Arthur H first performed in 1988 in clubs in Paris, as leader of a trio with bassist Brad Scott and drummer Paul Jothy. His first album, Arthur H (1990), combined rhythmic experimentation and bal-musette elements with a vocal style which has been compared to Tom Waits. He toured widely around this time, particularly in France and Japan, adding a fourth band member, Jon Handelsman (saxophone), and produced a second album, Bachibouzouk (1992). In early 1993, he did a six week season at the Magic Mirrors, an antique circus big top, which was later put on as a touring show and recorded on the live album En chair et en os. In 1996, he released the album Trouble Fête, following which he performed a season at the Gymnase in Paris. The live album Fête Trouble (1997) included some tracks from these shows as well as others recorded on tour in Africa. He toured the USA and Canada in 1998.
In 2000, he wrote the soundtrack for Michel Couvelard’s film, Inséparables, before touring in Asia and Canada. His next album, Pour Madame X (2000), featured the touring band of Nicolas Repac (guitar), Brad Scott (double bass) and Laurent Robin (drums). In 2001, he took part in the show "Cabaret Imprudent" with "Le Cirque Cahin-caha". The following year, he released the album Piano Solo, recorded live in a studio and mainly consisting of solo interpretations of earlier songs. This was followed by a band album, Négresse Blanche (2003), comprising tracks dedicated to the memory of famous women such as "Marilyn Kaddish" and "Bo Derek". In 2005, a planned tour of China was cancelled, and he returned to the studio to record the album Adieu Tristesse. This was the most commercially successful of his career, and included several duets, one with his father and another, "Est-ce que tu aimes?", with the musician -M- (Matthieu Chedid). He subsequently toured widely in France, Lebanon and Canada. In 2006 he published a book, "Onirique attaque", containing lyrics, reflections and photographs. He also composed the soundtrack for the film "L’homme qui rêvait d'un enfant", directed by Delphine Gleize. The soundtrack was performed by an ensemble of children from a local music school. The album "Show Time", issued late in 2006, was recorded live on tour and includes duets with Matthieu Chedid, Pauline Croze, Lhasa de Sela and Jacques Higelin. In June 2008 he released the album "L'Homme du Monde".
Discography
* 1990 : Arthur H
* 1991 : Cool Jazz (remixes)
* 1992 : Bachibouzouk
* 1993 : En chair et en os (live)
* 1996 : Trouble-Fête
* 1997 : Fête Trouble (live)
* 1999 : Inséparables (soundtrack)
* 2000 : Pour Madame X
* 2002 : Piano Solo (live)
* 2003 : Négresse Blanche
* 2005 : Adieu Tristesse
* 2006 : Show Time (live)
* 2008 : L'Homme du Monde
www.arthurh.net
City Of Light
Arthur H Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Belle comme une orange
Douce comme un orage
Je vois de l'avion
La géométrie incandescente
De ta città di luce
Ta city of light
La pulsation irrégulière
C'est les battements de ton coeur
Je t'abandonne
Dans ce dédale de phosphore
Je te laisse
Mon abeille luminescente
Dans ta ruche de flammes
Mais où es, où es-tu maintenant?
Pourquoi n'es-tu pas près de moi?
Mais où es-tu, mon amour?
Dans quel monde, sous quelle loi?
L'avion s'éloigne
Se lave dans son bain d'étoiles
Bercé par le moteur
Je tombe dans un rêve d'océan
Où les poissons multicolores
Scintillent sous le soleil
Quand je me réveille
À l'aube naissante
Le mirage de te Jérusalem
Et de son cercle magique
Ne laisse dans le ciel
Aucune trace
Mais où es, où es-tu maintenant?
Pourquoi n'es-tu pas près de moi?
Mais où es-tu, mon amour?
Dans quel monde, sous quelle loi?
Tu es si loin désormais
Mais si proche toujours
Capturée
Dans le réseau
De mes neurones voyageuses
Et tu traverses mon cerveau
Vaisseau solitaire
Irradiant sa lumière
En silence
Si proche
Car dans le monde
De l'énergie, de l'onde
L'espace a disparu
Et le temps est transparent.
The song "City of Light" by Arthur H tells the story of a lover who is far away from the singer but still close in thought. The lyrics talk about the beauty and power of the city, with its pulsating lights representing the beating heart of the city and the lover. The singer feels captivated and lost in the maze of lights, surrendering the luminescent bee, which represents the lover, to the urban hive of flames.
The dreamy and romantic lyrics are accompanied by a melodic tune that adds to the emotional impact of the song. The singer captures the essence of longing and the power of memory in a poetic and dreamlike way, transporting the listeners to a world where distance and time are no longer tangible constraints in the realm of love.
Overall, "City of Light" is a poignant and evocative song that talks about the power of love and connection despite distance and time. Through its lyrics and melody, the song is a beautiful tribute to the magic of relationships and the eternal flame that keeps them burning, even when apart.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu es loin
You are far away
Belle comme une orange
Beautiful like an orange
Douce comme un orage
Soft like a storm
Je vois de l'avion
I see from the plane
La géométrie incandescente
The glowing geometry
De ta città di luce
Of your city of light
Ta city of light
Your city of light
La pulsation irrégulière
The irregular pulsation
Des milliards de lumières
Of billions of lights
C'est les battements de ton coeur
It is the beats of your heart
Je t'abandonne
I leave you
Dans ce dédale de phosphore
In this maze of phosphorus
Je te laisse
I leave you
Mon abeille luminescente
My luminescent bee
Dans ta ruche de flammes
In your hive of flames
Mais où es, où es-tu maintenant?
But where are you, where are you now?
Pourquoi n'es-tu pas près de moi?
Why are you not near me?
Dans quel monde, sous quelle loi?
In which world, under what law?
L'avion s'éloigne
The plane departs
Se lave dans son bain d'étoiles
Washes in its bath of stars
Bercé par le moteur
Rocked by the engine
Je tombe dans un rêve d'océan
I fall into a dream of the ocean
Où les poissons multicolores
Where the multicolored fish
Scintillent sous le soleil
Sparkle under the sun
Quand je me réveille
When I wake up
À l'aube naissante
At the dawn of birth
Le mirage de te Jérusalem
The mirage of your Jerusalem
Et de son cercle magique
And its magic circle
Ne laisse dans le ciel
Leaves no trace in the sky
Aucune trace
No trace
Tu es si loin désormais
You are so far away now
Mais si proche toujours
But still so close
Capturée
Captured
Dans le réseau
In the network
De mes neurones voyageuses
Of my wandering neurons
Et tu traverses mon cerveau
And you travel through my brain
Vaisseau solitaire
Solitary vessel
Irradiant sa lumière
Radiating its light
En silence
In silence
Si proche
So close
Car dans le monde
Because in the world
De l'énergie, de l'onde
Of energy, of waves
L'espace a disparu
The space has disappeared
Et le temps est transparent.
And time is transparent.
Contributed by Mackenzie W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Cecilia T
J'adore cette chanson et presque toutes les chansons de l'album, qui est, je crois, mon favori♥️
MrZimms950
Un chef d'oeuvre de Mr. H.
Caroline L.
<3