Dame d'un soir
Francis Cabrel Lyrics
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Je t'imagine, sans effort.
Dame d'un soir,
Quand je m'endors,
Laisse faire la lumière,
Laisse-toi soulever doucement,
Fermes les yeux,
Dehors il pleut, un peu.
Tu dérives, captive
Vers le soleil blanc d'un nouveau jour,
Quelqu'un t'attend,
Au bout de l'Océan.
Dame d'un soir
Les sirènes te préviennent
Qu'un voilier s'approche de ton corps,
Plein de rubans,
Et de papillons blancs
Pour tes ailes d'enfant.
Nos épaules se frôlent,
Nos voiles se fondent au même feu,
Nos corps se glissent,
Jusqu'aux plages d'Atlantis.
Les sirènes te préviennent
Qu'un voilier s'approche de ton corps,
Plein de rubans,
Et de papillons blancs,
Pour ton ventre d'enfant.
Le silence immense,
Juste la musique de ton cœur,
Personne autour,
Que nos haleines d'amour.
Aquarelle, nouvelle,
Sur des fils de laine roses et blancs,
Fermes les yeux,
Dehors il pleut, un peu un peu
The lyrics of Francis Cabrel's song Dame d'un soir present a dream-like atmosphere where the singer imagines a woman he met briefly. The woman, referred to as "Dame d'un soir" ("One-night lady"), is described as if she's a work of art, effortlessly captured by the singer's imagination. The chorus repeats the title, cementing her ephemeral nature as someone he met only for one night. As he dreams, the woman is transported to a different place, an ocean where she's met by someone she's been waiting for. The dreamy atmosphere is further reinforced by the presence of sirens, mythical creatures known to lure sailors to their death with beautiful music. They're warning the woman of a sailboat approaching her body, full of ribbons and white butterflies for her childlike spirit.
The second part of the song brings the dreamer and the one-night lady together. Their "sails blend in the same fire," and their bodies "slide until the beaches of Atlantis." The sirens reappear, warning of the approaching sailboat once again, but this time, the ribbons and white butterflies are for the woman's "child's belly." The song ends with a feeling of immense silence, with only the music of the woman's heartbeat - a seemingly real moment that contrasts with the dreamy sequence of events described throughout the rest of the song.
Overall, the lyrics of Francis Cabrel's Dame d'un soir describe a fleeting encounter that the singer remembers fondly but realistically. The dreamy atmosphere of the song and its references to mythical creatures and magic-like scenarios serve to illustrate the singer's longing for a reality that he knows cannot exist beyond the boundaries of his imagination.
Line by Line Meaning
Dame d'un soir,
Addressing an ephemeral lover he pictures in his mind.
Je t'imagine, sans effort.
Without any effort he imagines her in his thoughts.
Dame d'un soir,
Reiterated addressing of the aforementioned temporary lover.
Quand je m'endors,
When he sleeps,
Laisse faire la lumière,
He wants her to remain still while the light shines on her.
Laisse-toi soulever doucement,
He wants her to be gently lifted.
Fermes les yeux,
He asks her to close her eyes.
Dehors il pleut, un peu.
It is slightly raining outside.
Tu dérives, captive
She's drifting and under control.
Vers le soleil blanc d'un nouveau jour,
Towards the white sun of a new day.
Quelqu'un t'attend,
Someone is waiting for her.
Au bout de l'Océan.
At the end of the ocean.
Les sirènes te préviennent
The sirens warn her.
Qu'un voilier s'approche de ton corps,
That a sailboat is approaching her.
Plein de rubans,
Full of ribbons.
Et de papillons blancs
And white butterflies.
Pour tes ailes d'enfant.
For her childlike wings.
Nos épaules se frôlent,
Their shoulders are touching.
Nos voiles se fondent au même feu,
Their sails blend in the same fire.
Nos corps se glissent,
Their bodies slide.
Jusqu'aux plages d'Atlantis.
Until the beaches of Atlantis.
Les sirènes te préviennent
The sirens warn her (again).
Qu'un voilier s'approche de ton corps,
That a sailboat is approaching her (again).
Plein de rubans,
Full of ribbons.
Et de papillons blancs,
And white butterflies.
Pour ton ventre d'enfant.
For her pregnant belly.
Le silence immense,
The immense silence.
Juste la musique de ton cœur,
Only the music of her heart.
Personne autour,
No one around.
Que nos haleines d'amour.
Only their breaths of love.
Aquarelle, nouvelle,
New watercolor painting.
Sur des fils de laine roses et blancs,
On pink and white woolen threads.
Fermes les yeux,
He again asks her to close her eyes.
Dehors il pleut, un peu un peu
It is still slightly raining outside.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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