Guesch Patti was born on 19 March 1946 as Patricia Porasse, she was nicknamed Guesch (a Basque name) as a child, Patti is a pet name for Patricia. Her father, Jean Porasse, worked as an artistic director for the record company HMV-Pathé-Marconi, taking care of Gilbert Bécaud and later as an impresario for people like Eric Charden, Jean-Jacques Debout and Nino Ferrer. Aged 9 she danced the role of the Little Rat at the Paris Opera. When she was 19 she had a brief flirtation with singing as one half of the duo Yves et Patricia, a venture she was talked into by her father. They released 2 singles on the Philips label.
In the seventies she frequently worked for television as a dancer, for example in shows with Nana Mouskouri and Silvie Vartan. Later she moved into contemporary dance and became first dancer in Carolyn Carson's group, Prima Ballerina at the Scala in Milan and guest performer with Roland Petit and Maurice Béjart. She worked on the choreography for performances set to the music of Silvano Bussoti, Luigi Nono and Karlheinz Stockhausen. She also worked with the German choreographer Pina Bausch, practised Jazz dance with Michael Peter and worked on Robert Hossein's staging of Les Misérables.
In 1984 she teamed up with Lydie Callier and another girl to form the trio DaCapo. Virgin Records released one single, but declined to take it further. 1987 saw her emerge as a solo artist with the release of the single Étienne. It charted in 9 European countries, accompanied by a video that caused some controversy due to its erotic nature. It ended up winning Best Video awards in several countries. The success was remarkable because at that time modern French pop\rock music was rarely successful in non-French speaking territories. The international success of Étienne landed her an album recording contract with EMI, the band Encore was formed around her and together they produced her first album Labyrinthe, released in 1988. A second album Nomades followed in 1990. After an (amicable) split with Encore, a third album Gobe saw the light in 1992. Sales of Gobe were disappointing, Gobe was to be her last album for EMI.
After a period of reflection she met Étienne Daho, this contributed to a renewed interest in creating music. She teamed up with independent French label XIIIBis Records (now defunct) which resulted in the 1995 release of Blonde. Songs from this album were also used for the Peter Greenaway film The Pillow Book. Her most recent album is Dernieres Nouvelles, released in November 2000.
In recent years she has also appeared in film and television productions, most notably a co-starring role in the 1997 movie Elles where she appeared alongside Marthe Keller and Miou - Miou. 2001 saw her re-emerge as a dancer on stage in the production She smiles through tears. , Her latest work is the Dernieres Nouvelles DVD, released in February 2002 it features a video illustration of the music of the CD with the same title.
Nomade
Guesch Patti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Un nomade dans la cité
Habitait la maison
Faite en papier
..Et...
Pas très ensoleillé
Entouré de grands murs
Plein de casiers
Comme un ange aux ailes qui
Auraient été déchirées
On venait lui porter
Quelque manger
..Et...
Il passait demander
S'il pouvait travailler
Mais on a crucifié
Sa volonté
..Et sa volonté, travailler
Et sa volonté, crucifier
Allez
I' était une fois
Un nomade dans la cité
Habitat la maison
Faite en papier
..Et...
Il paissait demander
S'il pouvait travaillier
Mais on a crucifié
Sa volonté
un ange est tombé
On l'a rejeté
Un ange a pleuré
Ne veux plus voler
Allez...
Comme un ange
Il ne peut plus voler
Crucifier... travaillier
Allez...
Allez-vous-en...
The song "Nomade" by Guesch Patti tells the story of a nomad living in the city. The nomad lives in a house made of paper in the middle of a garden that is not very sunny and is surrounded by high walls with shelves. The nomad is described as an angel with broken wings who is often approached by people who bring him food. Despite his offers to work, society rejects his willingness to contribute and he is crucified by its judgment. The nomad's desire to work and the rejection of his willingness to contribute is repeated throughout the song to emphasize the tragedy of his situation.
The lyrics of "Nomade" are deep with meaning and symbols. The nomad represents the outsider or the Other in society. The walls surrounding his house with shelves symbolize the barriers put up by society to marginalize individuals who don't conform to social norms. The nomad's house made of paper represents the fragility of his existence, and his broken wings represent the potential he has to contribute, but his inability to do so. The rejection of his willingness to work is symbolic of society's rejection of individuals they perceive as being different or not fitting into the perceived norm. The repetition of the phrase "Allez" at the end of each stanza emphasizes the desire for change and emphasizes that the situation is not hopeless.
Line by Line Meaning
Il était une fois
Once upon a time
Un nomade dans la cité
A nomad in the city
Habitait la maison
Lived in a house
Faite en papier
Made of paper
Au milieu d'un jardin
In the middle of a garden
Pas très ensoleillé
Not very sunny
Entouré de grands murs
Surrounded by big walls
Plein de casiers
Full of lockers
Comme un ange aux ailes qui
Like an angel with wings that
Auraient été déchirées
Would have been torn
On venait lui porter
We used to bring him
Quelque manger
Some food
Il passait demander
He used to come and ask
S'il pouvait travailler
If he could work
Mais on a crucifié
But we crucified
Sa volonté
His will
Et sa volonté, travailler
And his will, to work
Et sa volonté, crucifier
And his will, to be crucified
I' était une fois
Once upon a time
Il paissait demander
He used to come and ask
S'il pouvait travaillier
If he could work
Mais on a crucifié
But we crucified
un ange est tombé
An angel has fallen
On l'a rejeté
We have rejected him
Un ange a pleuré
An angel has cried
Ne veux plus voler
Doesn't want to fly anymore
Comme un ange
Like an angel
Il ne peut plus voler
He can't fly anymore
Crucifier
To crucify
travaillier
To work
Allez...
Go away...
Contributed by Leah H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@poet1972
I never understood why she is so underrated. In my opinion she is one of the greatest artists in our time. Especially this song is a real masterpiece in sound, dancing and filming. I will always love it.
@highnooncompany5129
Absolutely.
@sebastienridor8556
Une très grande artiste que j'adore
@Barbu_Deluxe
Non seulement la chanson est superbe (comme tout ce qu’a fait cette grande artiste) mais la vidéo est un bijou de mise en scène et de montage. Une vraie perle !
@frederictouchard1079
Ah oui. Une découverte. C'est phénoménal.
@mishakuznetsov8958
Великолепно!!!!!
@holgerschink1341
One of my favourite songs ever. This is ART !
@jean-pierre4111
❤❤❤❤❤
@landealain9392
Sublime chanson à texte ♥. C'est vraiment dommage que tu ne sortes plus de nouveaux albums ….
@karinSchranz
genial!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!