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
Gripshitrider In Paris
Les Rita Mitsouko Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Un pied derrière l'autre
J'avance pas à pas
A Paris c'est si joli
Quand on regarde en l'air
Le ciel orange, les lampadaires
Ont des airs extraordinaires
Change avec le quartier
Rhytmée par les balcons
De fer ouvragé
Des immeubles haussmanniens
Parisiens
Gripshitrider in Paris
Deuxième, cinquième étage
La belle ouvrage
Gripshitrider in Paris
Aux grands porches de chêne
De grosses têtes sculptées
Se penchent et veillent
Et nous regardent passer
Des cheminées chapeautées noires et fines
Zigzagant dans le ciel bien en ligne
Vont par trois, quatre ou cinq
S'échappant des toitures de zinc
Gripshitrider in Paris, oh shit!
Gripshitrider in Paris
Le piéton inattentif
Avec toujours le pif en l'air
Oublie de regarder par terre
Le touriste attendri
Aux rondeurs du Sacré Cœur
A senti sous son pied
Quelque chose d'épais
Gripshitrider in Paris
Ah c'est une crotte! Une crotte!
Des crottes sur lesquelles
On marche
Si nous ne faisons
Pas plus attention
Nous les piétons
Gripshitrider in Paris
Surgissant au détour d'une rue,
Il apparut
Tout de vert vêtu
Justicier de la propreté
Dégaînant
Son aspirateur
C'est le gripshitrider in Paris
In the first verse of "Gripshitrider in Paris" by Les Rita Mitsouko, the singer describes taking small steps as she walks through the city. She then goes on to describe the beauty of Paris, particularly the orange sky and unique architecture. The Haussmannian buildings and ornate balconies with wrought iron give way to large oak doors and carved heads. The singer also notes the black, thin chimneys that zigzag into the sky above buildings with zinc roofs. The song's titular character emerges in the final verse, portrayed as a green-clad crusader of cleanliness armed with an industrial vacuum cleaner.
The song captures the joy of walking and taking in the scenery around you. The first verse suggests a slow pace, as the singer takes small steps forward, perhaps savoring the moment. The second verse highlights the beauty of Paris's architecture and the unique details that give each building its own identity. The final verse, where the "Gripshitrider" emerges, underscores the importance of keeping the city clean and people's individual responsibility in doing so. Overall, the song is an ode to Paris as well as a call to action to take responsibility for its upkeep.
Line by Line Meaning
Un pas, un autre pas
Taking one step after another
Un pied derrière l'autre
Moving forward step by step
J'avance pas à pas
Advancing slowly and steadily
A Paris c'est si joli
Paris is so beautiful
Quand on regarde en l'air
When one looks up
Le ciel orange, les lampadaires
The orange sky and streetlights
Ont des airs extraordinaires
Have an extraordinary look
La forme des maisons
The shape of the houses
Change avec le quartier
Changes with the neighborhood
Rhytmée par les balcons
Rhythmized by the balconies
De fer ouvragé
Of wrought iron
Des immeubles haussmanniens
The Haussmannian buildings
Parisians
Of the Parisians
Gripshitrider in Paris
Riding the garbage truck in Paris
Deuxième, cinquième étage
Second, fifth floor
La belle ouvrage
The beautiful work
Aux grands porches de chêne
At the big oak porches
De grosses têtes sculptées
With big sculpted heads
Se penchent et veillent
Bending down and watching over
Et nous regardent passer
And watching us pass by
Des cheminées chapeautées noires et fines
Black and thin capped chimneys
Zigzagant dans le ciel bien en ligne
Zigzagging in a straight line in the sky
Vont par trois, quatre ou cinq
Going in three, four or five
S'échappant des toitures de zinc
Escaping from the zinc roofs
Gripshitrider in Paris, oh shit!
Riding the garbage truck in Paris, oh shit!
Le piéton inattentif
The inattentive pedestrian
Avec toujours le pif en l'air
Always with the nose up
Oublie de regarder par terre
Forgets to look at the ground
Le touriste attendri
The touched tourist
Aux rondeurs du Sacré Cœur
At the roundness of the Sacré Cœur
A senti sous son pied
Felt under his foot
Quelque chose d'épais
Something thick
Gripshitrider in Paris
Riding the garbage truck in Paris
Ah c'est une crotte! Une crotte!
Ah it's a poop! A poop!
Des crottes sur lesquelles
Poops on which
On marche
We walk
Si nous ne faisons
If we don't do
Pas plus attention
Pay no more attention
Nous les piétons
We, the pedestrians
Surgissant au détour d'une rue,
Emerging around a corner,
Il apparut
It appeared
Tout de vert vêtu
Dressed all in green
Justicier de la propreté
Cleanliness vigilante
Dégaînant
Unsheathing
Son aspirateur
His vacuum cleaner
C'est le gripshitrider in Paris
It's the garbage truck rider in Paris
Contributed by Oliver C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
collegewebsites acuk
This whole album is so very good.