Sages comme des sauvages is a… Read Full Bio ↴Sages comme des sauvages, a worldplay.
Sages comme des sauvages is a French duo that implies much more than one country and two people: their debut album Largue la peau is furrowed by journeys and returns, musing and borrowings. Their instrumentarium is linked to their lives.
Ismaël brought back a bouzouki from Greece (where Ava grew up), and a cavaquinho from Brazil (where his mother lived for a while). Ava plays a rare Greek tambourine called defi, that she sets on her lap, inserting her knees inside the drum and hitting the metal jingles with a Chinese chopstick she found in the kitchen. They each write their own songs, composing together, each following their natural slope, Ismaël favoring sophistication, Ava more inclined towards the unvarnished. They are obsessed with music from La Réunion and love to sing in creole.
The name “Sages comme des sauvages” is a pun, a wordplay. In French, the expression “sages comme des images” means to be seen and not heard, literally “tamed/wise as a picture/image”. By replacing the word image with savage, the duet implies that the wise ones might not be as tamed as they seem and certainly no silent postcards. Like any good pun, their name is hard to translate, but no more than Einstürzende Neubauten.
Their debut album “Largue la peau” (Drop the skin) was released in France in September 2015 and was well received by the national radios. Since then the duet has been touring intensively across France and Belgium, spreading their unique songs, subtly cobbled together, intuitive and knowledgeable at the same time, woven in colourful moving figures, unexpected rhythms and harmonies.
LA RESERVE
Sages comme des sauvages Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La main prend le verre
Les coudes se plient
L′alcool se sert
Et ça coule
Et ça gronde
Et ça couve
Comme une bombe
T'es perspicace
Ton corps s′élance
T'es pleine d'audace
Et tu brailles
Et tu piailles
Tu la veux
Ta médaille
Les yeux se perdent
Les mots palpitent
Les lèvres débordent
Le sens te quitte
Et t′es saoul
Et tu fouille
Vers le fond
Et t′es rond
Le réveil sonne
T'es encore mort
Tous ces gens qui
Frappent à ta porte
Et tu crames
Et tu te plains
Et tu planes
Et tu crains
Comme un indien
Tu bois pour que ça serve
Comme la méduse hirsute
Défend Minerve
Ton arme à toi,
C′est la bave et la verve
Comme un indien
Tu bois pour quitter la réserve
La nuit est blanche,
Peuplé de tronc
Ta mémoire tranche
Et tu vois flou
Et tu trembles
Et t'es lourde
Et tu penches
Et t′es sourde
T'a trop parlé
T′es mal tombé
Je préfère pas
Tout te raconter
Et t'es seule dans ta marre
Et ta mal à la gueule
T'es sous la douche
ça te reviens,
Les mots remontent,
Mais pas les tiens
Et tu ris,
Et tu fronces,
Tes sourcils
Qui s′enfoncent
Tu te demandes,
à quoi ça rime
Pourquoi tu programme
Ton abîme
Et le cou
Dans le trou,
Et t′oublies
Et c'est tout.
Comme un indien
Tu bois pour que ça serve
Comme la méduse hirsute
Défend Minerve
Ton arme à toi,
C′est la bave et la verve
Comme un indien
Tu bois pour quitter la réserve
Comme un indien
Tu bois pour que ça serve
Comme la méduse hirsute
Défend Minerve
Ton arme à toi,
C'est la bave et la verve
Comme un indien
Tu bois pour quitter la réserve
The song "La Réserve" by Sages comme des sauvages tells the story of a person indulging in alcohol to escape their problems. The first verse sets the scene with the hand lifting a glass and the alcohol flowing "comme une bombe" (like a bomb) before the person starts to become more confident and bold, "pleine d'audace" (full of audacity), and seeks recognition for their actions, wanting "ta médaille" (your medal).
The second verse shows the negative effects of the alcohol as the person loses control of their words and actions, becoming "saoul" (drunk), "fouille" (searching) for something at the bottom, and feeling dizzy "tu penches" (you tilt) and "sourde" (deaf). The consequences of their actions catch up with them as they wake up feeling dead, with people knocking at their door, and they start to question their actions and the purpose of their self-destructive behavior, wondering "à quoi ça rime" (what's the point) and why they "programme ton abîme" (plan your own downfall).
The chorus repeats the line "Comme un indien, tu bois pour quitter la réserve" (like an Indian, you drink to leave the reservation), drawing a metaphor between Native American reservations and the person's own situation where they feel trapped and want to escape through alcohol. The "méduse hirsute" (hirsute jellyfish) references the myth of Perseus, who used the reflection in the jellyfish's polished surface as a mirror to avoid Medusa's gaze, highlighting the person's desire to use alcohol as a shield to hide from reality.
Line by Line Meaning
Le bras se lève
The arm rises up
La main prend le verre
The hand picks up the glass
Les coudes se plient
The elbows bend
L'alcool se sert
The alcohol is poured
Et ça coule
And it pours out
Et ça gronde
And it rumbles
Et ça couve
And it simmers
Comme une bombe
Like a bomb waiting to explode
Avoir des passes
Being skilled at something
T'es perspicace
You're perceptive
Ton corps s'élance
Your body springs forward
T'es pleine d'audace
You're full of audacity
Et tu brailles
And you shout
Et tu piailles
And you whine
Tu la veux
You want it
Ta médaille
Your medal
Les yeux se perdent
The eyes get lost
Les mots palpitent
The words are racing
Les lèvres débordent
The lips overflow
Le sens te quitte
The meaning leaves you
Et t'es saoul
And you're drunk
Et tu fouilles
And you search
Vers le fond
Towards the bottom
Et t'es rond
And you're dazed
Le réveil sonne
The alarm clock rings
T'es encore mort
You're still dead
Tous ces gens qui
All these people who
Frappent à ta porte
Knock at your door
Et tu crames
And you burn
Et tu te plains
And you complain
Et tu planes
And you're high
Et tu crains
And you're afraid
Comme un indien
Like an Indian
Tu bois pour que ça serve
You drink for a purpose
Comme la méduse hirsute
Like the hairy jellyfish
Défend Minerve
Defending Minerva
Ton arme à toi, C'est la bave et la verve
Your weapon is your saliva and your wit
Tu bois pour quitter la réserve
You drink to leave the reserve
La nuit est blanche, Peuplé de tronc
The night is white, filled with tree trunks
Ta mémoire tranche
Your memory is sharp
Et tu vois flou
And you see blurry
Et tu trembles
And you tremble
Et t'es lourde
And you're heavy
Et tu penches
And you lean
Et t'es sourde
And you're deaf
T'a trop parlé
You talked too much
T'es mal tombé
You fell badly
Je préfère pas
I'd rather not
Tout te raconter
Tell you everything
Et t'es seule dans ta marre
And you're alone in your swamp
Et ta mal à la gueule
And your head hurts
T'es sous la douche
You're in the shower
ça te reviens, Les mots remontent, Mais pas les tiens
It comes back to you, the words come up, but not yours
Et tu ris, Et tu fronces, Tes sourcils Qui s'enfoncent
And you laugh, and you frown, your eyebrows sinking in
Tu te demandes, à quoi ça rime
You wonder, what is the point
Pourquoi tu programme Ton abîme
Why are you programming your own downfall
Et le cou, Dans le trou, Et t'oublies, Et c'est tout.
And the neck, in the hole, and you forget, and that's it.
Comme un indien
Like an Indian
Tu bois pour que ça serve
You drink for a purpose
Comme la méduse hirsute
Like the hairy jellyfish
Défend Minerve
Defending Minerva
Ton arme à toi, C'est la bave et la verve
Your weapon is your saliva and your wit
Comme un indien
Like an Indian
Tu bois pour quitter la réserve
You drink to leave the reserve
Contributed by Jackson I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.