Noir Désir was a French rock band. The band was founded in Bordeaux, France… Read Full Bio ↴Noir Désir was a French rock band. The band was founded in Bordeaux, France, in 1985 by singer Bertrand Cantat, drummer Denis Barthe, guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay and bassist Frédéric Vidalenc (replaced in 1996 by Jean-Paul Roy). Over the years, they became famous in France, releasing albums every few years.

Theo Hakola from Passion Fodder produced their first LP in 1987 Où veux-tu qu'je r'garde ?. This 6 tracks album shows what would become a Noir Désir trademark: finely crafted lyrics with powerful rock sound.

Noir Désir's second album, Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient), released in 1990, introduced punk rock elements to their sound. This continued with their next album, Tostaky, which contained the successful song Tostaky.

One of the most popular rock groups in France, their success continued with the release of the dance-influenced 666.667 Club, and the remix album One Trip One Noise. Their last album, 2001's Des visages des figures, was a slower, more ambitious affair. This album also contained a collaboration with a fellow francophone Manu Chao. "Des visages, des figures" was the album of the consecration for the group which won the music award (Victoire de la Musique) of the best rock album of year 2002, as well as the award of best clip for "Le Vent nous portera". Although their last album seemed to be the slowest one, the following gigs were huge rock shows where thousands of fans came to see the group.

In 2003, allegedly on a drug binge, Bertrand Cantat slapped his girlfriend, Marie Trintignant during an argument in a hotel room in Lithuania. As she fell, her head hit the bed, and she consequently bled to death. Marie Trintignant was a popular French actress and was working on a movie. A Lithuanian judge sentenced Cantat to 8 years in prison after a jury convicted him of manslaughter. He was sentenced in Lithuania and served his sentence in a prison near Toulouse in France.

In September 2005, an album, En public, which contains highlights of their last tour. They also released a DVD set, Noir Désir en images, which contains various live performances, footage and videos. Special permission was obtained in order to allow the imprisoned Cantat to participate in the development of those.

Noir Désir members have not ruled out the possibility of re-forming once Cantat is released from jail. Cantat was released early on account of good behaviour on October 16th, 2007, but immediately retreated to his house near Bordeaux. At the time, he would not speak to the press regarding his musical future.

In November 2008, two free tracks were released. The band wished to show, with this release, that productive and cathartic, works from Noir Désir still impregnate the French scene with intellectual and emotional abuse.

Teyssot-Gay has stated that the group is currently in the process of composing and recording a new album which he feels should be finished in 2009. However according to a May 14, 2009 article in Le Parisien the album will not be ready until January 2010.

On November 29, 2010 it was announced that guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay was leaving the band citing "emotional, human and musical differences" with lead singer Cantat.

On November 30, 2010 band's drummer Denis Barthe announced that Noir Désir is disbanded for good and that is useless to let the band live with "artificial respiration".

Lolita Nie En Bloc
Noir Désir Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Lolita nie en bloc elle navigue au loin sous
Les cils à cent lieues de se douter que
Les silences et la jalousie la guettent
Elle oublie la liste et l'allonge encore elle veut s'isoler
Et alors elle s'absorbe dans la contemplation de ses pieds

Un ange passe
Un ange passe

Et puis son doigt décrit dans l'air des étoiles
Ou bien des éclairs elle ignore si superbement
Les sentiments les aléas de l'amour
Elle s'avance vers la fenêtre abandonnée lascive
Et elle couvre le ciel de mille signes étranges
Et inconnus de tous

Un ange passe
Un ange passe

Un ange passe
Un ange passe

Désolé Lola je n'ai pas su déchiffrer le sens
Secret de tes gestes lents aérés, simulacres ou
Magie futile à moins que le vide et l'ennui
Ne s'emparent de toi Lolita et si cette bulle pleine
De rien voulait se crever enfin

Un ange passe
Un ange passe

Overall Meaning

The song begins with the singer, Lolita, navigating far away under her lashes, oblivious to the fact that silence and jealousy are lurking around her. She forgets her list and continues to stretch herself, wanting to isolate herself. She becomes absorbed in contemplating her feet until an angel passes. Then, her finger depicts stars or lightning in the air, ignoring the ups and downs of love. She moves towards an abandoned window, becoming lascivious and covering the sky with thousands of unknown and strange signs.

At this point, the singer, who has been observing Lolita, apologizes, saying that he could not decipher the secret meaning behind her slow, airy gestures, whether they are similes or futile magic, or if she is overwhelmed with emptiness and boredom. The song ends with Lolita's bubble, full of nothing, finally bursting if she so wishes.

The lyrics of the song, "Lolita nie en bloc," from the French rock band Noir Désir, have numerous interpretations. The song is about Lolita, a character from Vladimir Nabokov's infamous novel of the same name. The lyrics suggest that she is floating through life, ignorant of the dangers around her.

Line by Line Meaning

Lolita nie en bloc elle navigue au loin sous
Lolita never in a group sails far away

Les cils à cent lieues de se douter que
Her eyelashes not even suspect

Les silences et la jalousie la guettent
Silences and jealousy are watching her

Elle oublie la liste et l'allonge encore elle veut s'isoler
She forgets the list and keeps stretching, wanting to be alone

Et alors elle s'absorbe dans la contemplation de ses pieds
And then she loses herself in contemplating her feet

Un ange passe
An angel passes

Et puis son doigt décrit dans l'air des étoiles
And then her finger draws stars in the air

Ou bien des éclairs elle ignore si superbement
Or maybe lightning, she ignores it so perfectly

Les sentiments les aléas de l'amour
Feelings and the unpredictability of love

Elle s'avance vers la fenêtre abandonnée lascive
She moves towards the abandoned, lascivious window

Et elle couvre le ciel de mille signes étranges
And she covers the sky with a thousand strange signs

Et inconnus de tous
Unknown to all

Désolé Lola je n'ai pas su déchiffrer le sens
Sorry Lola, I couldn't decipher the meaning

Secret de tes gestes lents aérés, simulacres ou
The secret of your slow, breezy movements, illusions or

Magie futile à moins que le vide et l'ennui
Futile magic unless it's the emptiness and boredom

Ne s'emparent de toi Lolita et si cette bulle pleine
Taking hold of you Lolita, and if this full bubble

De rien voulait se crever enfin
Of nothing wanted to finally burst

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Bertrand Cantat, Denis Barthe, Frederic Vidalenc, Serge Teyssot Gay

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS