Cécile Corbel (born 1980, Pont-Croix, Finistère) is a French singer and har… Read Full Bio ↴Cécile Corbel (born 1980, Pont-Croix, Finistère) is a French singer and harpist. She has released a number of albums of original music and worked for Studio Ghibli as a composer for its 2010 film, The Secret World of Arrietty. Corbel sings in many languages including French, Italian, Breton, and English and has done songs in Irish, Turkish, and Japanese.

Corbel now lives in Paris and performs in France and abroad. Her music blends ancient poems and compositions, celtic tunes and Mediterranean influences. She was noticed during her concerts and had the opportunity to play with the greatest “world music” artists:

Ballerina
Cécile Corbel Lyrics

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Monte la Lune
La nuit m'est promise
Elle fera ma fortune
Oh, elle brille
Comme un feu autour de moi

Vienne le temps des présages
Comme des enfants

On dira le nom des nuages
On inventera des langages

Le ciel peut s'écrouler
Si tu restes auprès de moi
De battre il peut cesser
J'ai placé mon cœur dans une mélodie

Une boîte à musique innocente
Le temps passe et j'oublie
Sa chanson qui vole dans le vent
Comme une ballerine

Gouttes de pluie
Sur les toits du monde
Tambourinées, jolie litanie
Que le ciel chante souvent

Et si tes yeux se voilent
Non, surtout ne pleure pas
On récoltera les larmes
Pour changer la peine en une mélodie

Une boîte à musique innocente
Le temps passe et j'oublie
Sa chanson qui vole dans le vent
Comme une ballerine

Le temps d'hier, le temps d'avant
De jours de peine en jours de chance
Oh, inlassablement le temps
Poursuit son invisible danse

Sa mélodie
Une boîte à musique innocente
Le temps passe et j'oublie
Sa chanson qui vole dans le vent

Une petite mélodie
Une boîte à musique innocente
Le temps passe et j'oublie

Sa chanson qui vole dans le vent
Comme une ballerine

Overall Meaning

In Cecile Corbel's song "Ballerina," the singer marvels at the night and finds solace in the stars. The opening verse translates to "Climb the Moon / The night is promised to me / It will make my fortune / Oh, it shines / Like a fire around me." The singer sees the night as a source of wealth and light. However, the second verse adopts a more collaborative and imaginative spirit as the singer invites the listener to join them in naming clouds and creating languages. As they sing "The sky can collapse / If you stay close to me / It may stop beating / I have placed my heart in a melody," the singer pleads with their lover to stay close to them and promises to devote themselves to the music that they hold dear. The melody is described as "an innocent music box" whose song "flies in the wind / Like a ballerina."

The third verse addresses the sense of change and growth inherent in the passage of time. The singer describes the rain as a "pretty litany / That the sky often sings" and implores the listener to not cry, as they will "collect the tears / To turn sorrow into a melody." The final verse speaks to the inevitability of time and the singers' hope that they will retain some sense of innocence and childlike wonder through it all. In the end, the melody remains as a comforting presence, always there to lift the singer's spirits.

Line by Line Meaning

Monte la Lune
The moon rises up in the sky

La nuit m'est promise
The night belongs to me

Elle fera ma fortune
It will bring me good luck

Oh, elle brille
Oh, how it shines

Comme un feu autour de moi
Like a fire around me

Vienne le temps des présages
May the time of prophecy come

Comme des enfants
Like children

On dira le nom des nuages
We will give names to the clouds

On inventera des langages
We will invent new languages

Le ciel peut s'écrouler
The sky may collapse

Si tu restes auprès de moi
But if you stay with me