Tigre Mercenaire
La Fiancée Lyrics
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Vaincu par ses vingt ans, ses griffes et son mystère.
J'ai cousu sous la Lune nos âmes solitaires
L'ombre de sa peau brune à celle de mes yeux clairs
Je n'ai pas pleuré quand inconsolable et fier
Les tambours l'enivrant, il repartit en guerre.
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
J'ai suivi dans les dunes, ses traces éphémères
Regarder ma rancune avalée par la mer.
J'ai cueilli en rentrant les fleurs de la misère
A mon corps arrachant mes amours adultères.
La bouche pleine de sang, j'ai péri sous les pierres
Victime des vingt ans d'un tigre mercenaire.
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
The lyrics to La Fiancée's song Tigre Mercenaire tell a story of a person who had a passionate encounter with a mysterious and powerful individual symbolized as a "tigre mercenaire". The persona slept next to this tigre mercenaire who was defeated by his own youth, claws, and enigma. They share a moment of intimacy under the moon, sewing together their solitary souls. However, the tigre mercenaire eventually leaves to continue his war, leaving the persona proud and inconsolable.
The persona then follows the tigre mercenaire's ephemeral footprints into the dunes, trying to come to terms with their unresolved feelings towards him. They ultimately pick the flowers of misery upon their return, ripping away their adulterous loves from their own body. The persona ends up dying among the stones with their mouth full of blood- a victim of the tigre mercenaire's twenty years of existence.
The lyrics paint a vivid picture of passion, intimacy, and sacrifice. The tigre mercenaire can be seen as a symbol of a force that is both dangerous and alluring, that the persona couldn't resist even if it meant their undoing. Overall, the song can be interpreted as a cautionary tale about the consequences of giving in to one's desires without caution.
Line by Line Meaning
J'ai dormi sur les flancs d'un tigre mercenaire
I slept on the flanks of a mercenary tiger
Vaincu par ses vingt ans, ses griffes et son mystère.
Defeated by his twenty years, his claws and his mystery
J'ai cousu sous la Lune nos âmes solitaires
I sewed our lonely souls under the moon
L'ombre de sa peau brune à celle de mes yeux clairs
The shadow of his brown skin to that of my clear eyes
Je n'ai pas pleuré quand inconsolable et fier
I did not cry when inconsolable and proud
Les tambours l'enivrant, il repartit en guerre.
The drums inebriating him, he went back to war
J'ai suivi dans les dunes, ses traces éphémères
I followed his ephemeral footsteps in the dunes
Regarder ma rancune avalée par la mer.
Watch my resentment swallowed by the sea
J'ai cueilli en rentrant les fleurs de la misère
I picked the flowers of misery on my way back
A mon corps arrachant mes amours adultères.
Ripping my adulterous loves off my body
La bouche pleine de sang, j'ai péri sous les pierres
With my mouth full of blood, I perished under the stones
Victime des vingt ans d'un tigre mercenaire.
Victim of the twenty years of a mercenary tiger
Writer(s): Florent Marchet, Claire Cosnefroy
Contributed by Andrew P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.