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
Soir De Peine
Les Rita Mitsouko Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Il n'appellera pas
Mais j'attends encore
Heureuse d'être là
Et je fixe ses fleurs offertes
Ombres sur le mur
Rejouant les choses de lui et moi
Folle amoureuse
Soir de peine
Le temps va si lentement
Soir de veine
Allez, appelle
Il est passé 3 heures
Et la musique tout bas
Me chante la même chanson
Heureuse d'être là
Tout mon être, me quitte
Mes sens un à un
Plus aucun sens, si tu me quittes folle amoureuse
Soir de peine
Allez, allez appelle-moi
Soir De Peine by Les Rita Mitsouko tells a story of unreciprocated love and the painful waiting that comes with it. The first verse sets the scene of a late-night wait, where the singer knows that their love interest won't call, but continues waiting anyways. The flowers they've been offered cast shadows on the wall, and the singer starts replaying past moments with their love interest in their head, highlighting the deep infatuation they have for them.
As time passes, it becomes clear that the love interest isn't going to reach out, and the singer starts to become increasingly anxious. The second verse sets a more melancholic tone, with the music softly singing the same tune. The singer feels like they're losing themselves, their senses disappearing one by one, and fears that they won't make any sense if their love doesn't come back to them.
The repetitive chorus serves as a plea for the love interest to call, and highlights the desperation and sadness that comes with waiting for someone who doesn't seem to reciprocate your feelings.
Overall, Soir De Peine is a poignant song about the pain and desperation that comes with unrequited love, and the toll it can take on a person.
Line by Line Meaning
Il est déjà 1 heure
It is already 1 o'clock.
Il n'appellera pas
He will not call.
Mais j'attends encore
But I am still waiting.
Heureuse d'être là
Happy to be here.
Et je fixe ses fleurs offertes
And I stare at the flowers he gave me.
Ombres sur le mur
Shadows on the wall.
Rejouant les choses de lui et moi
Playing back memories of him and me.
Folle amoureuse
Madly in love.
Soir de peine
Evening of sorrow.
Le temps va si lentement
Time goes by so slowly.
Soir de veine
A lucky evening.
Allez, appelle
Come on, call me.
Il est passé 3 heures
It is already 3 o'clock.
Et la musique tout bas
And the music softly plays.
Me chante la même chanson
Singing the same song to me.
Tout mon être, me quitte
All of me is leaving me.
Mes sens un à un
My senses, one by one.
Plus aucun sens, si tu me quittes folle amoureuse
No more sense, if you leave me, madly in love.
Allez, allez appelle-moi
Come on, come on, call me.
Contributed by Adalyn P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.