Les Nubians is the name of an "Afropean" R&B Grammy-nominated duo composed … Read Full Bio ↴Les Nubians is the name of an "Afropean" R&B Grammy-nominated duo composed of sisters Hélène (born 1975) and Célia Faussart (born 1979) from Bordeaux, France. Although born in France, the sisters moved with their parents to Chad in 1985. Seven years later, they returned to their home country.

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

Saravah
Les Nubians Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Heures des songes ou des sages
Un rayon caresse son corps nu
Il dort encore
Ainsi finit leur histoire

C'est qu'elle a l'âme vagabonde
Son cœur léger suit ses pas
Et dans cette petite chambre du monde

En brésilien, elle l'a aimé

Amor que coisa mas bonita
Saravah

Je chante la samba de l'aurore
Mon aimé
Celle du début du jour
Salutations mon amour
Le soleil arrive

L'aube montre son visage
Et le regrette déjà
Quelques mots au bas d'une page
L'amie demain sera loin

Saravah, meu amor
Le charme de la lune prend fin
Et l'amour nomade s'évapore
Comme la rosée du matin

Amor que coisa mas bonita
Saravah

Je chante la samba de l'aurore
Mon aimé
Celle de la fin des amours
Quand la lune nous joue des tours
Soleil arrive

Saravah

Overall Meaning

The song "Saravah" by Les Nubians captures the bittersweet experience of falling in love and ultimately having to say goodbye. The lyrics describe a dreamy, surreal atmosphere where the singer is lost in her thoughts and memories of a past love. The first verse sets the scene of a moment of stillness, where a ray of light gently touches the singer's naked body while she sleeps. It seems like the end of a story, but the following verses reveal the tale that led to this moment.

The singer is described as having a wandering soul, with a light heart that follows her steps. She loved someone in this small corner of the world, but they are now separated. The chorus, "Amor que coisa mas bonita, Saravah," is in Portuguese and translates to "Love, what a beautiful thing, Saravah." The word "Saravah" is a Brazilian Portuguese slang term that roughly means "that's life" or "it is what it is." It serves as a reminder that even though the love story has ended, life goes on.

The last verse concludes the song with a feeling of resignation. The moon's charm fades, and the nomadic love dissipates like the morning dew. The singer sings about the samba of dawn, a metaphor for the beginning and end of love. The sun arrives, and with it comes the reality that the beloved is gone. "Saravah" is a poignant tribute to a love that could not endure but is remembered with beauty and grace.

Line by Line Meaning

Heures des songes ou des sages
These are the hours of dreaming or wisdom.

Un rayon caresse son corps nu
A ray of sunlight gently touches his naked body, as he still sleeps.

Il dort encore
He's still sleeping.

Ainsi finit leur histoire
So their story ends.

C'est qu'elle a l'âme vagabonde
She has a wandering soul.

Son cœur léger suit ses pas
Her light heart follows her every step.

Et dans cette petite chambre du monde
And in this small room of the world.

En brésilien, elle l'a aimé
In Portuguese, she loved him.

Amor que coisa mas bonita
Love, what a beautiful thing.

Saravah
Saravah.

Je chante la samba de l'aurore
I sing the samba of dawn.