Letissier has used numerous personal and stage names, and remarked that he "just ha many names for all the layers". He began his career as Christine and the Queens. For his second studio album, he shortened it to Chris, which was accompanied by a shift to a persona described as "a woman playing with masculine tropes". In October 2021, he was using the name Rahim. This sparked a debate around cultural appropriation due to the name's Arabic origin. He eventually began using a succession of different names such as Sam le pompier (the French title of Fireman Sam) and a full stop before settling on Redcar, sometimes shortened as Red. In August 2022, he updated his pronouns to he/him across social media platforms. In 2023, with the release of fourth album Paranoïa, Angels, True Love, he seemed to have reverted to simply Chris. However, he still occasionally uses his birth name, about which he said: "Héloïse Letissier is my parents' provenance and I love my parents. I sometimes use Héloïse to reconnect me to my childhood, but my inner child name is Manamané."
Paradis perdus
Christine and the Queens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Je déambule morose
Le crépuscule est grandiose
Heartless
How could you be so heartless?
How could you be so heartless?
How could you be so heartless?
Dandy un peu maudit, un peu vieilli
Dans ce luxe qui s'effondre
Te souviens-tu quand je chantais
Dans les caves de Londres?
Un peu noyé dans la fumée
Ce rock sophistiqué
Toutes les nuits tu restais là
Heartless
How could you be so heartless?
How could you be so heartless?
How could you be so heartless?
Bandit un peu maudit, un peu vieilli
Les musiciens sont ridés
Et ce clavier comme c'est joli
J'essaie de me rappeler
Encore une fois
Les accords de ce rock
Qui détonnait comme les Anglais
Heartless
How could you be so heartless?
How could you be so heartless?
How could you be so heartless?
In the night I hear them talk
The coldest story ever told
Somewhere far along this road
He lost his soul
To a woman so heartless
How could you be so heartless?
The lyrics of Paradis Perdus by Christine and the Queens are melancholic and nostalgic. The singer is recounting their past life as a dandy, a bandit, and a musician, reminiscing about the glorious moments of their youth. The first stanza describes the singer's current state of mind - they are walking around in a rose silk jacket feeling sad while admiring the grandeur of the sunset. The singer then compares their mood to the lyrics of Kanye West's Heartless, which is a song about feeling betrayed and hurt by someone they loved. The singer wonders how could someone be so heartless to cause such pain.
The next stanzas of the song describe the singer's former life as a musician. They used to sing in London's underground clubs, and their music was edgy and sophisticated. The singer remembers the good old days when they were surrounded by musicians, playing the rock that was way ahead of its time. But now, it seems like everything has changed. Music itself has grown old and wrinkled, and the instruments are no longer shiny and new. The singer is trying to cling to the memories of their youth and the beautiful music they used to create while acknowledging that things will never be the same again.
Overall, Paradis Perdus is a beautiful song that captures the essence of nostalgia and the pain of growing old. The lyrics are poignant and thought-provoking, making the listener reflect on their own past and the choices they made in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Dans ma veste de soie rose
In my pink silk jacket
Je déambule morose
I wander melancholic
Le crépuscule est grandiose
The sunset is epic
Heartless
You are without heart
How could you be so heartless?
How could you lack any emotion?
Dandy un peu maudit, un peu vieilli
Dandy a little cursed, a little old
Dans ce luxe qui s'effondre
In this collapsing luxury
Te souviens-tu quand je chantais
Do you remember when I sang
Dans les caves de Londres?
In the London caves?
Un peu noyé dans la fumée
A little lost in the smoke
Ce rock sophistiqué
This sophisticated rock
Toutes les nuits tu restais là
Every night you stayed there
Bandit un peu maudit, un peu vieilli
Bandit a little cursed, a little old
Les musiciens sont ridés
The musicians are wrinkled
Et ce clavier comme c'est joli
And this keyboard is so pretty
J'essaie de me rappeler
I try to remember
Encore une fois
One more time
Les accords de ce rock
The chords of this rock
Qui détonnait comme les Anglais
That sounded like the English
In the night I hear them talk
In the night I hear them talking
The coldest story ever told
The coldest story ever told
Somewhere far along this road
Somewhere far down this road
He lost his soul
He lost his soul
To a woman so heartless
To a woman without heart
How could you be so heartless?
How could you lack any emotion?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Daniel Bevilacqua, Jean-Michel Jarre, Jeffrey Bhasker, Kanye West, Malik Jones, Scott Mescudi, Benjamin Hudson Mcildowie, Ernest Wilson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lauren O
I love how everything this woman creates is pure art. This music and video made me feel things and I don't even understand French.
beans beans
can't see this as THAT original, this song is so similar to Heartless by Kanye
OneEarthMERGED
I mean at least the French are saving money with low budget productions +beans beans is totally right she ain’t that original at all really
Alexis de Monicault
It’s true that you feel like each piece is a unique piece of creativity.
Norman Zurich
Take care, she is not a « woman » 😂😂😂 you can’t say « she » about this creature 😂😂😂 he-she-it-they-we-etc. is becoming « no-gender » or « pan-gender »… maybe tomorrow « 🦝🦫🦩🐕🐩🐑🦬🦒 » 😂😂😂
Natacha ALBERT
Allez Christine, on ne s'en lasse pas. And again, again....❤❤🇫🇷🍀🌹😊
JADYS UNIVERS
PUTAIN C’E MAGIQUE COMME SON ..... ÇA T’EMMENE .....
C’EST UNIQUE !
T’A PERSONNE QUI FAIT CE GENRE DE MUSIQUE
HC
Une artiste hors paires, déclassée et singulière. Je suis amoureuse de son style, ces chansons.... Un Chef d'Oeuvre... Simplement Bravo et Merci.
saralovescoffee
I can't even say how much I love this song.. pure beauty.
Laurent Bouiges
Chanson qui transporte dans une autre dimension, je suis totalement fan.