Gilles Bertin (25 March 1961 – 7 November 2019) was a French bassist and singer, and a member of the punk band Camera Silens from 1981 to 1986. Gilles Bertin took part in a bank robbery in Toulouse on 27 April 1988, where nearly 12 million francs were stolen. Gilles Bertin went on the run for 28 years before handing himself in to police.
Camera Silens was a French punk rock/Oi! (with also some reggae and rhythm & blues influences) from Bordeaux formed in 1981, stopped in 1988.
Line up:
1981-1982 : Gilles Bertin (bass, vocals) – Benoît Destriau (guitar) – Philippe Schneiberger (drums)
1983 : Benoît Destriau (guitar, vocals) – Eric Ferrer (bass) – Nicolas Mouriesse (drums)
1984-1985 : Benoît Destriau (guitar) – Gilles Bertin (vocals) – Eric Ferrer (bass) – Bruno Cornet (drums)
1986-1988 : Benoît Destriau (guitar, vocals) – Eric Ferrer (bass) – Bruno Cornet (drums) – François Borne (saxophone)
Born in Paris on 25 March 1961, Gilles Bertin moved to Bordeaux with his parents as a teenager. In Bordeaux, he founded the punk band Camera Silens as a bassist and a singer. The band enjoyed significant success in the French punk rock scene. After he became a drug addict and tested seropositive, he fell into delinquency.
On 27 April 1988, Bertin participated in a robbery on the Toulouse department of Brink's along with a dozen other robbers, after two years of preparation. The group stole 11,571,316 francs, despite never firing a shot. To this day, most of the loot has never been found. After police launched "Operation Sangria", all participants of the robbery were arrested within two years, except for Bertin. He fled to Spain, and then later, Portugal while running a record shop dedicated to alternative rock. In 1995, Bertin fell ill with AIDS, but survived thanks to tritherapy. In 2000, he returned to Barcelona and worked in a bar owned by his family while living under several identities.
On 26 November 2016, Bertin returned to France to face justice. His trial began on 6 June 2018, and he faced 20 years imprisonment. However, Bertin was only sentenced to five years with suspension, after the prosecution cited "good conduct."
In February 2019, Bertin published an autiobiography, titled Trente ans de cavale, ma vie de punk with the publisher Éditions Robert Laffont.
On 7 November 2019, Gilles Bertin succumbed to AIDS after spending several weeks in a coma. He was 58.
CAMERA SILENS
Camera Silens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Je crève lentement et sans bruit
Je ne sais même plus
Ce que je vis, ce que je suis
Counter Insurgency
J 'entends ma cervelle penser
Qu'j'suis en train de crever
Je ne sais même plus
Counter Insurgency
Mais jamais elle n'aura ma peau... Camera Silens
Je vois la mort de si haut. . . . . . . . Camera Silens
Mourir en vidéo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Camera Silens
Et pour ça vous allez payer le prix de ma démence
J'entends mon sang couler
Ma tète prête à exploser
Trouver la force
De me décanaliser
Counter insurgency
Je n'attends plus rien
Des lendemains...
... Drôle de destin.
The lyrics to Camera Silens's song "Camera Silens" portray a sense of hopelessness and despair. The singer begins by saying that they can hear their own blood flowing, indicating that they are close to death. They say that they are dying slowly and without noise, and that they don't even know what they are living for or who they are anymore. The phrase "counter insurgency" repeats throughout the song, perhaps representing a battle against oneself or society at large. The second verse talks about the singer's brain still functioning and knowing that they are dying, but they don't know where they are going or what they know anymore.
The chorus shifts focus to the idea of the singer's life being captured on video, as if they are watching themselves die from above. They say that they will not let death conquer them, but in the same breath, they acknowledge that they can see death from far away. The last line, "Mourir en vidéo," is particularly haunting, as it suggests a life that has become nothing more than a performance or spectacle, devoid of meaning.
The final stanza expresses a sense of resignation and acceptance. The singer has given up hope of anything changing, and they find themselves in a strange destiny. The final line, "counter insurgency," emphasizes that the struggle continues, even if the outcome seems futile.
Overall, the song seems to express a sense of alienation and despair in the face of death and societal oppression. The repeated phrases and imagery of dying in video and counter insurgency suggest a society that is constantly at war with itself, with individuals caught in the crossfire.
Line by Line Meaning
J 'entends mon sang couler
I can hear the sound of my blood flowing through my veins.
Je crève lentement et sans bruit
I am dying slowly and silently.
Je ne sais même plus
Ce que je vis, ce que je suis
Counter insurgency
I don't even know what I am experiencing or who I am anymore. (Counter insurgency is repeated as a way of emphasizing the chaos and confusion.)
J'entends ma cervelle penser
Qu'j'suis en train de crever
Je ne sais même plus
Où je vais, ce que je sais
Counter insurgency
I can hear my mind racing as I am dying. I have no idea where I am going or what will happen next. (Counter insurgency is repeated as a way of emphasizing the chaos and confusion.)
Mais jamais elle n'aura ma peau... Camera Silens
But she will never take my life... Camera Silens (The band's name is used as a way of saying that they won't be silenced or defeated.)
Je vois la mort de si haut. . . . . . . . Camera Silens
I see death from such a high perspective... Camera Silens (Again, the band name is invoked to convey a sense of defiance and strength.)
Mourir en vidéo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Camera Silens
Dying on camera... Camera Silens (The band name is repeated to reinforce the idea of a defiant, rebellious spirit.)
Et pour ça vous allez payer le prix de ma démence
And for that, you will pay the price for my madness.
J'entends mon sang couler
Ma tète prête à exploser
Trouver la force
De me décanaliser
Counter insurgency
I can still hear my blood flowing as my head is about to explode. I need to find the strength to disconnect myself from this chaotic situation. (Counter insurgency is repeated once again to emphasize the sense of turmoil and conflict.)
Je n'attends plus rien
Des lendemains...
... Drôle de destin.
I no longer have any expectations for what comes next... A strange fate indeed.
Contributed by Blake B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@timothe4177
J 'entends mon sang couler
Je crève lentement et sans bruit
Je ne sais même plus
Ce que je vis, ce que je suis
Counter Insurgency
J 'entends ma cervelle penser
Qu'j'suis en train de crever
Je ne sais même plus
Ce que je vis, ce que je fais
Counter Insurgency
Mais jamais elle n'aura ma peau... Camera Silens
Je vois la mort de si haut............. Camera Silens
Mourir en vidéo............................ Camera Silens
Et pour ça vous allez payer le prix de ma démence
J'entends mon sang couler
Ma tète prête à exploser
Trouver la force
De me décanaliser
Counter insurgency
Je n'attends plus rien
Des lendemains...
... Drôle de destin.
@johannlaurency8451
J’écoutais leur album en boucle à l’armée lorsque j’ai fait mon « service » en 88/89 en DO, enfermé 48h.
@timothe4177
J 'entends mon sang couler
Je crève lentement et sans bruit
Je ne sais même plus
Ce que je vis, ce que je suis
Counter Insurgency
J 'entends ma cervelle penser
Qu'j'suis en train de crever
Je ne sais même plus
Ce que je vis, ce que je fais
Counter Insurgency
Mais jamais elle n'aura ma peau... Camera Silens
Je vois la mort de si haut............. Camera Silens
Mourir en vidéo............................ Camera Silens
Et pour ça vous allez payer le prix de ma démence
J'entends mon sang couler
Ma tète prête à exploser
Trouver la force
De me décanaliser
Counter insurgency
Je n'attends plus rien
Des lendemains...
... Drôle de destin.
@spawnofhell8445
Rest in power Gilles Bertin
@MrCotedeboeuf
mon dieu que de souvenirs 😉
@AtZero138
I have no idea what is being sung.. But this has something moving in me.. thanks for the post. Peace from Southern California
@didiervidry7687
Talking about the extrême control in jail,and psychic fail . salut from bergerac France !
@AtZero138
@Didier Vidry thank you. That's even more interesting now.. a deeper meaning, strikes within me, I myself have done time, enough to know, and no need to mention how long I was away, it will stay with you. Cheers.
@didiervidry7687
Merci pour le message.do you know the life of the singer Gilles Bertin ?
@AtZero138
@Didier Vidry I just did some lite reading on the Singer.. wow I had no idea. Thanks again. I'm even more enlightened. As I write this it is 2am in California.. cheer again .. thanks
@didiervidry7687
A rumor about the reformation of c.s IS on the air un bordeaux.some talk about a concert with killing joke and cock sparrer un the same festival un st brieuc.i think it s impossible.