Fenêtre sur Seine
Georges Chelon Lyrics
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Une péniche pleine
De je ne sais quoi
Qui remonte la Seine
De ma fenetre, je vois
S'écouler les semaines
Au rythme des trois huit
De ma fenetre, je vois
La grosse main de fer
Qui du lit de la Seine
Tire des poignées pleines
De sable et de cailloux
De sable et de cailloux
De ma fenetre, je vois
Une épave d'auto
Volée peut-etre pas
Mais ce n'est pas très beau
De ma fenetre, je vois
Près du kiosque à journaux
Mon voisin qui s'en va
Boire un verre au bistrot
De ma fenetre, je vois
Un chat qui se promène
Je ne le connais pas
Mais je l'aime quand meme
Avec son air voyou
Avec son air voyou
De ma fenetre, surtout
Je vois l'immeuble
Planté là en face de chez moi
Un immeuble tout gris
Qui me cache Paris
Et sans lui, et sans lui
Je verrais la Tour Eiffel
Je verrais le pont de Grenelle
Sous lequel passe la Seine
Comme sous le pont Mirabeau
Je me noierais dans le ciel
Dans ses nuages, dans ses soleils
Et m'emportera La Seine
Comme elle emporte les bateaux
Je verrais la Tour Eiffel
Je verrais le pont de Grenelle
Et m'emportera la Seine
Comme elle emporte les bateaux
De ma fenetre, je vois
Une péniche vide
Qui redescend la Seine
The song Fenêtre sur Seine by Georges Chelon paints a picture of what the singer sees from his window overlooking the Seine river in Paris. The song is in the first person point of view as the singer narrates, "de ma fenêtre, je vois" (from my window, I see). In the first stanza, the singer sees a barge filled with "je ne sais quoi" (I don't know what), which is cruising up the Seine. The second stanza describes how the weeks pass by at the rhythm of the three shifts at the Citroën factory. The third stanza talks about the giant iron hand that extracts sand and pebbles from the Seine bed. The fourth stanza mentions an abandoned car, and the fifth one mentions the neighbor going out for a drink. The sixth stanza points out a cat wandering around; the singer doesn't know it, but he still likes it anyway. Finally, the singer states that what he sees the most from his window is the grey building facing his window that blocks his view of Paris and its famous landmarks, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Grenelle bridge.
Chelon's Fenêtre sur Seine is a song that conveys a sense of nostalgia, melancholy, and resignation about the singer's circumstances. From his window, the singer only sees the gritty and mundane aspects of daily life in the outskirts of Paris, which contrasts with the romanticized image the city usually projects. The song's lyrics are symbolic of the singer's situation: he is trapped in his apartment, forced to watch the world go by from a distance, without being able to participate or engage meaningfully with it. In this sense, the grey building in front of his window is an apt metaphor for the isolation and disconnection he feels from the city's vibrant life.
Line by Line Meaning
De ma fenetre, je vois
From my window, I see
Une péniche pleine
A barge full of who knows what
De je ne sais quoi
That I can't quite identify
Qui remonte la Seine
Sailing up the Seine river
S'écouler les semaines
Weeks passing by
Au rythme des trois huit
To the rhythm of the factory's three shifts
De l'usine Citroën
At the Citroen factory
La grosse main de fer
The big iron hand
Qui du lit de la Seine
Pulling full handfuls of sand and stones
Tire des poignées pleines
From the bed of the Seine
De sable et de cailloux
Of sand and stones
Une épave d'auto
A wrecked car
Volée peut-etre pas
Maybe not stolen
Mais ce n'est pas très beau
But it's not very pretty
Près du kiosque à journaux
Near the newspaper stand
Mon voisin qui s'en va
My neighbor leaving
Boire un verre au bistrot
Going to have a drink at the bistro
Un chat qui se promène
A cat walking around
Je ne le connais pas
I don't know it
Mais je l'aime quand meme
But I still love it
Avec son air voyou
With its thuggish look
Je verrais la Tour Eiffel
I would see the Eiffel Tower
Je verrais le pont de Grenelle
I would see the Grenelle Bridge
Sous lequel passe la Seine
Under which the Seine flows
Comme sous le pont Mirabeau
Like under the Mirabeau bridge
Je me noierais dans le ciel
I would drown in the sky
Dans ses nuages, dans ses soleils
In its clouds, in its suns
Et m'emportera La Seine
And the Seine would carry me away
Comme elle emporte les bateaux
Like it carries away the boats
Une péniche vide
An empty barge
Qui redescend la Seine
Going back down the Seine
De ma fenetre, surtout
From my window, especially
Je vois l'immeuble
I see the building
Planté là en face de chez moi
Standing right in front of my place
Un immeuble tout gris
A building all gray
Qui me cache Paris
That hides Paris from me
Et sans lui, et sans lui
And without it, and without it
Je verrais la Tour Eiffel
I would see the Eiffel Tower
Je verrais le pont de Grenelle
I would see the Grenelle Bridge
Et m'emportera la Seine
And the Seine would carry me away
Comme elle emporte les bateaux
Like it carries away the boats
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