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.
Le monde entier
Mano Solo Lyrics
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À quel point tu t'es trompée, tu t'es trompée
Le monde entier n'a meme pas vu qu'on t'avait retrouvée pendue
À tes pieds, deux trois dessins et des lettres à tes copains
Mais moi, j'étais trop loin
J'étais même pas là pour te tendre la main
Le monde entier n'est pas là pour ça
Le monde entier ne t'en a pas voulu autant que moi
Si tu m'avais demandé, moi, je t'aurais dis que dans la vie
Ce qui compte c'est pas l'issue mais c'est le combat
C'est le combat
Qu'il faut rendre ce que tu reçois
Les mauvais coups comme les plus bas
Et que rien que la beauté du geste
Te donne raison sur ce que tu détestes
Mais moi, j'étais trop loin
J'étais même pas là pour te tendre la main
Aller
Moi, j'avais pour toi des rêves plein d'entrain
Qui finissaient pas au cimetière pantin
Même si moi aussi
J'ai eu mille fois l'envie de dire va te faire foutre la vie
Mais tu vois, il me reste encore une bonne droite
Et je ne l'ai pas encore collée
Dans la gueule du monde entier
Du monde entier
Le monde entier ne saura jamais à quel point j'étais triste
À quel point tu t'es trompée, tu t'es trompée
Le monde entier n'a même pas vu qu'on t'avait retrouvée pendue
À tes pieds deux trois dessins et des lettres à tes copains
In Mano Solo's song "Le monde entier", the singer laments the loss of a loved one who took her own life, and the feeling of being unable to help her. The first verse reveals the depth of his sadness, as the "whole world" will never know how much he was hurting or how much she was mistaken. The second verse reveals that she hung herself and left behind drawings and letters to her friends. The chorus repeats that the world didn't cry or offer a helping hand like he wished he could have.
The third verse takes a turn towards a philosophical reflection on life. He believes that what matters is not the outcome, but the fight. He believes that even bad things can be repaid or "combat"ed, and that doing so is worth it just for the beauty of the act. The bridge returns to his own sadness and his feelings of being too far away to help and being unable to share the dreams he had for her. However, he holds onto the hope of being able to still make a difference in the world by fighting back against its cruelty.
Line by Line Meaning
Le monde entier ne saura jamais à quel point j'étais triste
No one in the whole world would ever know how deeply sad I felt
À quel point tu t'es trompée, tu t'es trompée
How wrong you were, you were so wrong
Le monde entier n'a meme pas vu qu'on t'avait retrouvée pendue
The whole world didn't even notice when we found you hanging
À tes pieds, deux trois dessins et des lettres à tes copains
At your feet, there were two or three drawings and letters to your friends
Mais moi, j'étais trop loin
But I was too far away
J'étais même pas là pour te tendre la main
I wasn't even there to lend you a hand
Le monde entier n'a pas chialé
The whole world didn't shed a tear
Le monde entier n'est pas là pour ça
The whole world is not here for that
Le monde entier ne t'en a pas voulu autant que moi
The world didn't blame you as much as I did
Si tu m'avais demandé, moi, je t'aurais dis que dans la vie
If you had asked me, I would have told you that in life,
Ce qui compte c'est pas l'issue mais c'est le combat
What matters is not the outcome, but the fight
Qu'il faut rendre ce que tu reçois
You have to give back what you receive
Les mauvais coups comme les plus bas
The bad things as well as the lowest
Et que rien que la beauté du geste
That only the beauty of the gesture
Te donne raison sur ce que tu détestes
Gives you the right to hate what you hate
Mais moi, j'étais trop loin
But I was too far away
J'étais même pas là pour te tendre la main
I wasn't even there to lend you a hand
Moi, j'avais pour toi des rêves plein d'entrain
I had for you dreams full of enthusiasm
Qui finissaient pas au cimetière pantin
That didn't end up in the puppet cemetery
Même si moi aussi
Even if I
J'ai eu mille fois l'envie de dire va te faire foutre la vie
A thousand times I felt like telling life to fuck off
Mais tu vois, il me reste encore une bonne droite
But you see, I still have a good punch left
Et je ne l'ai pas encore collée
And I haven't used it yet
Dans la gueule du monde entier
In the face of the whole world
Du monde entier
Of the whole world
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Emmanuel Cabut
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind