Educated at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, the Music Conservatory in Orléans, France and at the school of the Royal Swedish Opera.
Ernman is a versatile artist in her field, who outside the world of opera and operettas also has performed chansons, cabaret, jazz, appeared in musicals and she is a performer who's declared that she's very much attracted to the attributes of varité theatre and small, intimate stage rooms.
Much appreciated by the Swedish audience for her playfulness and sensuality on stage, she has played the title role in Bizet's Carmen (Royal Swedish Opera), Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro (Berlin State Opera), Rosina in The Barber of Seville (Berlin State Opera, Royal Swedish Opera, Finnish National Opera), Roberto in Griselda, Prince Orloffsky in The Bat by Johann Strauss II, Diana in La Calisto, Donna Elvira i Don Giovanni (Berlin State Opera) and Sally Bowles i the musical Cabaret at Sweden's Royal Dramatic Theatre, a.o.
Perdus
Malena Ernman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nos petits jeux nous ont fracassés
Et maintenant, perdus pour longtemps
Douloureux, ce qui devrait être si glorieux
Est devenu tellement dangereux
Et maintenant, perdus rapidement
Il faut quon ait bien compris
Si on ne reste pas ensemble
Cest tout fini
Terminés, mais enfin qui est-ce qui peut nous sauver?
Est-ce que le monde nous a recrachés?
Et maintenant, perdus certainement
Arrivée, laddition que bientôt il faut payer
Tout le monde sait quon ne peut pas tarder
Et maintenant, perdus vraiment
Pourquoi est-ce que je pense quon
laisse les choses dégénérer?
Pourquoi est-ce que je sens que
rien (ne) va changer?
Regardez, ce que nos rêves nous ont apporté
Nos petits jeux nous ont fracassés
Et maintenant, perdus certainement
In Malena Ernman's song Perdus, the lyrics convey a sense of disappointment and loss caused by the breakdown of a relationship. The first two lines, "Regardez, ce que nos rêves nous ont apporté, Nos petits jeux nous ont fracassés" (Look at what our dreams have brought us, Our little games have shattered us), suggest that their dreams and games, perhaps symbolic of their relationship, have caused more harm than good. They are now lost and separated for a long time, as indicated in the line "Et maintenant, perdus pour longtemps" (And now, lost for a long time).
The next lines "Douloureux, ce qui devrait être si glorieux, Est devenu tellement dangereux" (Painful, what should have been so glorious, Has become so dangerous) suggest that the relationship has turned into a source of pain and danger instead of happiness, as it was supposed to be. The line "Si on veut la leçon apprendre, Il faut qu'on ait bien compris" (If we want to learn our lesson, We must have understood it well) implies that there was a lesson to be learned from the failed relationship, and it was not understood.
Line by Line Meaning
Regardez, ce que nos rêves nous ont apporté
Take a look at what our dreams have brought us
Nos petits jeux nous ont fracassés
Our little games have shattered us
Et maintenant, perdus pour longtemps
And now, lost for a long time
Douloureux, ce qui devrait être si glorieux
Painful, what should be so glorious
Est devenu tellement dangereux
Has become so dangerous
Et maintenant, perdus rapidement
And now, quickly lost
Si on veut la leçon apprendre
If we want to learn the lesson
Il faut qu'on ait bien compris
We must have understood well
Si on ne reste pas ensemble
If we don't stay together
C'est tout fini
It's all over
Terminés, mais enfin qui est-ce qui peut nous sauver?
Finished, but finally who can save us?
Est-ce que le monde nous a recrachés?
Has the world spit us out?
Et maintenant, perdus certainement
And now, certainly lost
Arrivée, l'addition que bientôt il faut payer
Here comes the bill that we soon have to pay
Tout le monde sait qu'on ne peut pas tarder
Everyone knows that we cannot delay
Et maintenant, perdus vraiment
And now, truly lost
Pourquoi est-ce que je pense qu'on laisse les choses dégénérer?
Why do I think we let things spiral out of control?
Pourquoi est-ce que je sens que rien ne va changer?
Why do I feel that nothing will change?
Regardez, ce que nos rêves nous ont apporté
Take a look at what our dreams have brought us
Nos petits jeux nous ont fracassés
Our little games have shattered us
Et maintenant, perdus certainement
And now, certainly lost
Contributed by Xavier M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
VoiceOfAnAngel1
Look at what our dreams have brought us Our little games smashed us And now, lost for a long time Painful, what should be so glorious Has become so dangerous And now, lost quickly If one wants the lesson to learn One needs to have understood well If one doesn't stay together It's all over
Mr.Finsent
the way the song bilds up to it climax is just breath taking, one of my favorite tracks from "La voix du nord"
VoiceOfAnAngel1
Finished, but at last who is it that can save us? Has the world spat us out? And now, certainly lost Arrived, the bill that will soon need to be payed Everybody knows that one can't put it off And now, truly lost Why do I think that one lets things degenerate/ get out of hand? Why do I feel that nothing is going to change? Look at what our dreams have brought us Our little games have smashed us And now, certainly lost
Esperanta Flago
Vraiment merci de chanter aussi bien dans notre langue française.
Mariya Z
Absolutely magical!
xeleph
Perfect song!!! Perfect Malena !!
J Symonds
Another fabulous song by this wonderful singer.
raigekimaru
@ZaffiroO voice classification is not that simple. Malena Ernman's voice sits most comfortably in and has the richest color in the mezzo range, even though she has an amazing range and can sing soprano and contralto as well (listen to Tragedy and it should be obvious that she is a mezzo)
Iza Bela
👌 Super
chiefofsages
I hate french, but this is my favorite song on the CD! :P (Even above La Voix!)