His first album, La Marmaille Nue, was released in 1993 and sold 100,000 copies in the first year. His second album, Les Années Sombres ("The Dark Years"), a somber album that also went gold in its first months was released in 1995. In 1996, he regrouped with part of the Chihuahuas for the album Frères Misère (Brothers in Misery). Its rhythms are closer to punk, and the texts are more topical than his solo albums. With little media attention, the album failed to meet immediate success.
The release of his next album: Je sais pas trop ("I don't really know") was in 1997. Recorded live and featuring, once again, original melodies and sounds, it was a Gold record in France. Two years later, Mano Solo recorded the double album Internationale Shalala, live at the Tourtour, a little theatre where he played regularly since the beginning of his music career. He sings and plays guitar on the album, accompanied only by another guitarist, Jean-Louis Solans. The songs come from earlier Solo albums, except for Shalala, a hymn of "inner revolution" that the artist sang together with his audience at the end of every concert, with a positive and dynamic message.
His second live album, La Marche (The Walk), was released in 2002. It consists mostly of songs from the album Dehors ("Outside"), released earlier (August 2000). With the album comes a DVD featuring photos and videos from concerts, and CG animations from Mano Solo's imagination.
In 2004, Les animals was released. As with other Solo albums the sound was new, the lyrics contained much poetic language, and the songs were performed energetically. Some titles were new recordings of old songs. The song Botzaris, recorded with Les Têtes Raides, was featured on the album. Solo appeared on two tracks on the album Dans le caillou by Karpatt.
Solo had been HIV positive for years secondary to his youthful drug use. He was rushed to hospital after a concert in Paris on 12 November 2009. There he died at the age of 46 on 10 January 2010, due to his illness. He is buried at the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.
In The Garden
Mano Solo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Celui que j'aurais dû être
Les mots me sont sortis de la tête
Dans le monde des vivants je ne suis qu'un homme méchant
Même épais comme une crevette
Maintenant que je me prends que des branlées
J'ai toujours ma grande gueule en goguette
Et je pourrais vous en raconter
Des quintaux d'avatars super tristes
J'aurais pu être même Jésus-Christ
J'aurais pu construire des millions de rengaines
Une pour chaque saison?
J'aurais pu foutre la migraine à n'importe quel cafard à la con
Mais j'aurais pas mis que des coups de poing
Un bout de jardin pas loin du périf'
C'est là que je me sens bien
Avec ma bataille en friche
Entre le marteau et l'enclume j'aurai choisi la plume
C'est si léger qu'avec elle je m'échappe sans tomber
Je ne dirai pas qu'il me pousse des ailes
Mais rien que d'un souffle elle me permet d'exister
Le ciel ne s'est pas effondré sur ma tête mais à mes pieds
Sur la machine à souffrir
Qui restait là à pourrir
Je ne suis plus le poète
Celui que j'aurais dû être
Les mots me sont sortis de la tête
Je me lève chaque matin dans la victoire du quotidien
Un bout de jardin pas loin du périf'
C'est là que je me sens bien
Avec ma bataille en friche
Mano Solo's song "In the garden" presents a self-deprecative and introspective character, who reflects on his lack of literary success and his less-than-perfect character. The first lines of the song suggest the persona has failed to realize the poet he was meant to be, and instead, his words have left him. The phrase "dans le monde des vivants, je ne suis qu'un homme méchant" reveals he is aware of his own easy-to-anger temperament and his failures to capture the beauty and insights one expects from a poet. Later in the song, the character displays a witty sense of humor, describing himself as "épais comme une crevette" (thick as a shrimp), and ironically defying his own poor quality with "j'ai toujours ma grande gueule en goguette", which could be translated as "I keep my big mouth on the loose".
The phrase "j'aurais pu être même Jésus-Christ" highlights the character's awareness of his own potential, as well as the frustration he feels about not living up to it. The following phrases, which evoke images of boats, life bits, and sad or worn avatars, suggest he has kept a vivid and imaginative inner world, but has failed to turn it into poetry or literature. In the chorus, the character seems to find solace in a small, unkempt garden close to the suburbs, where he "feels good" with his own "battlefield". Towards the end of the song, the character acknowledges he is no longer the poet he could have been, but takes pride in facing the challenges of daily life instead.
Overall, "In the garden" portrays a conflicted and honest character who has come to terms with his own shortcomings and takes solace in his own ways. The song highlights the gap between our actual selves and the selves we believe we should have been; at the same time, it also celebrates the value of small, private experiences that give meaning to our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Je ne suis plus le poète
I am no longer the poet I should have been
Celui que j'aurais dû être
The one I was meant to be
Les mots me sont sortis de la tête
The words escaped my mind
Dans le monde des vivants je ne suis qu'un homme méchant
In the world of the living, I am just a wicked man
Même épais comme une crevette
Even as thin as a shrimp
Maintenant que je me prends que des branlées
Now that I only get beatings
J'ai toujours ma grande gueule en goguette
I still have my loud mouth on the loose
Et je pourrais vous en raconter
And I could tell you about it
J'en ai plein des péniches des cargaisons de bouts de vie sans maisons
I have boats full of bits of life without houses
Des quintaux d'avatars super tristes
Tons of very sad avatars
J'aurais pu être même Jésus-Christ
I could have even been Jesus Christ
J'aurais pu construire des millions de rengaines
I could have built millions of tunes
Une pour chaque saison?
One for every season?
J'aurais pu foutre la migraine à n'importe quel cafard à la con
I could have given a headache to any stupid cockroach
Mais j'aurais pas mis que des coups de poing
But I wouldn't have only thrown punches
Un bout de jardin pas loin du périf'
A piece of the garden not far from the ring road
C'est là que je me sens bien
That's where I feel good
Avec ma bataille en friche
With my battle in fallow
Entre le marteau et l'enclume j'aurai choisi la plume
Between a rock and a hard place, I would have chosen the pen
C'est si léger qu'avec elle je m'échappe sans tomber
It's so light that I escape with it without falling
Je ne dirai pas qu'il me pousse des ailes
I won't say it makes me grow wings
Mais rien que d'un souffle elle me permet d'exister
But even just a breath of it allows me to exist
Le ciel ne s'est pas effondré sur ma tête mais à mes pieds
The sky did not collapse on my head but at my feet
Sur la machine à souffrir
On the pain machine
Qui restait là à pourrir
Which was left there to rot
Je ne suis plus le poète
I am no longer the poet
Celui que j'aurais dû être
The one I was meant to be
Les mots me sont sortis de la tête
The words escaped my mind
Je me lève chaque matin dans la victoire du quotidien
I get up every morning in the victory of everyday life
Un bout de jardin pas loin du périf'
A piece of the garden not far from the ring road
C'est là que je me sens bien
That's where I feel good
Avec ma bataille en friche
With my battle in fallow
Contributed by Kaitlyn G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@vincentlaugier6928
Superbe chanson !!