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
La Steppe
Les Rita Mitsouko Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
C'est le froid qui t'endormira
Et si tu ne t'arrête pas,
C'est le souffle qui te manquera
Et la mort te prendra
Sans savoir que tu n'y croyais pas
La neige, lentement,
Ne pleure pas
Il ne faut pas
Car l'eau de tes yeux gèlera
Il faut croire
Jusqu'à la mort
Que l'inespéré viendra encore
Cours, cours, traîne-toi
Dans la steppe immense et gelée
Tu vivras, oh tu vivras
Jusqu'à ce que le soleil soit couché
Un traîneau glissera
Jusqu'à toi et t'emportera
Tu reverras ta maison
Et ta femme qui sent si bon
Et peut-être qu'en marchant bien
Avant la nuit tu seras sain Et peut-être qu'après tout
Le village n'est pas si loin...
Oh tu vois déjè briller ses lumiéres
Dans ton esprit
Juste avant la nuit
Elle brilleront comme un feu de joie
Ne pleure pas
N'oublie pas
Car l'eau de tes yeux g&eagrave;lera
Ne perds pas tout espoir
Il ne resterait plus qu'à t'asseoir
Et sois sûr, sois sûr
Que l'inespéré peut arriver
Oh sois sûr sois sûr
L'inattendu peut venir
Sois sûr, sois sûr
L'inattendu peut arriver
Sois sûr, sois sûr...
The lyrics of Les Rita Mitsouko's song La Steppe tell the story of a man traveling through a vast and cold steppe. The first verse warns of the danger of stopping, as the cold will overcome a person and then the breath will leave them. Death will then take them, even if they didn't believe in it before. The second verse encourages the man to keep moving and to believe in the unexpected. He must run, drag himself through the frozen tundra, and look forward to seeing his wife and home again. The third verse offers hope, telling the listener not to cry, not to lose hope, and to remember that the unexpected can happen at any time.
The song is a story of perseverance, belief, and hope in the face of danger and uncertainty. The lyrics are delivered in a powerful and haunting way, adding to the urgency and emotions of the story. Les Rita Mitsouko's unique blend of rock and pop music made the song a success in France and around the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Si tu ne cours pas
If you don't run
C'est le froid qui t'endormira
The cold will put you to sleep
Et si tu ne t'arrête pas,
And if you don't stop
C'est le souffle qui te manquera
You'll run out of breath
Et la mort te prendra
And death will take you
Sans savoir que tu n'y croyais pas
Without knowing that you didn't believe in it
La neige, lentement,
Slowly, the snow
Couvrira ton corps raide de froid
Will cover your cold, stiff body
Ne pleure pas
Don't cry
Il ne faut pas
You shouldn't
Car l'eau de tes yeux gèlera
Because the tears in your eyes will freeze
Il faut croire
You must believe
Jusqu'à la mort
Until death
Que l'inespéré viendra encore
That the unexpected will come again
Cours, cours, traîne-toi
Run, run, drag yourself
Dans la steppe immense et gelée
In the immense and frozen steppe
Tu vivras, oh tu vivras
You will live, oh you will live
Jusqu'à ce que le soleil soit couché
Until the sun sets
Un traîneau glissera
A sled will glide
Jusqu'à toi et t'emportera
Until it reaches you and takes you away
Tu reverras ta maison
You will see your home again
Et ta femme qui sent si bon
And your wife who smells so good
Et peut-être qu'en marchant bien
And maybe if you walk well
Avant la nuit tu seras sain
Before the night, you will be safe
Et peut-être qu'après tout
And maybe, after all
Le village n'est pas si loin...
The village is not so far away...
Oh tu vois déjà briller ses lumières
Oh, you already see its lights shining
Dans ton esprit
In your mind
Juste avant la nuit
Just before nightfall
Elle brilleront comme un feu de joie
They will shine like a bonfire
N'oublie pas
Don't forget
Ne perds pas tout espoir
Don't lose all hope
Il ne resterait plus qu'à t'asseoir
All that would be left is to sit down
Et sois sûr, sois sûr
And be sure, be sure
Que l'inespéré peut arriver
That the unexpected can happen
Oh sois sûr sois sûr
Oh be sure, be sure
L'inattendu peut venir
The unexpected can come
L'inattendu peut arriver
The unexpected can happen
Sois sûr, sois sûr...
Be sure, be sure...
Contributed by Tristan T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Redpacifico
magnifique chanson, merci pour le partage !
Orpheas Nestos
I was 19 years old , in love with life , on a bus from Paris to Copenhagen, watching the world flyby and all possibilities were wide open.... If only I could go back....
NuntiusLegis
Make the best of your current age. It has it's advantages. Like, I prefer my current brain.
Juan Marcos Arredondo Yañez
Merci beachup pour tout et pour la musique tre belle..