In 2000, Adrien Gallo, Karim Réveillé and Raphaël Delorme, childhood friends, formed the band "Hangover" with songs exclusively in English.Some years later, Raphaël left the band at the moment when they were signing their first contract.The new lineup found a new guitarist, Félix Hemmen, who enjoyed their music. In 2007, the bassist Bérald Crambes joined the band.
The band took the name BB Brunes, inspired by the name of the song "Initials BB" by Serge Gainsbourg and by Paris's boulevard Brune, where the band then did their rehearsals.The band's musical influences are punk and rock groups from the 1960s and 1970s as well as current groups such as The Strokes, Amy Winehouse, The Clash, David Bowie, Ray Charles and singers like Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Dutronc,etc. Their lyrics are mostly in French.
In 2009, the group won a Victoires de la musique in the category 'Group or artist stage revelation of the year'.
They have sold over 2 milllion albums and singles in France alone, 3.8 million in Europe.
M. la Maudite
BB Brunes Lyrics
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Ce mal sans nom que l'on se passe
À finir par terre et à sourire
À se foutre en l'air à toujours fuir
Mais à lui donner bien trop de place
Il ne tarderait à faire surface
Ce mal sans nom si tu t'enfuis
Ce mal sans nom loin de la nuit
Oh mon ami, temps qui passe
Tourne tourne tourne et jamais ne te lasse
Dis-moi comment fais-tu
Je vois souvent cette fille qui passe
Qui jamais ne se retourne ni me regarde en face
Je me dis aime la maudite
C'est qu'il nous tient bien trop en place
Ce mal sans nom oui qui me glace
À finir par terre et à sourire
Changer d'atmosphère et à tout prix
Tout faire pour que tu ne t'effaces
J'te ferais les plus belles grimaces
On se foutra en l'air si t'as envie
Tant pis pour l'enfer mais je t'en prie
Si l'on faisait pile ou face
T'es peut-être la plus belle mais moi
Je suis ta glace
Ça ça n'a pas de prix
Je vois souvent cette vie qui passe
Qui jamais ne se retourne ni me regarde en face
C'est de ta faute M. la maudite
Nous sommes maintenant ces gens qui passent
Qui jamais ne se retournent ni se regardent en face
Qui ne se seront jamais vus
J'ai peur souvent mais toi qui passes
Je t'en prie reste un peu avec moi sur la place
Nous ne serons jamais plus perdus
The lyrics of BB Brunes’s song M. la Maudite express the conflicts and struggles that arise when dealing with an unidentified emotional pain that is almost addictive in nature. The first stanza suggests that this "pain without a name" is given too much importance and attention, becoming almost overwhelming, causing someone to "end up on the ground and smile," losing control and constantly trying to escape. However, the song’s protagonist is still hesitant to give up this pain completely as they feel it’s a part of them, and they do not want to be left alone if it goes away. The chorus' repetition of "Tourne tourne tourne et jamais ne te lasse," meaning "Turn turn turn and never tire," illustrates the seemingly endless cycle of this pain and its hold on the singer.
The second stanza mentions a girl that the singer has feelings for but never reciprocates his gaze. He encourages the girl to embrace the pain as he does, calling her "M. la maudite", meaning "Miss cursed," urging her to accept her emotions and recognize she, too, is influenced by this unnamed pain. The third stanza is a plea to not let the pain take over completely but to hold onto it, as it has become a part of who the singer is, even if it does bring them down "on the ground and smiling." They express the idea of being each other’s hostage, understanding and accepting each other’s pain that they are holding onto, their burdens that keep them from moving on. They come to realize that though they see others who pass them by in life, they will likely never truly connect with them since they have become defined by their pain.
Line by Line Meaning
C'est qu'il nous prend bien trop de place
This unnamed malaise that we pass around takes up too much space
Ce mal sans nom que l'on se passe
This unnamed malaise that we pass around
À finir par terre et à sourire
We end up on the ground and we smile
À se foutre en l'air à toujours fuir
We mess ourselves up by always running away
Mais à lui donner bien trop de place
But by giving it too much space
Il ne tarderait à faire surface
It wouldn't be long until it surfaces
Ce mal sans nom si tu t'enfuis
This unnamed malaise if you run away from it
Ce mal sans nom loin de la nuit
This unnamed malaise away from the night
Oh mon ami, temps qui passe
Oh my friend, time that passes
Tourne tourne tourne et jamais ne te lasse
Turns and turns and never gets tired
Dis-moi comment fais-tu
Tell me how do you do it
Je vois souvent cette fille qui passe
I often see that girl who passes by
Qui jamais ne se retourne ni me regarde en face
Who never turns around or looks at me in the face
Je me dis aime la maudite
I tell myself to love her, the cursed one
C'est qu'il nous tient bien trop en place
This unnamed malaise holds us too much in place
Ce mal sans nom oui qui me glace
This unnamed malaise yes that freezes me
Changer d'atmosphère et à tout prix
Change the atmosphere and at all cost
Tout faire pour que tu ne t'effaces
Do everything so that you don't disappear
J'te ferais les plus belles grimaces
I'll make you the most beautiful face
On se foutra en l'air si t'as envie
We'll mess ourselves up if you want to
Tant pis pour l'enfer mais je t'en prie
Never mind the hell, but I beg you
Si l'on faisait pile ou face
If we flipped a coin
T'es peut-être la plus belle mais moi
You may be the most beautiful but me
Je suis ta glace
I am your mirror
Ça ça n'a pas de prix
That has no price
Je vois souvent cette vie qui passe
I often see this life that passes by
Qui jamais ne se retourne ni me regarde en face
That never turns around or looks me in the face
C'est de ta faute M. la maudite
It's your fault, Ms. the cursed one
Nous sommes maintenant ces gens qui passent
We are now those people who pass by
Qui jamais ne se retournent ni se regardent en face
Who never turn around or look at each other in the face
Qui ne se seront jamais vus
Who will never have seen each other
J'ai peur souvent mais toi qui passes
I am often afraid but you who passes by
Je t'en prie reste un peu avec moi sur la place
Please stay with me a little on the square
Nous ne serons jamais plus perdus
We will never be lost again
Contributed by Makayla A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.