Les Rita Mitsouko is a French pop rock group formed in 1979 led by guitaris… Read Full Bio ↴Les Rita Mitsouko is a French pop rock group formed in 1979 led by guitarist Fred Chichin and singer Catherine Ringer known for their live performances. The husband and wife duo was one of the most successful musical acts of the 1980's in France.

They began performing in the early 1980's in alternative spaces such as the Pali-Kao, a squatted factory building in Belleville, Paris. Their first hit single was Marcia Baila off the Rita Mitsouko album, a song about the Argentinian choreographer and dancer Marcia Moretto who had died of cancer in 1981 and with whom they had performed on several occasions. This album was creative and eccentric (produced by Conny Plank, sound engineer and producer of Neu! and Kraftwerk) combining elements of punk, rock, cold electro pop and jazz, and coupled with their colorful, wild, over-the-top image caught the interest of some important anglophone listeners.

American record producer and musician Tony Visconti produced the following two albums, The No Comprendo and Marc et Robert, while polishing and perfecting their sound. The American band Sparks collaborated with them on the latter record and Russell Mael sings lead vocals with Ringer on three tracks, Singing in the Shower, Live in Las Vegas and Hip Kit. These two albums feature both French and English lyrics. The most successful singles were C'est comme ça and Andy.

Jean-Baptiste Mondino directed most of their music videos in the 1980's and Jean-Luc Godard filmed a short documentary Soigne ta droite about the group during the recording of The No Comprendo in 1986.

On Wednesday November 28th 2007, Fred Chichin died from cancer while the band had just cancelled their previous concert dates in Paris. He was only diagnosed with the disease two months before.

Mais c'est la mort qui t'a assassinée, Marcia
C'est la mort qui t'a consumée, Marcia
C"est le cancer que tu as pris sous ton bras
Maintenant, tu es en cendres, cendres
La mort, c'est comme une chose impossible
Et même à toi, qui est la vie même, Marcia
Et même à toi qui est forte comme une fusée
C'est la mort qui t'a emmenée

Berceuse
Les Rita Mitsouko Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Rendors toi, petit chéri
Referme les yeux
Surtout, pas un bruit
On est tous les deux
C'est ça, sois bien tranquille
Reste immobile

Au secours

À l'aide, quelqu'un
Faites- moi sortir de là

Dors, mimosa
Ta maman est là
Dors bien ma grosseur
Ma puce, ma tumeur
Surtout ne pleure pas :
Maman est là

Au secours
Papa fais moi sortir d'ici
A l'aide, faites moi sortir de là

Au secours, quelqu'un
Je veux sortir d'ici

Quelqu'un ? Papa ?
Fais moi sortir de là

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Les Rita Mitsouko's song Berceuse (Lullaby) appear to be about a mother or father trying to soothe their child to sleep. The opening lines of the song translate to "Relax, little darling, close your eyes, and above all, don't make a sound. We're both here, just be calm and stay still." However, as the song progresses, it becomes clear that something more sinister might be going on. The child seems to be trapped or imprisoned, yelling for help and desperately wanting to escape. Yet, the mother or father continues to sing their lullaby, trying to calm the child down, and telling them not to cry because "mommy is here."

The contrasting nature of the soothing lullaby and the cries for help from the child creates a disturbing and uneasy feeling that runs through the song. The lyrics could be interpreted in several ways. One interpretation could be that the song is addressing child abuse, with the child being physically or emotionally trapped by their parent. Another interpretation could be that the song highlights the blurring of boundaries between love and control, where the parent is trying to comfort the child but also keeping them hidden away for their own reasons.

Line by Line Meaning

Rendors toi, petit chéri
Go back to sleep, little darling

Referme les yeux
Close your eyes again

Surtout, pas un bruit
Above all, not a sound

On est tous les deux
We're both here

C'est ça, sois bien tranquille
That's it, be very quiet

Reste immobile
Stay still

Au secours
Help

À l'aide, quelqu'un
Help, someone

Faites- moi sortir de là
Get me out of here

Dors, mimosa
Sleep, mimosa

Ta maman est là
Your mommy is here