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:
Petit fantôme
Cécile Corbel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dans la baie de Galway
J'étais jeune, si jeune et toi
Si petit, si petit
Dix ans ont passé déjà
Au Magdalene Laundry
Dix ans que tu grandis sans moi
Prends-moi dans tes bras
Reste au moins jusqu'à l'aube
Oh, jusqu'à l'aube
J't'en prie, serre-toi contre moi
J'ai plus jamais peur des fantômes
Des fantômes
Je serre une photo de nous
Le soir pour m'endormir
Je repense au feu de tes joues
À ton sourire, ton sourire
Oh, bien sûr, le temps passe
Mais pas les souvenirs
Toujours cette eau dans mon regard
Qui scintille, qui scintille
Prends-moi dans tes bras
Reste au moins jusqu'à l'aube
Oh, jusqu'à l'aube
J't'en prie, serre-toi contre moi
J'ai plus jamais peur des fantômes
Des fantômes
Est-ce que tu l'appelles maman?
Est-ce qu'elle te veille la nuit?
Dis, fais-tu des moulins à vent?
Des bêtises, des bêtises?
Reste un peu ici
Reste un peu et serre-moi fort
Tiens-moi compagnie
Je crois que je deviens folle
Prends-moi dans tes bras
Reste au moins jusqu'à l'aube
Oh, jusqu'à l'aube
J't'en prie, serre-toi contre moi
J'ai plus jamais peur des fantômes
Des fantômes
Cecile Corbel's song "Petit fantôme" is a poignant reflection on the theme of distance, loss, and longing. The song is about a mother yearning for the presence of her child whom she had to leave at the Magdalene Laundry, an institution run by the Catholic Church in Ireland where single mothers were sent to work as penance for their "sins". The opening lines set the tone by describing the baby's birth under a grey sky in the bay of Galway while the mother was young and the baby was tiny. Ten years have elapsed since then and the mother is still haunted by memories of her child's laughter, warmth, and playfulness. She clings to a photograph of them together and sleeps with it every night.
The chorus of the song is an impassioned plea to the child to come back to her and stay with her until dawn. She implores him to hold her tight and chase away the ghosts of the past that have been tormenting her. The mother acknowledges that time may have passed, but memories still linger and they still have the power to stir deep emotions in her. The song ends with a series of questions addressed to the child, asking whether he calls his adoptive mother "mom", whether he is happy, and whether he still makes paper windmills, a symbol of childhood innocence and frivolity. The song is a powerful reminder of the trauma experienced by the women who were forced to surrender their babies to the Magdalene Laundries and the enduring impact it had on their lives long after the institutions ceased to exist.
Line by Line Meaning
T'es né sous un ciel gris
You were born under a gray sky
Dans la baie de Galway
In the bay of Galway
J'étais jeune, si jeune et toi
I was young, so young, and you
Si petit, si petit
So small, so small
Dix ans ont passé déjà
Ten years have already passed
Au Magdalene Laundry
At the Magdalene Laundry
Dix ans que tu grandis sans moi
Ten years that you've been growing up without me
Loin d'ici, loin d'ici
Far away, far away from here
Prends-moi dans tes bras
Take me in your arms
Reste au moins jusqu'à l'aube
Stay at least until dawn
Oh, jusqu'à l'aube
Oh, until dawn
J't'en prie, serre-toi contre moi
Please, hold me tight
J'ai plus jamais peur des fantômes
I'm not afraid of ghosts anymore
Des fantômes
Of ghosts
Je serre une photo de nous
I hold a photo of us
Le soir pour m'endormir
At night to fall asleep
Je repense au feu de tes joues
I think back to the fire in your cheeks
À ton sourire, ton sourire
To your smile, your smile
Oh, bien sûr, le temps passe
Oh, of course, time goes by
Mais pas les souvenirs
But not the memories
Toujours cette eau dans mon regard
Always this water in my eyes
Qui scintille, qui scintille
That sparkles, that sparkles
Est-ce que tu l'appelles maman?
Do you call her mom?
Est-ce qu'elle te veille la nuit?
Does she watch over you at night?
Dis, fais-tu des moulins à vent?
Tell me, do you make windmills?
Des bêtises, des bêtises?
Mischief, mischief?
Reste un peu ici
Stay a little longer here
Reste un peu et serre-moi fort
Stay a little and hold me tight
Tiens-moi compagnie
Keep me company
Je crois que je deviens folle
I think I'm going crazy
Writer(s): Cecile Corbel, Simon Caby
Contributed by Owen O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
mila777
English lyrics
You were born under a gray sky
In Galway Bay *
I was young, so young and you
So small, so small
Ten years have already passed
At Magdalene Laundry **
Ten years that you grow without me
Far from here, far from here
Take me in Your arms
Stay at least until dawn
Oh, until dawn
I beg you, hug me
I'm never afraid of ghosts anymore
Of ghosts...
I hold a picture of us tight
In the evening to fall asleep
I think back to the hotness of your cheeks
To your smile, your smile
Oh, of course, time goes by
But not memories
Always this water in my eyes
Which flickers, which flickers
Take me in Your arms
Stay at least until dawn
Oh, until dawn
I beg you, hug me
I'm never afraid of ghosts anymore
Of ghosts...
Do you call her "mommy"
Does she stay up with you at night?
Say, do you make windmills?
(And) foolishness,foolishness ?
Stay a little here
Stay a little and hold me tight
Keep me company
I think I'm going crazy
Take me in Your arms
Stay at least until dawn
Oh, until dawn
I beg you, hug me
I'm never afraid of ghosts anymore
Of Ghosts...
Nordremo
Here is the translation:
You were born under a grey sky
In Galway's bay
I was young so young and you
So little, so little
Ten years have passed already
At Magdalene Laundry
Ten years you've been growing without me
Far away from here, far away from here
Hold me in your arms
Stay at least until dawn
Until dawn
Please curl up against me
I am never being afraid of ghosts again
Of ghosts
I'm holding a picture of us
At night to fall asleep
I'm remembering the fire of your cheeks
Your smile, your smile
Oh of course time is running by
But not memories
Still that water in my eyes
Is sparkling, is sparkling
Hold me in your arms
Stay at least until dawn
Until dawn
Please curl up against me
I am never being afraid of ghosts again
Of ghosts
Do you call her mom
Does she look after you at night
Say, do you make toy wind mills
And sometimes are you naughty
Stay here for a bit
Stay for a bit and hold me tightly
Keep me company
I think I'm going crazy
Hold me in your arms
Stay at least until dawn
Until dawn
Please curl up against me
I am never being afraid of ghosts again
Of ghosts
Guitar Boy Advance
Très beau, cette chanson un peu country folk, avec ces quelques notes cristallines dissonantes dans le fond parfois (qu'est-ce que ça veut dire ?) ...
Le sujet évoque la séparation entre une mère et un enfant qu'elle ne pouvait élever.
Magdalen Laundry : "couvent de la Madeleine", des institutions catholiques en Irelande où des femmes déclarée "folles" étaient éduquées strictement par les nonnes.
Ces femmes, ont souvent été des enfants non désirées, nées hors mariage, abusées par leur famille.
Sujet triste, mais l'amour reste plus fort dans cette musique.
mila777
English lyrics
You were born under a gray sky
In Galway Bay *
I was young, so young and you
So small, so small
Ten years have already passed
At Magdalene Laundry **
Ten years that you grow without me
Far from here, far from here
Take me in Your arms
Stay at least until dawn
Oh, until dawn
I beg you, hug me
I'm never afraid of ghosts anymore
Of ghosts...
I hold a picture of us tight
In the evening to fall asleep
I think back to the hotness of your cheeks
To your smile, your smile
Oh, of course, time goes by
But not memories
Always this water in my eyes
Which flickers, which flickers
Take me in Your arms
Stay at least until dawn
Oh, until dawn
I beg you, hug me
I'm never afraid of ghosts anymore
Of ghosts...
Do you call her "mommy"
Does she stay up with you at night?
Say, do you make windmills?
(And) foolishness,foolishness ?
Stay a little here
Stay a little and hold me tight
Keep me company
I think I'm going crazy
Take me in Your arms
Stay at least until dawn
Oh, until dawn
I beg you, hug me
I'm never afraid of ghosts anymore
Of Ghosts...
Nadyana
Im glad you help us understand this beautiful song
funkybeat01
Thank you so much for the lyrics and background info!! ❤️
mila777
* Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway and the Burren in County Clare.
** Magdalene Laundries were cruel and medieval institutions in which women were imprisoned, stripped of their human rights and abused sexually and otherwise.
Women sent to the Laundries were deemed “mischievous” or “scandalous” at an incredibly young age and spent years and years of their lives doing penance for their sins, guarded by ruthless nuns.
The Laundries were disguised as rehabilitation centers for “fallen” women; in reality, the women rarely made it out alive from these places. A mass grave of 155 corpses was discovered in Dublin in 1993.
LittlePancake
su musica es demasiado hermosaaaaa <3
tiene estas vibras de andar en bicicleta por un camino de tierra con el atardecer de fondo mientras regresas de la gran ciudad hacia el campo
basicamente, hermoso
Sisayay Caat
una de las canciones más tristes que he escuchado... tengo el corazón hecho pedazos
Jascha Bull
I was curious enough to look up what the lyrics, meant, and gosh. Enough to make me weepy. Well done, Corbel!
Tiên Trần
I hope that I can find engsub on every song next time. I really want to understand the meaning of this song.
Love Cecile Corbel.
Tiên Trần
Nordremo thanks a lot.
Nordremo
Here is the translation:
You were born under a grey sky
In Galway's bay
I was young so young and you
So little, so little
Ten years have passed already
At Magdalene Laundry
Ten years you've been growing without me
Far away from here, far away from here
Hold me in your arms
Stay at least until dawn
Until dawn
Please curl up against me
I am never being afraid of ghosts again
Of ghosts
I'm holding a picture of us
At night to fall asleep
I'm remembering the fire of your cheeks
Your smile, your smile
Oh of course time is running by
But not memories
Still that water in my eyes
Is sparkling, is sparkling
Hold me in your arms
Stay at least until dawn
Until dawn
Please curl up against me
I am never being afraid of ghosts again
Of ghosts
Do you call her mom
Does she look after you at night
Say, do you make toy wind mills
And sometimes are you naughty
Stay here for a bit
Stay for a bit and hold me tightly
Keep me company
I think I'm going crazy
Hold me in your arms
Stay at least until dawn
Until dawn
Please curl up against me
I am never being afraid of ghosts again
Of ghosts