Adam
Hubert Mounier Lyrics

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- Il n'y a plus de ciel
Mais la fumée est éternelle
Comme le survivant
Qu'on appelait le vieil Adam
Rien ne bouge dans ce désert rouge
- Il vit dans son ombre
Et il attend dans les décombres
Que le vent renaisse

Comme au bon temps de sa jeunesse
Rien ne vit dans ce désert si vide
Qu'il n'a même plus de larmes
Vide jusqu'au tréfonds de l'âme
- Les tours de Babel ont disparus
Dans l'étincelle
Et le vieil Adam à nouveau nu
N'attend plus qu'elle
Rien ne vit dans ce désert si vide
Qu'il n' a même plus de larmes

Le silence est le pire des vacarmes
- Il n'a plus de larmes alors il rit

Overall Meaning

The song "Adam" by Hubert Mounier depicts a post-apocalyptic scenario where everything around has been destroyed and rendered lifeless. The first verse suggests that there is no more sky, and only eternal smoke that rises like the last survivor who is known as the Old Adam. He waits within the ruins, hoping for the return of the wind that once breathed life into the wasteland. The Old Adam has become nothing but a shadow of himself, living in a world that has gone still.

The second verse suggests that the desolate wasteland where Adam lives has robbed him of his emotions to such an extent that he no longer even has tears to shed. The emptiness within his soul is so profound that even the wind has stopped breathing life into it. The third verse speaks of the disappearance of the Towers of Babel, probably a metaphor for the great civilizations of the past, and how the Old Adam is waiting for an end to his misery. The final sentence, "he has no more tears, so he laughs" suggests that in his despair, Adam has found humor in his own demise.

Line by Line Meaning

Il n'y a plus de ciel
The sky has disappeared from view

Mais la fumée est éternelle
But the smoke remains forever

Comme le survivant
Like the lone survivor

Qu'on appelait le vieil Adam
Who was once known as Old Adam

Rien ne bouge dans ce désert rouge
Nothing moves in this red desert

Il vit dans son ombre
He lives in his own shadow

Et il attend dans les décombres
And he waits in the ruins

Que le vent renaisse
For the wind to bring rebirth

Comme au bon temps de sa jeunesse
Like in the good days of his youth

Rien ne vit dans ce désert si vide
Nothing lives in this empty desert

Qu'il n'a même plus de larmes
He doesn't even have tears left