Higelin's entertainment career began at age 14, when he left school to work as a stunt double. While playing a number of small roles in various motion pictures, Higelin was taught to play the guitar by Henri Crolla, an Italian film composer. By the early sixties, Higelin was attending the René Simon drama school, where he won the François Perier award.
For two years starting in 1961, Higelin served in the French military. Upon returning to France, he resumed his cinematic career, but increasingly began to focus on music over film. By the end of the decade, he was also very active in the artistic underground in Paris, and he began to channel his music towards radical militancy. He began attracting popular attention through his live concerts, typically held in smaller venues, and released his first solo album, in 1971. By the middle of the 1970s, Higelin had become one of France's most successful musicians, and he continued to be influential.
Kyrie eleison
Jacques Higelin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quand sonne le glas
je sors mon trombone
et j'entonne la sonnerie aux morts
devant le monument
ou les morts vivant chantent
Kyrie Eleison
qu'elle était belle douce et cruelle
comme madone
à faire ce damner tous les saints du paradis et de l'enfer réunies
j'adore la vie, l'amour, la mort
tous ce qui rugit, qui jouit qui mord
le déferlement des orages
tous ce qui fait grim-per aux ri-deaux du ciel
avant d'plonger six pieds sous terre
je t'aimais si fort
que cet amour là
ma brulé le corps et l'âme
la vie, la mort
moi ca me laisse froid
vu qu'on a pas
vraiment le choix
du jour, du lieu ou du programme
et qu'on se demande à qui voudra rendre l'âme
la vie est une graisse ardente
elle nous dévore, elle nous enchante
nous fait traverser les miroirs et nous plonge au fond du grand entonnoir
Sans Kyrie Eleison
The lyrics of Jacques Higelin's song Kyrie Eleison are deep and thoughtful, expressing the contemplation of life, death, and love. The singer starts by saying that when he hears the death knell, he takes out his trombone and plays the last post in front of the monument where the dead sing "Kyrie Eleison," an acknowledgement of God's mercy. He then talks about a woman who was beautiful, sweet and cruel, and who had a mesmerizing stare that could enchant both the saints of heaven and the demons of hell. He loves life, love and death, the stormy weather and all things wild and fierce, but at the same time, he is indifferent to their power over him.
The singer expresses his overwhelming love for a woman that has burned his body and soul to the ground, leaving him cold to the idea of life and death. However, he acknowledges that they are connected and interdependent, and that we have no control over when, where or how we will pass on. Life, he says, is like a burning fat, it devours and enchants us, taking us through different phases, from crossing mirrors to descending into the deepest whirlpool. Finally, he concludes by emphasizing the importance of Kyrie Eleison in his life, as a humble plea for mercy and forgiveness in the face of life's triumphs and trials.
Line by Line Meaning
Kyrie Eleison
A plea for mercy to God
Quand sonne le glas
When the bell tolls
je sors mon trombone
I take out my trombone
et j'entonne la sonnerie aux morts
And play the military bugle call for the dead
devant le monument
In front of the monument
ou les morts vivant chantent
Where the living dead sing
Kyrie Eleison
A plea for mercy to God
qu'elle était belle douce et cruelle
She was beautiful, sweet, and cruel
un regard d'ange
An angelic gaze
comme madone
Like the Madonna
à faire ce damner tous les saints du paradis et de l'enfer réunies
Enough to damn all the saints of heaven and hell combined
j'adore la vie, l'amour, la mort
I love life, love, and death
tous ce qui rugit, qui jouit qui mord
All that roars, enjoys, and bites
le déferlement des orages
The onslaught of storms
tous ce qui fait grim-per aux ri-deaux du ciel
All that makes us climb to the curtains of heaven
avant d'plonger six pieds sous terre
Before diving six feet under
je t'aimais si fort
I loved you so much
que cet amour là
That love
ma brulé le corps et l'âme
Burned my body and soul
la vie, la mort
Life, death
moi ca me laisse froid
It leaves me cold
vu qu'on a pas
Since we don't have
vraiment le choix
Much of a choice
du jour, du lieu ou du programme
Of the day, the place or the plan
et qu'on se demande à qui voudra rendre l'âme
And we wonder to whom we will give our soul
la vie est une graisse ardente
Life is a burning grease
elle nous dévore, elle nous enchante
It devours us, it enchants us
nous fait traverser les miroirs et nous plonge au fond du grand entonnoir
It makes us cross mirrors and plunge into the depths of the great funnel
Sans Kyrie Eleison
Without a plea for mercy to God
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Higelin Jacques
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Keep calm and carry on
Un arrangement à la Tom Waits. Jacques, je t'aimerais jusqu'à ma fin. :)
Balthazar TyshoW
Je mets ce titre quand j'entends sonner le glas dans mon bled .. Le lugubre glas des Catholiques
😫 😡 😖 !!! ... Ouais, je sors mon trombonne 🌸 😁👍 🌟