Louise Attaque is a French band founded in 1994. Its style could be describ… Read Full Bio ↴Louise Attaque is a French band founded in 1994. Its style could be described as something between chanson and folk-rock, although it has evolved since their first album Louise Attaque, which sold more than 2 million copies without any tv or radio promotion.

Several of the group's albums were produced by Gordon Gano, lead singer of Violent Femmes, a band which Louise Attaque often cite as an influence and for whom their own band is named: "Louise" is a feminine name, taken from Louise Michel –a french anarchist militant in France in the nineteenth century– and "attaque" connotates violence, it literally means "attack" in French –in reference of the Violent Femmes.

History

Climb to the top (1990-2001)

Caravage (1990-1994)
Lead singer and guitarist Gaëtan Roussel and bassist Robin Feix met in high school in Montargis. They moved to Paris after graduation where they met drummer Alexandre Margraff and formed a rock band : Caravage (named after the famous Italian painter Caravaggio). After briefly hiring a lead guitarist, the band met violinist Arnaud Samuel while recording in a Parisian studio.

Louise Attaque's phenomenal success (1997-2001)
Louise Attaque was formed in 1994. The name means "Louise Attacks" in French and is in reference of Louise Michel, a 19th century anarchist, and of the American rock band The Violent Femmes (which means "violent women" in French). The Violent Femmes leader, Gordon Gano, has agreed to produce Louise Attaque's debut self-titled album.

Louise Attaque was released in april 1997, receiving a strong positive critical response. Despite low initial radio airplay, the reputation of the group spread rapidly, garnering particular praise for its innovative violin-based folk/rock compositions and witty lyrics. By the end of the year, Louise Attaque had already become a phenomenon, and with the help of a highly successful tour throughout France, the band had sold more than 400 000 units. Louise Attaque eventually went on to sale an impressive 2.5 million copies in France, a record for any French rock album (even outselling Noir Désir's highly popular 666667 Club album, released in 1996).

It took almost three years until Louise Attaque 's sophomore album Comme On A Dit was released (in january 2000), still produced by Gordon Gano. The album met expectations of fans and critics alike, a complex and daring effort that still evoked Louise Attaque 's now famous trademark. It was noted, however, that Comme On A Dit was darker than the debut album, and consequently less radio friendly. It still sold 700 000 copies in France. Yet in 2001, after touring for five months and appearing in various rock festivals, the band split up, explaining that they were temporarily out of inspiration and tired of the hype and pressure surrounding them.

From separation to reunion (2001-2005)

Tarmac & Ali Dragon
Louise Attaque actually broke in two different groups. Singer Gaëtan Roussel and violinist Arnaud Samuel formed Tarmac, while bassist Robin Feix and drummer Alexandre Margraff formed Ali Dragon. Tarmac is the name of a building products company, whose name is often used to refer to asphalt (bitume in French). The group aims to explore the starker sounds of acoustic instruments, while Ali Dragon has turned towards underground experimental music featuring jam sessions (mostly electro and hip-hop).

À Plus Tard Crocodile
The four members of the group reunited in 2003 to pen a few songs, though at this point they didn't know whether they would release their material. After recording for a few weeks in the Electric Ladyland studios in New York, Louise Attaque finally decided to release a (highly anticipated) third album. À Plus Tard Crocodile was released in september 2005. The title is in reference of the rock and roll song See You Later Alligator (funnily enough, "à plus tard crocodile" is a calque of the American catchphrase, which gives an unidiomatic expression in French).
À Plus Tard Crocodile was said to be quite a departure from Louise Attaque 's previous work, a lighter and more varied album. Still, the group met with critical and chart success once again.

La Plume
Louise Attaque Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Je te donne la plume pour que tu dessines
La plus belle ville que t'aies connue
Le plus bel hymne que t'aies voulu
Je te donne la plume
Moi j'en veux plus

Je te donne la plume pour savoir vivre
Parler, écrire et danser

Pour rester ivre, bien éveillé
Je te donne la plume et mes conneries
Garde-les

Voilà une heure
Que je t'attends
Voilà mon cœur, prudence en sortant
Compter les heures
Depuis longtemps
Est revenu mon cœur
Déposé en sortant

Je te donne la plume pour que t'inscrives
Perpétuellement la vie à construire
Ce mouvement
Si dur
Je te donne la plume
Moi j'en veux plus

Voilà une heure
Que je t'attends
Voilà mon cœur, prudence en sortant
Compter les heures
Depuis longtemps
Est revenu mon cœur
Déposé en sortant

Voilà une heure
Que je t'attends
Voilà mon cœur, prudence en sortant
Compter les heures
Depuis longtemps

Est revenu mon cœur
Déposé en sortant

Overall Meaning

In Louise Attaque's song "La Plume", the singer is giving a feather pen to someone and asking them to draw the most beautiful city they have ever known and to write the most beautiful anthem they have desired using this feather pen. He further gives the feather pen to the person so that they can learn how to speak, how to write, how to dance and how to remain awake all night. As he passes the feather pen he also tells the person to take his nonsense along with it. The line "Je te donne la plume pour que t'inscrives / Perpétuellement la vie à construire" means 'I give you the pen to perpetually inscribe life to build', indicating that the singer is giving the pen to the person so that they can express their own experiences and build their own life story.

The song's lyrics are open to interpretation as there are no specific references to any place or person, making it a relatable and widely appreciated song in France. The song is about freedom, expression, and creativity. The feather pen is a symbol of expressing oneself and freedom of thought. The singer is asking the person to take control of their life and create beauty even if it is from nonsense.

Line by Line Meaning

Je te donne la plume pour que tu dessines
I give you the pen to draw, depicting the most beautiful city you have ever known, and the most beautiful hymn you have ever wanted.

La plus belle ville que t'aies connue
Depicting the most beautiful city you have ever known.

Le plus bel hymne que t'aies voulu
Depicting the most beautiful hymn you have ever wanted.

Je te donne la plume, Moi j'en veux plus
I give you the pen, I don't want it anymore.

Je te donne la plume pour savoir vivre
I grant you the pen for you to learn how to speak, write, and dance; for you to stay drunk and well awakened.

Parler, écrire et danser
To speak, write, and dance.

Pour rester ivre, bien éveillé
To remain intoxicated and wholly awake.

Je te donne la plume et mes conneries
I give you the pen and my nonsense, keep it.

Garde-les
Keep them.

Voilà une heure, Que je t'attends
I've been waiting for you for an hour.

Voilà mon cœur, prudence en sortant
Here is my heart; be careful when leaving.

Compter les heures, Depuis longtemps
Counting the hours, for a long time.

Est revenu mon cœur, Déposé en sortant
My heart has returned, left behind when leaving.

Je te donne la plume pour que t'inscrives
I give you the pen to inscribe perpetually the life to construct.

Perpétuellement la vie à construire
To continually construct our lives.

Ce mouvement, Si dur
This movement is so hard.