French singer-songwriter. He was born in Châlons-sur-Marne on 24 April 1963… Read Full Bio ↴French singer-songwriter. He was born in Châlons-sur-Marne on 24 April 1963. He's the son of the French caricaturist Cabu. From age 17, Mano Solo played guitar in a punk rock group, les Chihuahuas. He began singing his own compositions in the early nineties. Mixes ska, jazz, java, punk and chanson française.

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.

Savane
Mano Solo Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Je ne suis l'ombre de personne
J'avance dans les décombres et mon cœur résonne
Je ne suis l'ombre de personne
Mon chien me tient la main, il n'est rien que j'abandonne
Je ne suis l'ombre de personne
Les sentiers du monde t'amènent à être un homme
On oublie les frousses croisées dans la brousse
On ne sent plus rien, on ne fait plus l'malin

On ralentit pour aller plus loin
Je ne suis l'ombre de personne

Silencieux dans mon cri
Je sais qui je suis
Solitaire et endurci
Hier comme aujourd'hui

Je ne suis l'ombre de personne
La savane me gagne, et la jungle roucoule
À poil sans même un pagne, je me glisse dans la foule
Le diable m'a dit que j'étais nu
Je me suis rhabillé de mille vertus
Je ne suis l'ombre de personne
J'avance dans les décombres et mon cœur résonne
Je ne suis l'ombre de personne

Je n'ai plus ce sentiment
Si violent, si méchant
Qui malaxait mon présent
Je n'ai plus ces illusions
Ces passions, ces prisons
Qu'on abandonne sans raison

Mais je sais qui je suis
Hier comme aujourd'hui
Dans la fureur ou sans bruit
Je ne suis l'ombre de personne
J'avance dans les décombres et mon cœur résonne
Je ne suis l'ombre de personne

J'avance dans les décombres et mon cœur résonne
Je ne suis l'ombre de personne

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Mano Solo's song Savane explain the artist's sense of self and independence. He asserts that he is not a shadow of anyone and moves forward with purpose. He walks through the rubble with his heart resonating, accompanied only by his dog. The paths of the world lead one to becoming a person, while fears found in the bush are forgotten. One stops feeling and acting tough and begins to slow down in order to go farther. The artist's silence, in his own way, speaks volumes of his true identity. He is a resilient and solitary figure, and he remains just as he was yesterday.

The savannah is all-encompassing and the jungle rustles, but the artist moves through the crowd completely naked without anything covering his body. The devil tells him that he is naked, so he clothes himself in a thousand virtues. He reiterates that he is not the shadow of anyone and that his heart resonates as he advances through the debris. He no longer feels the intense and hostile emotions that once plagued him, nor does he hold onto illusions or prisons of passion without reason. He knows who he is yesterday and today, whether he is in the midst of uproar or in silence. Overall, the artist expresses his strength in being an individual and not relying on others to define his identity.

Line by Line Meaning

Je ne suis l'ombre de personne
I am not a shadow of anyone, I am unique and I walk my own path

J'avance dans les décombres et mon cœur résonne
I move forward amidst the ruins and destruction, my heart resonating with my own beat

Mon chien me tient la main, il n'est rien que j'abandonne
My dog is my loyal companion, I have nothing else to abandon

Les sentiers du monde t'amènent à être un homme
The paths of life make you become a man

On oublie les frousses croisées dans la brousse
We forget the fears encountered in the bush

On ne sent plus rien, on ne fait plus l'malin
We no longer feel anything, we no longer act tough

On ralentit pour aller plus loin
We slow down to go further

Silencieux dans mon cri
Quiet in my scream

Je sais qui je suis
I know who I am

Solitaire et endurci
Solitary and hardened

La savane me gagne, et la jungle roucoule
The savannah wins me over, and the jungle coos