Heavily influenced by American rock & roll, Mitchell (who went solo in 1963) has often recorded outside France, at first in London, but later in Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee. Guitarist Jimmy Page and drummer Bob Graham were among the British session musicians who regularly supported him in London.
Chain Gang
Eddy Mitchell Lyrics
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La, au bout de la terre
Se trouve Chain-Gang
La prison de l'Enfer
C'est le nom de Chain-Gang
De douleur je crie....
Il n'y a pas de ciel
Au-dessus de Chain-Gang
Le soleil et la mer
Sont bien loin de Chain-Gang
Nous sommes des centaines
Ignorant, quand notre peine
Sera-t-elle enfin finie
Pour faire naitre la vie
Les jours auront passé
Le temps semble s'arreter
Il n'y a pas de ciel
Au-dessus de Chain-Gang
Le soleil et la mer
Sont bien loin de Chain-Gang
Et mon cœur te dit
Veux-tu de moi?
Il ne me reste que toi
Tu ne peux m'abandonner
Je ne pourrai t'oublier.
Si un jour tu voyais
La prison de Chain-Gang
Alors tu comprendrais
Quelle était ma peine,
De douleur, tu crieras
Ma, ma, ma, ma, ma vie
Est vraiment finie
Est-il vrai que le paradis
N'est pas fait pour les maudits?
Oooh, ma, ma, ma, ma, ma vie
Est vraiment finie....
In Eddy Mitchell's song "Chain Gang," the singer is crying out in pain from a place called "Chain-Gang" - a prison that is referred to as "hell." The name "Chain-Gang" suggests that the prisoners are forced to do manual labor while chained together. The singer explains that there is no sky above Chain-Gang, and that both the sun and the sea are far away. He is one of many prisoners who are ignorant of when their sentences will end, and who feel as though time has stopped within the prison walls. The chorus repeats that there is no sky above Chain-Gang and that life is over for those who are trapped within it.
The final verse is the singer addressing someone outside of the prison, asking if they would want to be with him. He says that he only has this person left, and that he cannot be abandoned. If the person were to see Chain-Gang, the singer believes they would understand his pain. The song ends with the singer questioning if paradise is not meant for those who are condemned to prisons like Chain-Gang. The lyrics of "Chain Gang" suggest that prisons like these not only physically chain inmates to each other and to the land, but also rob them of hope and any sense of a future outside of the prison walls.
Line by Line Meaning
De douleur je crie....
The singer is crying out of pain
La, au bout de la terre
Chain-Gang is located at the edge of the earth
Se trouve Chain-Gang
Chain-Gang is located there
La prison de l'Enfer
Chain-Gang is a prison that hellish in nature
C'est le nom de Chain-Gang
That's the name of the prison, Chain-Gang
Il n'y a pas de ciel
There's no sky above Chain-Gang
Au-dessus de Chain-Gang
Above Chain-Gang
Le soleil et la mer
The sun and the sea
Sont bien loin de Chain-Gang
Are far away from Chain-Gang
Nous sommes des centaines
There are hundreds of us
Ignorant, quand notre peine
We don't know when our punishment
Sera-t-elle enfin finie
Will finally be over
Pour faire naitre la vie
To bring forth life
Les jours auront passé
Days will have passed
Le temps semble s'arreter
Time seems to stand still
Et mon cœur te dit
And my heart tells you
Veux-tu de moi?
Do you want me?
Il ne me reste que toi
You're all I have left
Tu ne peux m'abandonner
You can't abandon me
Je ne pourrai t'oublier.
I won't be able to forget you
Si un jour tu voyais
If one day you saw
La prison de Chain-Gang
The prison of Chain-Gang
Alors tu comprendrais
Then you would understand
Quelle était ma peine,
What my punishment was
De douleur, tu crieras
You will cry out of pain
Ma, ma, ma, ma, ma vie
My life
Est vraiment finie
Is truly over
Est-il vrai que le paradis
Is it true that paradise
N'est pas fait pour les maudits?
Is not made for the damned?
Oooh, ma, ma, ma, ma, ma vie
Oh, my life
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Cooke Sam
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Yahiaoui Hacene
Magnifique Eddy ,johnny ,et les autres .respect ,à nos 20ans elle était belle la vie à cette époque ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Myriemah Bethy
Si belle reprise du grand Mr Eddy
Jacqueline Duss.
Magnifique chanson , j'aime !
bernard texier
que de souvenirs !!!👍
Moka Moka
Superbe chanson du grand Eddy.
marcou34
Excellente adaptation du grand Sam Cook tombée un peu dans l'oubli, à part les nostalgique comme moi. merci
hervé vincent
me too ...
malikoco
On ne s' en lasse pas ! J' ai découvert cette chanson en 1990 et j' en découvre encore plein aujourd'hui.
Jean Paul Guerin
Très belle reprise comme d'habitude !!!
Jean Paul Guerin
Reprise de Sam Cooke