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.
La lune
Mano Solo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Un peu bourré, un peu perdu
Mes pas suivaient le ruisseau
D'un putain de caniveau
Sa bouche donnait à rêver
À n'importe lequel du quartier
C'était une de ces grosses keubla
Elle s'appelait Seena
Allonge mon vieux, c'est mon casse-dale
Et la lune reflétait par terre, ouais comme une étoile de mer
Et la lune reflétait par terre, ouais comme une étoile de mer
J'ai suivi ses pas qui claquaient devant moi
Au cent-vingt-huit de la rue Saint Denis
On n'espère pas, on oublie
Que la lune reflétait par terre
Comme une étoile de mer
Que la lune reflétait par terre
Comme une étoile de mer
Et je marche dans les rues
Sans savoir, sans savoir vraiment
Ni comment, ni pourquoi, oh-oh-oh
J'en suis arrivé là
Et la lune reflétait par terre, ouais comme une étoile de mer
Et la lune reflétait par terre, ouais comme une étoile de mer
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
Et la lune reflétait par terre comme une étoile de mer
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
The song "Sha lá lá" by Mano Solo tells the story of a man describing his encounter with a woman named Seena. He walks in the streets, a little drunk and lost, and follows Seena's footsteps until they reach her place. She is described as being desirable to all men in the neighborhood. The man pays her for sex, and she becomes his casse-dale, meaning his "break-fall," possibly implying he uses her for physical comfort. The moon is repeatedly mentioned throughout the song, reflecting on the ground like a starfish, symbolizing the distorted reality and surreal ambiance of the night.
The lyrics can be interpreted as a commentary on the dangers of nightlife, sexual objectification, and the desperation of certain individuals. The lyrics' repetition and the non-linear narrative structure enhance the dreamlike atmosphere, making it seem like the events are a surreal fantasy. However, the depressing reality of the situation is revealed in the man's realization that he doesn't know how he got there or why his life has led him to this point.
Overall, "Sha lá lá" is a poignant and insightful critique of the escapism and desperation that can arise from living in a harsh urban environment.
Line by Line Meaning
C'était un soir de lune
It was a moonlit night
Un peu bourré, un peu perdu
A little drunk, a little lost
Mes pas suivaient le ruisseau
My steps followed the stream
D'un putain de caniveau
Of a damn gutter
Sa bouche donnait à rêver
Her mouth made you dream
À n'importe lequel du quartier
Of any person in the neighborhood
C'était une de ces grosses keubla
She was one of those voluptuous girls
Elle s'appelait Seena
Her name was Seena
Alors le rêve, ouais ça coûte cent balles
So the dream, yeah it costs one hundred bucks
Allonge mon vieux, c'est mon casse-dale
Hand it over man, it's my bread and butter
Et la lune reflétait par terre, ouais comme une étoile de mer
And the moon reflected on the ground, yeah like a starfish
J'ai suivi ses pas qui claquaient devant moi
I followed her steps that echoed in front of me
Au cent-vingt-huit de la rue Saint Denis
At one hundred and twenty-eight of Saint Denis street
On n'espère pas, on oublie
We don't hope, we forget
Que la lune reflétait par terre
That the moon reflected on the ground
Comme une étoile de mer
Like a starfish
Et je marche dans les rues
And I walk in the streets
Sans savoir, sans savoir vraiment
Without knowing, without really knowing
Ni comment, ni pourquoi, oh-oh-oh
Neither how, nor why, oh-oh-oh
J'en suis arrivé là
I ended up here
Et la lune reflétait par terre, ouais comme une étoile de mer
And the moon reflected on the ground, yeah like a starfish
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
And the moon on the ground like a starfish
Et la lune reflétait par terre comme une étoile de mer
And the moon reflected on the ground like a starfish
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
And the moon on the ground like a starfish
Et la lune reflétait par terre comme une étoile de mer
And the moon reflected on the ground like a starfish
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
And the moon on the ground like a starfish
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
And the moon on the ground like a starfish
Et la lune reflétait par terre comme une étoile de mer
And the moon reflected on the ground like a starfish
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
And the moon on the ground like a starfish
Et la lune par terre comme une étoile de mer
And the moon on the ground like a starfish
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Frederic Kleinberg, Emmanuel Cabut
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind