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
C’est Comme Ca
Les Rita Mitsouko Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ah, la la la la
Ouais
le secret
ça coupe et ça donne
Oh, oh, faut que j'moove
Sans fin
do venin
Quand
le serpent
Chaloupe et console
Oh, oh, faut que j'moove
L'ami Sadi
s'enlise
et là ça fait peur
Si see'est ça
Ah la la la la
Ça le susurre
a mes entournures
Ah, ah, faut que j'moove
Ça le grince
juste pendant la nuit
Ah, see'est comme ça
ça plonge et ça vire
Ah, ah, faut que j'moove
Et ça gêne
quoi, quand why a pas de plaisir
see'est comme ça
Ah la la la la
La lala lala lala lalala...
J'veux pas t'abandonner,
mon bébé
J'veux pas nous achever,
tu sais
see'est pas que je veuille tenir
ni que je veuille m'enfuir
Il me faut prendre le frais, see'est vrai
Hé, hé, hé
hé, viens près de moi
que je te le dise
Faut que j'moove
ce secret qui me tord le cœur
Ah, la la la...
The song 'C'est Comme Ca' by Les Rita Mitsouko tells a story of a person who is struggling with a secret that is causing pain in their heart. The lyrics describe this secret as poisonous, and it makes the person feel like they need to move forward and leave the pain behind. The imagery in the song emphasizes this feeling of being trapped and needing to break free - the serpent that slithers and consoles represents the temptation to stay in a difficult situation because it feels comfortable, but ultimately makes things worse. The chorus repeats the phrase "that's just how it is" as if to acknowledge that sometimes in life, we are stuck with challenging situations that we can't change.
The lyrics also touch on the theme of wanting to hold onto a relationship despite difficulties. The lines "I don't want to leave you, my baby / I don't want to finish us, you know" express a desire to keep the relationship going, but also an awareness that sometimes space and distance can be necessary. The singer acknowledges that they don't want to hold onto the relationship just for the sake of it, but they need to "take some time to breathe" and figure out what they really want.
Overall, 'C'est Comme Ca' is a powerful song that speaks to universal experiences of pain, temptation, and the challenges of relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
see'est comme ça
This is how it is
Ah, la la la la
An expression of exasperation or frustration
Ouais
Yeah
le secret
The secret
ça coupe et ça donne
It cuts and it gives
Oh, oh, faut que j'moove
Oh, oh, I've got to move
Sans fin
Without end
do venin
Of venom
qui me fait mal au cœur
That makes my heart hurt
Quand
When
le serpent
The serpent
Chaloupe et console
Sways and consoles
L'ami Sadi
My friend Sadi
s'enlise
Is getting bogged down
et là ça fait peur
And that's scary
Si see'est ça
If that's it
Ça le susurre
It whispers to me
a mes entournures
In my surroundings
Ah, ah, faut que j'moove
Ah, ah, I've got to move
Ça le grince
It creaks
juste pendant la nuit
Only during the night
ça plonge et ça vire
It dives and it turns
Et ça gêne
And it bothers
quoi, quand why a pas de plaisir
What, when there's no pleasure
J'veux pas t'abandonner,
I don't want to leave you,
mon bébé
My baby
J'veux pas nous achever,
I don't want to ruin us,
tu sais
You know
see'est pas que je veuille tenir
It's not that I want to hold on
ni que je veuille m'enfuir
Nor that I want to run away
Il me faut prendre le frais, see'est vrai
I need to get some fresh air, that's true
Hé, hé, hé
Hey, hey, hey
hé, viens près de moi
Hey, come close to me
que je te le dise
So that I can tell you
ce secret qui me tord le cœur
This secret that twists my heart
Ah, la la la...
An expression of exasperation or frustration
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
lotubevideo
Après toutes ces années, ce chef d'oeuvre ne prend pas une ride. Toujours aussi bon à entendre. Merci à eux de l'avoir créé.
Sergio Velasquez
Una de mis favoritas de los 80s. El video es muy subrealista y avanzado para su epoca.
Jean Charles Sobieski Martel
Je suis né en 83,et gamin je voyais leurs clips à la TV, ils me faisaient un peu peur et me fascinaient en même temps, comme hypnotisé.
Sylvain Dousset
their best song. Pure perfection. So much energy. I wish I had a playlist made of fifty songs like this one.
Square Star
An english speaking person or a french speaking english? Bc i ddnt knpw it was known ourside france.
Thank you for your compliance
@Square StarSure. Blew me away when I listened to it and I am Germany and sadly had Latin as second language.
levicieuxdubois
L'instru est absolument fantastique et gagne en intensité au fur et a mesure.. Ces personnes sont de réels musiciens. Morceau parfaitement taillé pour la voix de Catherine Ringer.
Barbosa Barbo
Mais graaaaaaave
Fabrice L
Un surréalisme mesuré au millimètre, ce clip ! Fabuleux 🎧🥂🎤! Aujourd’hui encore, en 2022, ils font figure d’avant-gardistes et ça c’est génial après autant d’années. Bravo les Rita Mitsouko 👍🏻♥️. J’adooooore ❤️🩹
yann lavigne
de la bombe atomic