Éric Serra's father Claude was a famous French songwriter in the 1950s and '60s, and, as such, Éric was exposed to music and its production at a young age. His mother died when he was just seven years old. In the early '80s, Serra met director Luc Besson and was asked to score his first movie Le Dernier Combat (1983). Serra has scored all of Besson's directed movies to date, except Angel-A (2005) (scored by Anja Garbarek), and several that Besson has written such as Wasabi.
In 1995, Éric Serra was chosen to compose the score to the James Bond film GoldenEye, and produced a much more modern-sounding avant-garde soundtrack compared to previous Bond films. It met with mixed reviews from film critics. Serra's score is often criticized by Bond fans, and is considered the farthest departure from a traditional Bond score and, by some, as the most inappropriate in the series history. Others find it highly innovative, with the main problem the lack of John Barry's traditional theme. The producers later hired John Altman to provide the music for the tank chase in St. Petersburg. Serra's original track for that sequence can still be found on the soundtrack as "A Pleasant Drive In St. Petersburg".
Occasionally, and mainly due to his album released by this name, he is known in credits as RXRA (pronounced like his name, in French). An example is "Little Light of Love" on The Fifth Element soundtrack, which is credited to RXRA.
From 1980 to 1988, Éric Serra played bass guitar for French singer Jacques Higelin.
Éric Serra is also a songwriter, notably having written "It's Only Mystery" for the film Subway and "My Lady Blue" for Le Grand Bleu. In 1988, Éric Serra released an album of rock music titled RXRA which resembles the artist's name when pronounced as initial letters in French.
Most recently he composed the music for the new Criss Angel/Cirque Du Soleil show 'Criss Angel: Believe' to open at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, in October 2008.
Serra has spent little time in front of the camera, choosing to work behind the scenes instead. However, on French television he has made a number of appearances performing music, and notably appeared in the Luc Besson movie Subway in which he plays 'Enrico the bassist'.
Guns And People
Eric Serra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For someone who wouldn't come
Who would've made it home to me
I went for a walk in the street
Empty eyes and shady faces
People hustling and people wandering
And I just found that in their places
Guns don't kill people
People kill people
I said
Guns don't kill people
People kill people
I said
I left it all, went to the mall
That led me to a noisy cafe
And there she was, between two cups
Sweet and amazing and lofty
Just one glance and love, it hit me
Felt like being in a movie
Was she the one I was waiting for?
A beauty, a blue-eyed killer, yeah
This cruel world is such a mess
I went back home to my loneliness
It was too late, it was too late
To go to sleep
I think I might be tired
And I try, I try to sing
All I remember is that line
Guns don't kill people
People kill people
Guns don't kill people
People kill people
I said guns don't kill people
People kill people
I said guns don't kill people
It's people who kill people
People kill people
The lyrics of Eric Serra's song "Guns and People" are a commentary on the senseless violence that pervades our world. The singer of the song is waiting for someone who never shows up and decides to take a walk in the street. He encounters people with empty eyes and shady faces, but he concludes that the streets are not that frightening. The chorus "Guns don't kill people, People kill people" is repeated several times throughout the song, and it is a direct message to the listener. It is a clear statement that guns are only tools, and it is the people who wield them that are responsible for the violence and destruction that they cause.
The song's theme is universal, but it is also specific to the United States with its gun culture and high incidence of gun-related deaths. The singer in the song goes to a mall and a cafe and meets someone who he considers the one he has been waiting for. However, he is unable to shake off the sadness that he feels about the world and returns home to his loneliness.
Overall, Eric Serra's "Guns and People" is a poignant plea for peace and an end to gun violence. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing the humanity in ourselves and others and the futility of using guns to resolve our problems.
Line by Line Meaning
That night I waited too long
I was waiting for someone who wouldn't come, and I waited too long.
For someone who wouldn't come
I was waiting for someone who was never going to show up.
Who would've made it home to me
I was waiting for someone to come home to me, but they never did.
I went for a walk in the street
I went for a walk outside, alone.
Empty eyes and shady faces
The people I saw had no expression, and looked suspicious.
People hustling and people wandering
People were rushing around and wandering aimlessly.
And I just found that in their places
I discovered that these people were not as bad as they looked.
The streets were not that frightening, no
The streets were not as scary as I thought they would be.
Guns don't kill people
Guns aren't capable of killing people without human interaction.
People kill people
People are the ones who ultimately cause harm and take lives.
I left it all, went to the mall
I left the streets and went to a shopping center.
That led me to a noisy cafe
The mall led me to a loud cafe.
And there she was, between two cups
I saw a woman who was between two cups at the cafe.
Sweet and amazing and lofty
She was sweet and amazing, and looked like she was in another world.
Just one glance and love, it hit me
As soon as I saw her, I fell in love with her.
Felt like being in a movie
It felt like a scene out of a movie.
Was she the one I was waiting for?
I wondered if she was the person I had been waiting for.
A beauty, a blue-eyed killer, yeah
She was beautiful, and her blue eyes were captivating.
This cruel world is such a mess
The world is a harsh and chaotic place.
I went back home to my loneliness
I went back to my empty and solitary home.
It was too late, it was too late
It was too late for me to do anything.
To go to sleep
I couldn't fall asleep.
I think I might be tired
I realized I was feeling fatigued.
And I try, I try to sing
I tried to sing a song.
All I remember is that line
All I can remember is that people, not guns, are the ones who cause harm and death.
Guns don't kill people
Guns in and of themselves are not capable of killing people.
People kill people
Humans are the ones who ultimately are responsible for causing harm and death.
Guns don't kill people
Guns cannot kill without the involvement of a human being.
It's people who kill people
Humans are the ones who are responsible for violence and death, not guns themselves.
People kill people
Humans cause harm and take lives.
Writer(s): Corine Marienneau, Eric Georges Yves Marie Serra Copyright: Gaumont Musique, Ed. Telephone Musique
Contributed by Maya T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@shpreng
Subway is a very soulful art of masterpiece. Christopher Lambert is a great person. Met him at Pacific Meridian film festival at city Vladivostok, Russia. 💜
@chrislees5561
One of my favourite films ever, great sound track
@Durdenspartan
What a music!!! I love it!
@user-lz8ov9ys8b
Why there is few music in the style like this one? This film was surprise for me.
@TheCLOUDFORCE
you mean in the movie?cause in general there were thousands of bands that sounded like this in the mid 80s.just check on google for AOR bands
@alexlozven
BIOMECHANICAL TOY
@arnaudfauchere1769
SUBLIME !!!
@FabriceBOURGEOIS
the guitar solo is a french masterpiece by Philippe Kalfon !!🤩🤘🤘
@zsoltadam7584
Thank you for upload!🙏❤🙂✌
@roseyacine9943
👍👍👍❤️👍👍👍