The most iconic song to many French people, and possibly the song that put him on the map, was the huge 70's French hit "Laisse Béton" (the story - told with a great deal of humour - of someone who enters a bar and gets mugged for everything he owns, from his leather jacket, to his jeans, his boots, and ends up in an alley without any clothes on).
Renaud 'came back' in 2002 with a huge hit 'Manhattan-Kaboul' (featuring Belgian singer Axelle Red), comparing the lives of a Puerto Rican in NYC to an Afghan girl in Kabul in 2001. This song catapulted his latest album to the top of the charts and earned him various awards in France. His latest album was published in october 2006 and was called "Rouge sang".
La ballade Nord-Irlandaise
Renaud Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Là où la chanson n'en verra jamais
Là où les arbres n'ont jamais donné
Que des grenades dégoupillées
Jusqu'à Derry ma bien aimée
Sur mon bateau j'ai navigué
J'ai dit aux hommes qui se battaient
Buvons un verre, allons pêcher
Pas une guerre ne pourra durer
Lorsque la bière et l'amitié
Et la musique nous ferons chanter
Tuez vos dieux à tout jamais
Sous aucune croix l'amour ne se plaît
Ce sont les hommes pas les curés
Qui font pousser les orangers
Je voulais planter un oranger
Là où la chanson n'en verra jamais
Il a fleuri et il a donné
Les fruits sucrés de la liberté
In Renaud's song La ballade Nord-Irlandaise, the lyrics depict a journey to a troubled place, Northern Ireland, with the intention of planting an orange tree. The singer, through his actions, is sending a message of peace and unity - that the sweet fruits of liberty can only come from togetherness, and not from violence and conflict. The opening lyrics 'J'ai voulu planter un oranger' (I wanted to plant an orange tree) suggest that the singer has a dream that is out of the ordinary, something that defies the hardship, suffering and violence that is common in the country.
By choosing to plant an orange tree in Northern Ireland, an act that may seem trivial to some, the singer symbolizes hope, and gives a voice to the oppressed people of the region. The orange color of the fruit represents the Protestant community in Ireland, but the tree itself is chosen by the singer also as a symbol of peace - a peace that is achieved through friendship, music, and alcohol, as he sings in the second stanza.
The lyrics speak to the futility of wars, political and religious differences, and come off as a call for coexistence in a region that has been plagued by sectarian conflict. The line 'Tuez vos dieux à tout jamais, sous aucune croix l'amour ne se plaît' (Kill your gods forever, love takes no pleasure under any cross) calls out the religious and cultural divides that have fueled centuries of conflict and proposes that we seek liberation from prejudices and intolerance to find true peace.
Overall, La ballade Nord-Irlandaise is a powerful and poignant song, that uses the metaphor of planting an orange tree to speak to the complex realities of a divided society consumed by violence and hatred.
Line by Line Meaning
J'ai voulu planter un oranger
I wanted to plant an orange tree
Là où la chanson n'en verra jamais
Where no song will ever be heard
Là où les arbres n'ont jamais donné
Where trees have never yielded
Que des grenades dégoupillées
Only unpinned grenades
Jusqu'à Derry ma bien aimée
As far as my beloved Derry
Sur mon bateau j'ai navigué
I sailed on my boat
J'ai dit aux hommes qui se battaient
I said to the men who were fighting
Je viens planter un oranger
I come to plant an orange tree
Buvons un verre, allons pêcher
Let's have a drink, let's go fishing
Pas une guerre ne pourra durer
No war can last
Lorsque la bière et l'amitié
When beer and friendship
Et la musique nous ferons chanter
And music will make us sing
Tuez vos dieux à tout jamais
Kill your gods forever
Sous aucune croix l'amour ne se plaît
Love is not pleased under any cross
Ce sont les hommes pas les curés
It is men, not priests
Qui font pousser les orangers
Who make orange trees grow
Je voulais planter un oranger
I wanted to plant an orange tree
Là où la chanson n'en verra jamais
Where no song will ever be heard
Il a fleuri et il a donné
It bloomed and it yielded
Les fruits sucrés de la liberté
The sweet fruits of freedom
Lyrics © MINO MUSIC
Written by: . DP, RENAUD PIERRE MANUEL SECHAN, PATRICK MARTIN CUSAK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@henryosullivan9980
I am irish and this song means so much to the irish people because maybe some french if not all of them understand what Ireland went and is going through , Thank you Renaud
@jldaniel.lefranc
Ireland has an immense musical folklore that touches us French, by the depth of the songs and all the emotion that it conveys, which is universal by its message.
@fredericbertran266
We re friends
@gavreleric3493
This song makes me cry each time I listen it and I am not Irish. This melody is wonderful, universal and ageless I guess. Thank you !
@mosau89
Ireland is wonderful. Never forget the trip and good time I had there. The Irish people I met were very warmheart.
@Kilkeny1976
Love Ireland, moved to over there 15 years ago, still no plan to go back to France.
@pascaledeschamps393
Quel hymne à la paix,
Merci Renaud pour ce moment sublime, j'adore 🤘
@paulethomas2763
0
@antoinettesinger5630
On est en train de l apprendre dans notre chorale . Beaucoup de frissons ! Je ne la connaissais pas, elle est juste trop belle et poignante .
@pascalherrbrecht140
J ai 58 ans ...mon cœur ❤ ce serre a chaque écoute vive la liberté........