After their first 1999 se… Read Full Bio ↴Debout Sur Le Zinc is a French music band.
After their first 1999 self-titled album, their subsequent album L’homme à tue-tête released in May, 2001 gained them media acclaim and public popularity. By the time their 2004 album Des singes et les moutons enhanced their repertoire, they were selling out venues such as La Cigale and touring internationally. Songs from their latest album Les Promesses were featured in their first concert at the oldest music hall in Paris, the Olympia, where they played to a full house on May 16, 2006.
The band acknowledges influences from traditional French and Irish music, rock, klezmer, and many styles that are considered dance hall music, such as gypsy jazz, tango, waltz. Music critics and fans admire their ability to mix these different styles into an exuberant, cohesive whole.
They are known to be friends with bands like La Rue Kétanou or Les Ogres de Barback.
Mieux que rien
Debout sur le zinc Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
T'es qu'un mieux que rien, pas une graine
De lendemain, que je m'en souvienne
Pour un peu qu'on tire sur ton talent
Apparaissent les passants, les trépassants
Très peu pour moi l'accident ce doute
Ce petit espoir feutré file en douce
À courir à l'opposé de tes lèvres
S'il faut courir y mettre la forme
Coller un sourire où tombent les hommes
Quitte à s'enfuir autant prendre l'air
Dans d'autres bras se vider se perdre
T'as la cohue moi je te laisse
Coller à ton cul d'autres amants l'âme en détresse
T'es qu'un soupir envolé pour toujours
Un rien de rien sans regret sans retour
À trop tirer sur ton talent, il s'effile et fait filer les boniments
T'es qu'un sanglot pas millésimé,
Parmi les ennemis : souvenir usé
L'amour s'y mesure à la fraction
De seconde, et au reste la passion
S'il faut encore y trouver le doute
Il a perdu son âme en route
T'es qu'un mieux que rien sur ça rien à redire
Mais mieux vaut rien quand le mieux est le pire
T'as la cohue moi je te laisse
Coller à ton cul d'autres amants l'âme en détresse
The song "Mieux que rien" by Debout sur le zinc is a melancholic yet powerful ode to a relationship that is falling apart. The title itself means "better than nothing," which sets the tone for the song as a reflection on a love that falls short of what the singer truly desires. The opening lines describe the subject of the song as someone who is "better than nothing" and not a "seed of tomorrow," implying that the relationship has no future. Despite this, the subject's talent draws attention from others, but for the singer, this is of little consequence.
Throughout the song, the singer expresses his mixed emotions towards the subject, alternating between rejecting them and acknowledging their appeal. He recognizes that their talent is dwindling, and they are becoming more of a "sigh" than anything else. However, he still cannot completely let go of them, and the relationship continues to linger in his mind. The chorus, "T'as la cohue moi je te laisse / Coller à ton cul d'autres amants l'âme en détresse" can be roughly translated to "You have the crowd, but I'll let you stick to your ass other lovers in distress," suggests that the singer has accepted the inevitability of the relationship's end.
In conclusion, "Mieux que rien" is a bittersweet reflection on the complexities of love and relationships. The subject is not quite what the singer wants, yet they still hold a certain allure. The song's poetic lyrics and melancholic melody make it a poignant exploration of the difficult feelings that come with letting go of someone you once loved.
Line by Line Meaning
T'es qu'un mieux que rien, pas une graine
You're just barely something, not even a seed
De lendemain, que je m'en souvienne
A memory of the day after, from what I can remember
Pour un peu qu'on tire sur ton talent
If we push a little on your talent
Apparaissent les passants, les trépassants
The passersby and the departed appear
Très peu pour moi l'accident ce doute
The doubt of chance doesn't affect me much
Ce petit espoir feutré file en douce
This little, muffled hope slips away unnoticed
Pile tombe à mes pieds que la vie rappelle
Exactly then, life reminds me
À courir à l'opposé de tes lèvres
To run in the opposite direction of your lips
S'il faut courir y mettre la forme
If running is necessary, to put in the effort
Coller un sourire où tombent les hommes
Stick a smile where men fall
Quitte à s'enfuir autant prendre l'air
If we must flee, might as well take some fresh air
Dans d'autres bras se vider se perdre
To empty oneself and get lost in other arms
T'as la cohue moi je te laisse
You have the crowd, I'll leave you to it
Coller à ton cul d'autres amants l'âme en détresse
Stick to your behind more lovers in distress
T'es qu'un soupir envolé pour toujours
You're just a sigh that's flown away forever
Un rien de rien sans regret sans retour
A nothing of nothing without regret or return
À trop tirer sur ton talent, il s'effile et fait filer les boniments
By pulling too much on your talent, it unravels and the lies slip away
T'es qu'un sanglot pas millésimé, Parmi les ennemis : souvenir usé
You're just an un-dated sob, among the enemies: a worn-out memory
L'amour s'y mesure à la fraction
Love is measured in fractions there
De seconde, et au reste la passion
Of a second, and the rest is passion
S'il faut encore y trouver le doute
If doubt still needs to be found there
Il a perdu son âme en route
It lost its soul along the way
T'es qu'un mieux que rien sur ça rien à redire
You're just barely something, nothing to argue about that
Mais mieux vaut rien quand le mieux est le pire
But nothing is better than the worst of the best
T'as la cohue moi je te laisse
You have the crowd, I'll leave you to it
Coller à ton cul d'autres amants l'âme en détresse
Stick to your behind more lovers in distress
Contributed by London P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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