Born on the 24th August 1916 in Monaco, Ferré mixed lyricism with slang; love with anarchy. He took a central place in the world of French song. He was involved in anarchism, and worked with Radio Libertaire, an anarchist free-radio broadcasting in Paris and around France. He died on the 14th July 1993.
Le serpent qui danse
Léo Ferré Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De ton corps si beau
Comme une étoffe vacillante
Miroiter la peau!
Sur ta chevelure profonde
Aux âcres parfums
Mer odorante et vagabonde
Comme un navire qui s'éveille
Au vent du matin
Mon âme rêveuse appareille
Pour un ciel lointain
Tes yeux où rien ne se révèle
De doux ni d'amer
Sont deux bijoux froids où se mêlent
L'or avec le fer
À te voir marcher en cadence
Belle d'abandon
On dirait un serpent qui danse
Au bout d'un bâton
Sous le fardeau de ta paresse
Ta tête d'enfant
Se balance avec la mollesse
D'un jeune éléphant
Et ton corps se penche et s'allonge
Comme un fin vaisseau
Qui roule bord sur bord et plonge
Ces vergues dans l'eau
Comme un flot grossi par la fonte
Des glaciers grondants
Quand l'eau de ta bouche remonte
Au bord de tes dents
Je crois boire un vin de Bohème
Amer et vainqueur
Un ciel liquide qui parsème
D'étoiles mon cœur
In Léo Ferré's song "Le serpent qui danse", the singer is admiring the beauty of his lover, whom he addresses as "chère indolente" (dear lazy one). He praises the beauty of her body, comparing it to a flickering fabric that shimmers in the light, and comments on the alluring perfume of her dark hair. He sees in her an image of the sea, with its blue and brown waves, and his soul longs to sail away to far-off skies. Her eyes are described as cold jewels that mix gold with iron, giving nothing away of her emotions. When she walks, he imagines her as a snake dancing on the end of a stick, and marvels at the ease and grace of her movements.
The singer goes on to describe his lover's laziness, comparing her childlike head to that of a young elephant, swaying and drooping with the weight of her idleness. Her body, however, curves and stretches like a fine ship, swaying on the waves of the sea. The imagery turns more sensual as he talks about the water in her mouth, which he likens to a bitter and victorious bohemian wine, and he sees in her a starry sky that sprinkles stars on his heart.
Overall, the song is a poetic celebration of physical beauty and the sensuality it inspires, as well as a commentary on the dichotomy of laziness and movement, stillness and grace.
Line by Line Meaning
Que j'aime voir chère indolente
I love watching my dear lazy one
De ton corps si beau
Of your beautiful body
Comme une étoffe vacillante
Like a flickering fabric
Miroiter la peau!
Shimmering the skin!
Sur ta chevelure profonde
On your deep hair
Aux âcres parfums
With harsh perfumes
Mer odorante et vagabonde
Fragrant and wandering sea
Aux flots bleus et bruns
With blue and brown waves
Comme un navire qui s'éveille
Like a ship awakening
Au vent du matin
In the morning wind
Mon âme rêveuse appareille
My dreaming soul sets sail
Pour un ciel lointain
Towards a distant sky
Tes yeux où rien ne se révèle
Your eyes in which nothing is revealed
De doux ni d'amer
Of sweet nor bitter
Sont deux bijoux froids où se mêlent
Are two cold jewels where mingle
L'or avec le fer
Gold and iron
À te voir marcher en cadence
Watching you walk in rhythm
Belle d'abandon
Beautiful and abandoned
On dirait un serpent qui danse
It looks like a dancing serpent
Au bout d'un bâton
At the end of a stick
Sous le fardeau de ta paresse
Under the burden of your laziness
Ta tête d'enfant
Your childlike head
Se balance avec la mollesse
Swings with softness
D'un jeune éléphant
Of a young elephant
Et ton corps se penche et s'allonge
And your body leans and elongates
Comme un fin vaisseau
Like a sleek ship
Qui roule bord sur bord et plonge
Rolling side by side and plunging
Ces vergues dans l'eau
These yards in the water
Comme un flot grossi par la fonte
Like a flow swollen by melting
Des glaciers grondants
Of thundering glaciers
Quand l'eau de ta bouche remonte
When the water from your mouth rises
Au bord de tes dents
At the edge of your teeth
Je crois boire un vin de Bohème
I think I'm drinking Bohemian wine
Amer et vainqueur
Bitter and victorious
Un ciel liquide qui parsème
A liquid sky sprinkled with
D'étoiles mon cœur
Stars my heart
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, LES NOUVELLES EDITIONS MERIDIAN
Written by: Leo Ferre
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Thiago Santos
❤
petugue
"Le Jeu de la Dame" !
Zoe
super merci mme granjard