Despite receiving a lukewarm reception in France, they have become one of the most successful French-language musical groups in the U.S. Apart from their two albums, they have also made appearances on songs by the Black Eyed Peas, Talib Kweli, and Yerba Buena.
Website: http://www.lesnubians.org/
September: Third Album "Nü Revolution" is released!
An unconventional female duo that came out of Bordeaux, France, in the 1990s, Les Nubians offered a jazzy, sophisticated style of R&B that combined French lyrics with the influence of Sade, Soul II Soul, hip-hop, and African pop. The duo consists of sisters Helene and Celia Faussart, who were born in France to a French father and a Cameroonian mother. After living in France as children, the siblings moved with their parents to the African country of Chad in 1985, when Helene (born 1975) was ten and Celia (born 1979) was six. The sisters lived in Chad for seven years before returning to France as teenagers. Helene and Celia had been singing most of their lives, and when they first formed Les Nubians, they were an a cappella group that specialized in covers of R&B, reggae, and African songs. Eventually, they started working with bands and performing original material. Helene and Celia absorbed a variety of music along the way, and they have expressed admiration for artists ranging from Ella Fitzgerald and Abbey Lincoln to the Fugees and African icons Miriam Makeba and Fela Kuti. Their promising debut album, Princesses Nubiennes, was released by Virgin worldwide in France, Switzerland, and Belgium in June 1998 before coming out on Omtown/Higher Octave in the U.S. in September of that year. It became America's most successful French-language album in more than a decade, and Les Nubians also graced recordings by Talib Kweli and Black Eyed Peas, as well as a Red Hot tribute to Fela Kuti, Red, Hot & Riot. Sessions for their second album brought the pair to Jamaica, Cameroon, London, and Paris, including a host of intriguing collaborators: top underground rapper Talib Kweli, fellow Cameroonian Manu Dibango, pianist Ray Lema, and broken-beat maestro IG Culture. The results appeared as One Step Forward, released in March 2003 by Higher Octave. In 2004, they recorded the track "Going All the Way" featuring reggae star Beres Hammond for UNITY: The Official Athens 2004 Olympic Games album. In 2005, Les Nubians issued Nubians Present Echoes, Chapter One, a collection of spoken word pieces by poets and hip-hop artists from the U.S., France, and Africa. The duo also covered "With or Without You," for inclusion on the compilation In the Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2, in 2008. Les Nubians finally re-entered the recording studio in 2010, emerging with the EP Nü Revolution Nubiatic in the latter part of the year and the full-length, Nü Revolution in the spring of 2011. ~ Alex Henderson and Thom Jurek, Rovi
Desolee
Les Nubians Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Par la loi et ses soldats
Hommes et femmes condamnés
De sa colonne dorée
Il dessine des schémas
Des plans sinistres perdus d'avance
Car les temps changent
Les temps changent
Nul ne peut l'ignorer
Désolée
Désolée, il le sait
Qu'on est toujours aussi bas`
Il avance les yeux fermés
Et piétine nos jeunes bras
Désolée, il le sait
Ce que nous vivons ici-bas
Il ne croit pas, mais il sait
Que l'on se bat et se battra
Qu'en est-il des promesses
Réponses vaines à la détresse
Plus question de patienter
Assez de faux-semblants
Pour lui qui se dit intelligent`
Ce géant sans sentiment
Car les temps changent
Regarde de tous côtés
Les temps changent
Nul ne peut l'ignorer
Désolée
Désolée, il le sait
Qu'on est toujours aussi bas`
Il avance les yeux fermés
Et piétine nos jeunes bras
Désolée, il le sait
Ce que nous vivons ici-bas
Il ne croit pas, mais il sait
Que l'on se bat et se battra
Assez de souffrances
Assez d'ignorance
Assez de misère
Assez de larmes versées
Assez de pouvoir.
The lyrics of "Desolee" by Les Nubians tackle the subject of a society under oppressive rule. The opening line, "Désordre organisé" translates to "organized disorder," giving the impression that the regime in power maintains order through chaos. The following line, "Par la loi et ses soldats" or "By law and its soldiers," suggests that the government enforces its laws through the use of military force, leading to the condemnation of both men and women.
The chorus repeats the phrase "Les temps changent" or "Times are changing." While the oppressive rule may have persisted for some time, the song suggests that the winds are shifting, and people are starting to recognize the oppression they're facing. The lines, "Nul ne peut l'ignorer, Désolée" or "No one can ignore it, Sorry," indicate that the regime in power cannot deny the truth of the situation.
The song's overall message is one of resilience and resistance. The final line, "Que l'on se bat et se battra" or "That we fight and will keep fighting" reveals that despite the oppression and hardship they face, the people will never give up their fight for freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
Désordre organisé
The government maintains an organized chaos through its law and soldiers.
Par la loi et ses soldats
The government enforces its will through its soldiers and the laws they uphold.
Hommes et femmes condamnés
Both men and women are oppressed without mercy.
De sa colonne dorée
The government operates from its position of wealth and power.
Il dessine des schémas
Their scheming is strategic and methodical.
Des plans sinistres perdus d'avance
Their sinister plans are futile in the face of changing times and rising discontent.
Car les temps changent
Because times are changing rapidly.
Les vents se sont levés
The winds of change have arrived.
Nul ne peut l'ignorer
No one can ignore this fact.
Désolée
Sorry.
Désolée, il le sait
He knows he's sorry.
Qu'on est toujours aussi bas
That we remain in a lowly state.
Il avance les yeux fermés
He moves forward blindly, unaware of the harm he causes.
Et piétine nos jeunes bras
And tramples on our hopes and dreams.
Ce que nous vivons ici-bas
What we experience in this world.
Il ne croit pas, mais il sait
He doesn't believe it, but he knows it to be true.
Que l'on se bat et se battra
That we will continue to fight, no matter what.
Qu'en est-il des promesses
What about the promises that were made?
Réponses vaines à la détresse
Their attempts to address our needs have been empty and futile.
Plus question de patienter
We can no longer wait for change to come on its own.
Assez de faux-semblants
Enough with the facades and false promises.
Pour lui qui se dit intelligent
For a man who claims to be intelligent.
Ce géant sans sentiment
This giant without any sense of empathy.
Regarde de tous côtés
Look around in all directions.
Assez de souffrances
Enough suffering.
Assez d'ignorance
Enough ignorance.
Assez de misère
Enough poverty.
Assez de larmes versées
Enough tears shed.
Assez de pouvoir
Enough power in the hands of those who wish to oppress us.
Writer(s): CELIA FAUSSART, HELENE FAUSSART
Contributed by Nora L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.