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.
Un jour de moins
Debout sur le zinc Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Roule sur la courbe de mes joues.
Noyée dans tes vapeurs de liesses,
Ou serrée dans l'étau de ma tristesse.
Mais coule, goutte d'océan, coule,
Coule sur le temps qui s'enroule
Voyage au gré des grandes détresses,
Encore un jour, ou plutôt un jour de moins,
Un peu plus sage et encore plus sage demain.
Mais toujours ce sentiment lourd
De n'avoir pas le temps de faire le tour.
Encore un jour, et peut être l'ultime,
Ou bien le jour, le jour le plus sublime.
Mais toujours ce sentiment lourd
De n'avoir pas donné assez d'amour.
Le temps vaut de l'or, le temps vaut même bien plus,
La vie s'évapore bien avant d'avoir tout vu.
Qu'elle s'élance vers les plus hautes vertus,
Ou qu'elle s'écrase lâchée du plus haut des nues.
Evidemment, ça nous pèse sur la carcasse,
Evidement, notre quête n'est qu'une impasse,
Puisse-t-elle être portée au pinacle
Par son chien, sa famille ou les prophéties d'un oracle.
Avant mon dernier cri, avant que mon coeur s'arrête,
J'aimerais voir de mon lit un linceul de jour de fête
Brodé d'histoire en dentelles,
De fils de vie, de plaisirs éternels.
The first stanza of Debout sur le Zinc's song Un jour de moins talks about tears and the emotions that come with it. It describes tears as drops of ocean that roll down the singer's cheeks. The singer is overwhelmed with a mix of joy and sadness, and the tears represent both emotions. The line "Noyée dans tes vapeurs de liesses, ou serrée dans l'étau de ma tristesse" translates to "Drowned in your vapors of joy or trapped in the grip of my sadness." The singer is acknowledging that their tears can come from both happiness or sorrow.
The second stanza talks about time and how it keeps moving forward. The ocean drop is urged to flow over time, both through the good times and bad. The singer acknowledges that time is a precious commodity, and it must be cherished. They say that life evaporates before we have had a chance to experience everything. The singer notes that life can go in two very different directions, either towards the highest heights or the lowest depths.
The chorus talks about how every day we have one less day to experience things. The singer reflects on how they have become wiser with each passing day but still feel a kind of weight. They regret not having enough time to do everything they want to do, including expressing love. The last stanza is a reflection on the singer's mortality. They express the desire to see eternal pleasures and joys, even as they acknowledge the inevitability of death. It's a powerful and poignant message about the fleeting nature of life and the importance of cherishing every moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Coule, goutte d'océan, coule,
Flow, ocean drop, flow,
Roule sur la courbe de mes joues.
Roll on the curve of my cheeks.
Noyée dans tes vapeurs de liesses,
Drowned in your fumes of joy,
Ou serrée dans l'étau de ma tristesse.
Or clenched in the vise of my sadness.
Mais coule, goutte d'océan, coule,
But flow, ocean drop, flow,
Coule sur le temps qui s'enroule
Flow on the time that rolls,
Voyage au gré des grandes détresses,
Travel at the mercy of great distresses,
Nage sur les bonheurs que l'on caresse.
Swim on the happiness that we cherish.
Encore un jour, ou plutôt un jour de moins,
One more day or rather one day less,
Un peu plus sage et encore plus sage demain.
A little wiser and even wiser tomorrow.
Mais toujours ce sentiment lourd
But always this heavy feeling,
De n'avoir pas le temps de faire le tour.
Of not having time to go around.
Encore un jour, et peut être l'ultime,
One more day, and perhaps the ultimate,
Ou bien le jour, le jour le plus sublime.
Or perhaps the most sublime day.
Mais toujours ce sentiment lourd
But always this heavy feeling,
De n'avoir pas donné assez d'amour.
Of not having given enough love.
Le temps vaut de l'or, le temps vaut même bien plus,
Time is worth gold, time is worth even more,
La vie s'évapore bien avant d'avoir tout vu.
Life evaporates well before having seen everything.
Qu'elle s'élance vers les plus hautes vertus,
Whether it rises to the highest virtues,
Ou qu'elle s'écrase lâchée du plus haut des nues.
Or whether it crashes released from the highest clouds.
Evidemment, ça nous pèse sur la carcasse,
Obviously, it weighs on our body,
Evidement, notre quête n'est qu'une impasse,
Obviously, our quest is but a dead end,
Puisse-t-elle être portée au pinacle
May it be brought to the pinnacle
Par son chien, sa famille ou les prophéties d'un oracle.
By its dog, its family or the prophecies of an oracle.
Avant mon dernier cri, avant que mon coeur s'arrête,
Before my last cry, before my heart stops,
J'aimerais voir de mon lit un linceul de jour de fête
I would like to see from my bed a shroud of festive day
Brodé d'histoire en dentelles,
Embroidered with history in lace,
De fils de vie, de plaisirs éternels.
With threads of life, of eternal pleasures.
Contributed by Matthew C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.