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
Ce Sale Ton
Les Rita Mitsouko Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et puis non
Tout avait pris ce sale ton
Déjà hier c'était monstrueux
Tout avait pris ce sale ton
Faudrait qu'il crève
Ce sale plafond
Qui lui fait la chape de plomb
C'est pas un rêve
Ah ça non
C'est la vie vraie ce tréfonds
Il fait pas le fier à affronter des yeux
Même les amis
Ce sale ton
Faudrait qu'il crève
Ce sale plafond
Qui lui fait la chape de plomb
Qui saura, qui saura
Comment le sortir de là
Qui saura ?
Il saura, il saura
Comment se sortir de là
Il saura
C'est pas un rêve
Ah ça non
C'est la vie vraie ce tréfonds
Il fait pas le fier à affronter des yeux
Même les amis
Ce sale ton
Un jour, il se lève
Et puis non
Tout avait pris ce sale ton
Déjà hier c'était monstrueux
Tout avait pris ce sale ton
Faudrait qu'il crève
Ce sale plafond
Qui lui fait la chape de plomb
The song "Ce Sale Ton" by Les Rita Mitsouko speaks about a person who wakes up one day and realizes that everything around him has taken on a negative and oppressive tone. The lyrics suggest that this negativity has been building up for some time, and the person is struggling to cope with it. Even the people who are close to him seem to be affected by this "sale ton" (negative vibe). The person feels trapped and weighed down by a "sale plafond" (oppressive ceiling) that is preventing him from feeling free and happy.
The chorus of the song asks, "qui saura" (who will know) how to help this person escape from this negative situation. It suggests that the person himself may have the answers to his problems, but he needs to find a way to break free from the oppressive atmosphere around him. The song ends by repeating the opening lines, emphasizing that the person is still stuck in the same situation and needs help to break free.
The lyrics of this song are open to interpretation, but they could speak to how difficult it can be to escape from negativity, even when it feels like everything and everyone around us is working against us. The song's upbeat tempo sets a contrast to the weight of the lyrics, creating a memorable listening experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Un jour, il se lève
He wakes up one day
Et puis non
But not really
Tout avait pris ce sale ton
Everything had taken on this bad tone
Déjà hier c'était monstrueux
Yesterday was already monstrous
Faudrait qu'il crève
He should die
Ce sale plafond
This dirty ceiling
Qui lui fait la chape de plomb
That weighs him down
C'est pas un rêve
It's not a dream
Ah ça non
Oh no
C'est la vie vraie ce tréfonds
It's the real life, this deep place
Il fait pas le fier à affronter des yeux
He doesn't feel bold enough to meet people's gaze
Même les amis
Even his friends
Qui saura, qui saura
Who will know, who will know
Comment le sortir de là
How to get him out of there
Il saura, il saura
He will know, he will know
Comment se sortir de là
How to get himself out of there
C'est pas un rêve
It's not a dream
Ah ça non
Oh no
C'est la vie vraie ce tréfonds
It's the real life, this deep place
Il fait pas le fier à affronter des yeux
He doesn't feel bold enough to meet people's gaze
Même les amis
Even his friends
Ce sale ton
This bad tone
Faudrait qu'il crève
He should die
Ce sale plafond
This dirty ceiling
Qui lui fait la chape de plomb
That weighs him down
Contributed by Violet P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.