Offenbach… Read Full Bio ↴[see Jacques Offenbach for the French classical composer]
Offenbach is a Canadian blues rock band formed in Quebec in 1969 by Gerry Boulet, Michael Lamonthe, Jr., and Wezo. The band signed with the independent Barclay label in 1972 and released the French album Offenbach Soap Opera. Four years later, A&M provided a record deal and released the band's self-titled album in 1977. Also released that year was Never Too Tender and another self-titled LP. Lamonthe and Wezo left around that time and were replaced by Pierre Lavoie and Norman Kerr (though Kerr left soon after). In 1979, Offenbach recorded Traversion and added more new members, Breen LeBoeuf and John McVale. Four more studio albums followed — En Fusion (1980), Tonnedebrick (1983), Live a Fond D'Train (1984) and Rockorama (1985) — before the band split up in 1986. Recorded live in Montreal, the Offenbach album, Le Dernier Show, appeared in 1986. Gerry Boulet recorded two solo albums, Presque 40s in 1984 and Rendezvous Doux in 1988.
n 1996, McGale, Gravel and Leboeuf reunited as Offenbach Inc. for a reunion tour. Due to Boulet's death, they selected Martin Deschamps, who had recently won Quebec's L'Empire des futures stars competition, as the band's new vocalist. They toured extensively for two years, and released a greatest hits compilation in 1999. A second volume of hits followed in 2002.
In 2005, the band released Nature, which consisted of acoustic versions of their classic hits. It also includes one new song "L'amour est cruel" (Love is cruel). The music was written by Gravel in the 1980s and the words were later added by Deschamps. A concert at Montrteal's Bell Center on April 1, 2005, marked the 25th anniversary of Offenbach's first Forum show.
In 2018, Offenbach released Renaissance the first disc of new material in 33 years.
A L'Envers
Offenbach Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
les gens qui passent sans trouver lautre
des rue qui sressemble
des villes toujours à l'heure
des enfants qui ressemble aux fleures
y a rien à comprendre non non non
écrire ses pensée sur papier
les relire et les décrire
des ancêtre encadré au musé
l'hiver arrive en mai
les fleurs s'installe en décembre
le soleil dans une nuit de novembre
y a rien à comprendre non non non
The lyrics to Offenbach's song À l'envers, in English, speak of the passing of time and the people who come and go without finding each other. The streets always look the same and the cities seem to always be on time. Children are compared to flowers, and yet, there's nothing to understand. The song suggests writing down one's thoughts on paper, reading and describing them, forgetting them, and then laughing. It speaks of ancestors framed in museums and of winter arriving in May, flowers appearing in December and the sun shining on a November night. In essence, the lyrics suggest that life can be strange and unpredictable with no real logic or order.
The song's lyrics conjure up an image of a world that is devoid of any real meaning, structure, or sense of order. It talks about time and how it seems to pile up without any apparent reason. People come and go without finding each other, and the streets, the cities, and the children all seem to exist without any real purpose. The lyrics suggest that life is something we cannot fully comprehend, and that we are better off just enjoying it without trying to make sense of everything.
Line by Line Meaning
d'un jour à l'autre le temps s'entassent
The days keep piling up without any real change or progress.
les gens qui passent sans trouver lautre
People come and go, but most never really connect with each other.
des rue qui sressemble
The streets all look the same and unremarkable.
des villes toujours à l'heure
Cities are always moving forward and never slowing down.
des enfants qui ressemble aux fleures
Children are like flowers - beautiful, innocent, but ultimately fragile.
y a rien à comprendre non non non
There's nothing to understand about it all, it's just the way things are.
écrire ses pensée sur papier
Putting your thoughts down on paper as a way to make sense of them.
les relire et les décrire
Going back and revisiting those thoughts and finding words to accurately describe them.
tout oublier et puis en rire
Finally realizing that sometimes it's best to just forget about it and laugh at the absurdity of life.
des ancêtre encadré au musé
Looking at our ancestors' artifacts and belongings in a museum, realizing how far we've come and how different things used to be.
l'hiver arrive en mai
Things don't always happen when we expect them to.
les fleurs s'installe en décembre
Sometimes things happen completely out of season or unexpectedly.
le soleil dans une nuit de novembre
Even when things seem dark, there's always a little bit of light shining through.
y a rien à comprendre non non non
Once again, there's nothing to understand - just let it all happen and enjoy the ride.
Contributed by Landon K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Martin
on Une fille sans famille
Y a des erreur dans les paroles