Salsa Parasol
Philippe Lavil Lyrics

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C'était dans l'automne austral il faisait encore chaud
A l'heure où toutes les gazelles viennent au bord de l'eau
Et toi tu m'as dit soudain
Que jamais notre vie
Ne pourrait être aussi belle qu'aujourd'hui
Pirogues arrêtez le temps oh oh
Pirogues allez doucement

Savanna Kumba
Oh savane africana
Va dire au sorcier
Que je l'attends déjà
Savanna Kumba demain c'est l'avion cargo
Va dire au sorcier que pour moi c'est trop tôt

Savanna Kumba
Oh savane africana
Les serments jurés
Ne se déferont pas
Savanna Kumba
Qu'il fasse devant le chango
La magie du temps
Et le signe de l'eau

Déjà dans l'automne austral
Les oiseaux migrateurs
Partaient loin du Sénégal
Éternels voyageurs
Et nous si tu t'en souviens
On parlait du bonheur
Le sable au creux de nos mains
Filait les heures
Pirogues arrêtez le temps oh oh
Pirogues allez doucement

Savanna Kumba
Oh savane africana
Va dire au sorcier
Que je l'attends déjà
Savanna Kumba demain c'est l'avion cargo
Va dire au sorcier que pour moi c'est trop tôt

Savanna Kumba
Oh savane africana
Les serments jurés
Ne se déferont pas
Savanna Kumba
Qu'il fasse devant le chango

La magie du temps
Et le signe de l'eau

Overall Meaning

The song "Salsa Parasol" by Philippe Lavil is about reminiscing a beautiful moment in the past and longing to relive it again. The lyrics describe an autumn evening in Africa, where the weather was still warm, and the gazelles came to the water's edge. The singer's lover tells him that they will never have a moment as beautiful as the present. They beg for time to stop, and for the moment to last forever.

The title "Salsa Parasol" is a play on words. "Salsa" refers to the lively Latin American dance that the song is named after. "Parasol" means umbrella, which is likely a reference to the sunshade that one uses to shield oneself from the sun. The song's mood is joyful, but there is a tint of melancholy that runs through it. The singer is nostalgic for a time that has already passed, and they are struggling to let go of their memories.

In the second verse, Savanna Kumba is called upon to deliver a message to a sorcerer, saying that the singer is waiting. The song ends with a plea for the sorcerer to make time stand still and for the magic of water to bring them back to that perfect moment once again.

Overall, the song is about the longing for timeless perfection, and the realization that one can never truly recapture a perfect moment in time. It is a beautiful ode to the fleeting nature of happiness.

Line by Line Meaning

C'était dans l'automne austral il faisait encore chaud
It was in the Southern autumn when it was still warm

A l'heure où toutes les gazelles viennent au bord de l'eau
At the time when all the gazelles come to the water's edge

Et toi tu m'as dit soudain
And suddenly you said to me

Que jamais notre vie
That our life could never

Ne pourrait être aussi belle qu'aujourd'hui
Be as beautiful as today

Pirogues arrêtez le temps oh oh
Pirogues, stop time oh oh

Pirogues allez doucement
Pirogues, go slowly

Savanna Kumba
Savanna Kumba

Oh savane africana
Oh African savannah

Va dire au sorcier
Go tell the sorcerer

Que je l'attends déjà
That I'm already waiting for him