Sébastien Tellier is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Pa… Read Full Bio ↴Sébastien Tellier is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Paris, France. He is currently signed to Record Makers.

Tellier's first album, L'incroyable Vérité (The Incredible Truth), was released in 2001. Tellier went on tour with Air in support of the album. The track " Fantino" off the album was chosen by Sofia Coppola for the soundtrack to her 2003 film "Lost in Translation". Tellier followed L'incroyable Vérité with his second studio album Politics (2005). A particularly popular song from Politics was "La Ritournelle", a string-led tune, which featured Nigerian drummer, Tony Allen of Fela Kuti fame. "La Ritournelle" was remixed by various artists, notably in Britain by Metronomy.

Since the release of Politics, Tellier has also recorded an acoustic album of his more popular songs, Sessions (2006). The album was repackaged for the British market as Universe (2006), to include both highlights from the French CD, as well as compositions from Tellier's score for the film Narco.
His third studio album Sexuality was produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk. Like his previous album Politics, Tellier used a single term as title and theme of the album.

On 7 March 2008, it was announced by Bruno Berberes, head of EBU delegation in France, that Tellier would represent France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. It was held in Belgrade on 24 May 2008. Tellier sang "Divine". This was the first time in the history of the contest that the nominated French entry was to be performed largely in English, which caused controversy, leading to Tellier pledging to increase the amount of French in the song prior to the competition itself.

Sous les rayons du soleil
Sébastien Tellier Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Solo et délicat
Solo l'aventura
Sous les rayons du soleil
Il peint
Le bonheur des siens
Sous le soleil et la lune
Il vient
Libérer

Quelqu'un

Solo tropicalia
Solo sur cet air-là
Sous les rayons du soleil
Il peint
Le bonheur des siens
Sous le soleil et la lune
Il vient

Libérer
Quelqu'un.

Overall Meaning

In Sébastien Tellier's song "Sous les rayons du soleil", the lyrics convey a sense of freedom and liberation through the power of the sun's rays. The first verse highlights the artist's solitary and delicate nature as he embarks on an adventure under the bright and warm sun. As he basks in its rays, he creates a beautiful image of happiness for his loved ones to enjoy. The second verse continues with the theme of solo exploration, this time with a tropical style of music, still painting a picture of happiness for those around him. The lines "Il vient/Libérer/Quelqu'un" translate to "He comes/To free/Someone", indicating that the artist himself is seeking a sense of liberation under the sun, and hopes to share that feeling with others.

The repetition of "Sous le soleil et la lune" adds a mystical and poetic quality to the lyrics, as if the sun and moon represent powerful forces of nature that the artist is communing with. The use of "il" also adds a sense of mystery as the identity of the person being freed or the artist himself is left open to interpretation.

Line by Line Meaning

Solo et délicat
Alone and delicate

Solo l'aventura
Going on solo adventures

Sous les rayons du soleil
Under the rays of the sun

Il peint
He paints

Le bonheur des siens
The happiness of his loved ones

Sous le soleil et la lune
Under the sun and the moon

Il vient
He comes

Libérer
To free

Quelqu'un
Someone

Solo tropicalia
Alone in the tropical atmosphere.

Solo sur cet air-là
Solo on this tune.