Keren Ann (b. 1974) is a singer/songwriter with dual Dutch-Israeli citizen… Read Full Bio ↴Keren Ann (b. 1974) is a singer/songwriter with dual Dutch-Israeli citizenship. She plays guitar, piano, and clarinet, and engineers and writes choir and musical arrangements. She is of Russian-Jewish descent on her father's side and Javanese-Dutch on her mother's.

Born Keren Ann Zeidel in Caesarea, Israel on 10th March 1974, she lived in the Netherlands and Israel until the age of eleven, when her family moved to France. Her first group, KAB (for Keren Ann Band), lasted three years. In 1997, she wrote the song "Father" for the film K by Alexandre Arcady, in which she also acted a small part. The next year, at the age of twenty-four, she formed Shelby with two other women; the group released one album and had a small success with the song "1+1+1", whose composer Benjamin Biolay became an important collaborator. In 2000 she began her solo career with La biographie de Luka Philipsen -- "Luka" in homage to the Suzanne Vega song, "Philipsen" after her maternal grandmother -- written with and produced by Biolay, who also co-wrote and -produced its follow-up, La disparition. (In return, she helped write his debut album, Rose Kennedy.) The pair also wrote several songs for Henri Salvador's best-selling, prize-winning 2000 comeback album, Chambre avec vue.

Lady & Bird is a collaboration with Bardi Johannsson of the Icelandic group Bang Gang.

Not Going Anywhere, which includes several songs from La disparition re-sung in English, was her first U.S. release, but her American breakthrough came with its follow-up, Nolita. Recorded in Paris and New York, it is named for Nolita, her neighborhood in lower Manhattan; it is sung half in French and half in English.

Midi Dans Le Salon De La Duchesse
Keren Ann Lyrics

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Midi dans le salon de la Duchesse
Elle me dit, ?Qu?as-tu fait de la jeunesse??
Elle est à ceux qui s?aiment encore

Mon désespoir
Est sur le quai des au revoirs
Je suis bien mieux
Sur celui des adieux

J?ai suivi les etoiles et les violons
Je vis dans des valises mais ma mansion
Est à tous ceux qui s?aiment encore

Mon désespoir
Est sur le quai des au revoirs
Je suis bien mieux
Sur celui des adieux

Midi dans le salon de la Duchesse

Elle me dit, ?Qu?as-tu fait de la jeunesse??
Elle est à ceux qui s?aiment encore

Overall Meaning

The song "Midi dans le salon de la Duchesse" by Keren Ann is a poetic portrayal of the passage of time and the loss of youth. The lyrics convey a conversation between the singer and a noblewoman who asks her what has become of her youth. The singer responds by saying that her youth belongs to those who are still in love, and that her despair lies on the platform of goodbyes while she is much happier on the platform of farewells. This implies that the singer has come to terms with the idea of moving on from things in life.

The second verse speaks of the singer's wandering lifestyle, how she lives out of suitcases but still considers her home to be with those who are still in love. The repetition of the lines "mon désespoir est sur le quai des au revoirs, je suis bien mieux sur celui des adieux" (my despair is on the platform of goodbyes, I am much happier on the platform of farewells) reinforces the idea of the singer's acceptance of changes in life and the importance of finding closure.

The song is a melancholic and poetic reflection on the passage of time, youth, love and loss. The lyrics are infused with symbols of travel and motion, with the image of suitcases representing the transient nature of life. The desire to belong and find a home is reinforced throughout the song as well.

Line by Line Meaning

Midi dans le salon de la Duchesse
The scene is set in the duchess's living room at noon

Elle me dit, ?Qu?as-tu fait de la jeunesse??
The duchess asks what the singer has done with their youth

Elle est à ceux qui s?aiment encore
Youth belongs to those who still love each other

Mon désespoir
My despair

Est sur le quai des au revoirs
Is on the platform of goodbyes

Je suis bien mieux
I am much better

Sur celui des adieux
On the platform of farewells

J?ai suivi les etoiles et les violons
I have followed the stars and the violins

Je vis dans des valises mais ma mansion
I live in suitcases but my mansion

Est à tous ceux qui s?aiment encore
Belongs to all those who still love each other

Midi dans le salon de la Duchesse
The scene is set in the duchess's living room at noon

Elle me dit, ?Qu?as-tu fait de la jeunesse??
The duchess asks what the artist has done with their youth

Elle est à ceux qui s?aiment encore
Youth belongs to those who still love each other

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING FRANCE
Written by: LAURENT LESCARRET, KEREN ANN ZEIDEL

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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