Gonzalez and Fromageau parted ways shortly after touring their second album Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts. Gonzalez records primarily on his own, with other artists as guest musicians. The band is signed to Mute Records and found international success in 2011 with the single "Midnight City". Their most recent album Fantasy was released on 17 March 2023.
Anthony Gerard Gonzalez (born March 13, 1980) grew up in Antibes, France together with his brother Yann. His family had a great interest in football and Gonzalez had trials with AS Cannes, while his maternal grandfather is the French international Laurent Robuschi. At the age of 14 he got injured and turned to music instead after his parents bought him a guitar. Gonzalez developed his interest in music and American culture while at secondary school. Together with Fromageau he formed a post-rock outfit called My Violent Wish.
At the age of 17, Gonzalez bought a synth to record a demo, which he sent to a number of French labels. When the Paris-based Gooom Records appeared interested, he recruited Fromageau to "help me because I didn't feel like I had the shoulders to carry the project on my own". The band is named after the galaxy of the same name.
The band's musical aesthetic is characterized by extensive use of reverb effects and lyrics spoken softly over loud instruments. Gonzalez has been inspired by aspects of the American Dream and his songs have been outlined as themed around "adult-scripted teen dreams". Inspiration for the 1980s style found in much of Gonzalez’s music includes bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Pink Floyd, and Tangerine Dream. Between various electronic music properties and album artwork, M83’s style includes a mix of both contemporary pop and 1980s dream pop.
Graveyard Girl
M83 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She spits on summers and smiles to the night
She collects crowns made of black roses
But her heart is made of bubble gum
Graveyard girl
Graveyard girl
Dark rags and red stars
She's the dirty witch of her high school
She worships Satan like a father
But dreams of a sister like Molly Ringwald
Graveyard girl
Graveyard girl
"I'm gonna jump the walls and run
I wonder if they'll miss me?
I won't miss them
The cemetery is my home
I want to be a part of it
Invisible even to the night
Then I'll read poetry to the stones
Maybe one day I could be one of them
Wise and silent
Waiting for someone to love me
Waiting for someone to kiss me
I'm fifteen years old
And I feel it's already too late to live
Don't you?"
Graveyard girl
Graveyard girl
Graveyard girl
Graveyard girl
The song "Graveyard Girl" by M83 tells the story of a teenage girl who feels out of place in the world and finds solace in the cemetery. The opening line, "Death is her boyfriend," sets the tone for the rest of the song. The girl is fascinated by death and darkness, and she feels alienated from her peers. She spits on summers and smiles to the night, suggesting that she rejects the optimistic, carefree spirit of summer and instead finds comfort in the darkness of the night.
The girl collects crowns made of black roses, which symbolize death and mourning. However, despite her fascination with death and the macabre, her heart is made of bubble gum, suggesting that she is still inherently youthful and innocent. The lyrics also mention that she worships Satan like a father, but dreams of a sister like Molly Ringwald. This suggests that the girl is rebelling against the religious and societal norms of her environment, but still longs for a connection and a sense of belonging with those who understand her.
The final verse of the song is particularly poignant, as the girl speaks of her desire to become a part of the cemetery and the stones. She feels invisible even to the night and believes that it's too late for her to truly live. The repetition of "Graveyard girl, Graveyard girl" throughout the song underscores her sense of displacement and reinforces the idea that she has found a sense of belonging in the cemetery.
Line by Line Meaning
Death is her boyfriend
She is obsessed with death and darkness as if it were a significant other.
She spits on summers and smiles to the night
She prefers the darkness over light and doesn't care for summer moments.
She collects crowns made of black roses
She values and takes pride in finding beauty in darkness.
But her heart is made of bubble gum
She has a softer and more optimistic side to her beneath her dark exterior.
Graveyard girl
She sees herself as a part of the darkness and death, possibly feeling like she belongs with the spirits in the graveyard.
Dark rags and red stars
She dresses in dark clothes and accessories and sees power in the symbolism of stars and possible doom in the color red.
She's the dirty witch of her high school
She's an outcast and sees herself as a misunderstood and disliked witch-like figure at school.
She worships Satan like a father
She finds comfort in the idea of worshipping something dark and evil like Satan, whom she sees as a protector and advisor.
But dreams of a sister like Molly Ringwald
She has a desire for a sisterly figure who is colorful and happy like the actress Molly Ringwald portrayed in her films.
Graveyard girl
Her fascination with the graveyard and death remains at the forefront of her thoughts.
"I'm gonna jump the walls and run
I wonder if they'll miss me?
I won't miss them
The cemetery is my home
I want to be a part of it
Invisible even to the night
Then I'll read poetry to the stones
Maybe one day I could be one of them
Wise and silent
Waiting for someone to love me
Waiting for someone to kiss me
I'm fifteen years old
And I feel it's already too late to live
Don't you?"
She feels suffocated under the rules of society and wants to escape to the cemetery where she feels like she belongs. She wants to be a part of the stones and the stories of those buried there, to find wisdom and love. At fifteen years old, she feels hopeless and like she has already missed out on life.
Graveyard girl
Her attachment to the graveyard and its inhabitants has become part of her identity.
Graveyard girl
The repetition of this line emphasizes her attachment to the graveyard and solidifies her association with it.
Graveyard girl
The song ends on this line, tying together the theme of the song and leaving a lingering impression of her obsession with the graveyard and death.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, DELABEL EDITIONS
Written by: Anthony Gonzalez, Yann Gonzalez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@iscream3995
Death is her boyfriend
She spits on summers and smiles to the night
She collects crowns made of black roses
But her heart is made of bubble gum
Graveyard girl
Graveyard girl
Dark rags and red stars
She's the dirty witch of her high school
She worships Satan like a father
But dreams of a sister like Molly Ringwald
Graveyard girl
Graveyard girl
"I'm gonna jump the walls and run
I wonder if they'll miss me?
I won't miss them
The cemetery is my home
I want to be a part of it
Invisible even to the night
Then I'll read poetry to the stones
Maybe one day I could be one of them
Wise and silent
Waiting for someone to love me
Waiting for someone to kiss me
I'm fifteen years old
And I feel it's already too late to live
Don't you?"
Graveyard girl
Graveyard girl
Graveyard girl
Graveyard girl
@EvenOut
I still come back to this song time to time....
@crwepy
no way.. ive seen ur pranks everywhere man. love the content. glad to see you have a great music taste too, makes me feel all the more human and connected to others..
@benjaminljt88
Me too
@kmacmuzikmafia27
This is like emo for cool people. Usually I find depressing songs, well, depressing, but sometimes you're in a mood and a song like this is just what you need to show yourself you're not alone. Somebody wrote this song. Somebody felt like this.
@robuxtasty4175
hey its been 14 years
@awwgez
I know this is not from the 90's but damn it has that young 90's excitment to live! M83 always hit me in spots that I just froze in place because I knew it was too late to relive youthful dreams. This song will always be important to me, Thank you M83 for going there! That place no one ever sees.
@KatBlaque
I haven't heard this song in so long. I used to watch this in college and be like "omg so relatable". lol.
@B_kinda
😂 “I’m 15 years old and I feel it’s already too late to live..”
looks off into the distance dramatically
Have you really lived if you haven’t written bad teenage poetry and can’t look back on how embarrassing you were at one point in time?
@mellymeliza
OH MY GOD. Parts of this were filmed at my college!! What the heck. I saw this video in high school and didn't know but now that I've come back to it... My mind was just blown.
@Miumiu0404
Do you mind sharing us where the location is?