me laisse rêveur avec une larme 💞💞😍👍😭
Alducoin
Merciiiii, Éternel poète rock parti trop tôt 🥺
lionel beaulaton
tout simplement sublime
LOUISIANE
Toujours , toujours, une immortalité dont tout le monde ne bénéficie pas.....😯💖
Inc Dimard
C'est Alain