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".

Toujours Etre Ailleurs
Noir Désir Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh chaque nuit se réduire en cendre
Se laisser répandre
Dans les lavabos blancs

La solution est sans doute amère
Si l'on considère
Qu'on n'sait pas où ça mène...

Quelqu'un ici pourrait-il me dire
Quelles sont les raisons qui me poussent?

Et les yeux vers l'ouest
Toujours être ailleurs
Et les mains vers l'est
J'veux toujours être ailleurs!

J'ai la nausée quand je reste assis
Si je suis couché, je n'joins pas les "debouts"

Et je souris pour le photographe
Qui vas nous figer
Notez mon épitaphe
Notez!

Je me sens si bien hier matin
Que je voudrais être à demain

Et les yeux vers l'ouest
Toujours être ailleurs
Et les mains vers l'est
J'veux toujours être ailleurs

Oh j'ai jamais pu oublier
L'odeur des endroits où j'irai
C'est seulement une question de moeurs

J'veux toujours être ailleurs

J'veux toujours être ailleurs
Toujours être ailleurs

Overall Meaning

The French lyrics of "Toujours Être Ailleurs" by Noir Désir talks about constant discontentment with one's current state and the longing to escape from it. The first verse describes a desire to dissolve and spread out in the white bathroom sinks, suggesting a desire to disappear or escape from reality. The solution to this constant dissatisfaction is described as possibly bitter, with no clear knowledge of where it leads to. The second verse asks someone to explain the reasons for their constant need to escape, highlighting the confusion and uncertainty surrounding it.

The chorus expresses the desire to always be somewhere else, with the eyes looking towards the west and the hands pointing towards the east. The lyrics describe a physical discomfort with sitting or standing still, with a desire to always be on the move. The lines "And I smile for the photographer, who will freeze us. Note my epitaph, note!" suggests a recognition of mortality and the desire to be remembered through a constant search for new experiences.

The final verse repeats the desire to always be somewhere else, with a lingering memory of the smell of places one will go to. The lyrics point to a deeper existential longing for meaning and purpose, which may never be satisfied with a constant search for something new.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh chaque nuit se réduire en cendre
Every night turning to ashes

Se laisser répandre
Letting oneself dissolve

Dans les lavabos blancs
Into the white sinks

La solution est sans doute amère
The solution is probably bitter

Si l'on considère
If we consider

Qu'on n'sait pas où ça mène...
That we don't know where it leads...

Quelqu'un ici pourrait-il me dire
Can someone here tell me

Quelles sont les raisons qui me poussent?
What are the reasons that push me?

Et les yeux vers l'ouest
And the eyes towards the west

Toujours être ailleurs
Always wanting to be elsewhere

Et les mains vers l'est
And the hands towards the east