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.
Quasiment parfait
Sages comme des sauvages Lyrics
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Choisis d'aller pendus
bout de corde balancée balancée mouru
Comme devenu son propre justicier
Comme suspendu vers un étrange aller
Qui comprendras-tu, toi qui t'es fini
Dans les nœuds de la gorge coulissent les soucis
De ce qui ne se parle jamais
Quelle étrange idée, quelles étrange idée
Faire de son corps souple une écorce séchée
Avec un final du plus bel argument
Avec un silence des plus assourdissants
Jalousie des morts jalousie des zombies
Impossible à frapper celle ou celui qui fuit
Et si nous avions pu tous les sauver
Aurions réussi à tous nous sauver
Quasiment parfait, quasiment parfait
Le sinistre causé aux nouveaus sinistrés
Et le mur qui s'effondre et l'ampleur des dégâts
Qui va le réparer qui le réparera
Car ils se sont pendus, choisis d'aller pendus
La chose est moins facile que l'on ne l'aurait cru
Dans un petit carton les lettres et les objets
Dans un petit carton un genre de résumé
The lyrics of "Quasiment parfait" by Sages comme des sauvages speak to the theme of suicide and its aftermath. The opening lines, "Ils se sont pendus, Choisis d'aller pendus," directly address the act of hanging oneself. The repetition of "balancée balancée mouru" emphasizes the swinging motion of the rope, creating a haunting image.
The following lines, "Comme devenu son propre justicier, Comme suspendu vers un étrange aller," suggest that the person who chose to end their life saw themselves as their own judge and executioner. They become suspended in an eerie journey to an unknown destination, evoking a sense of isolation and strangeness.
The lyrics address the listener directly, asking "Qui comprendras-tu, toi qui t'es fini," which translates to "Who will understand you, who has finished off?" This line reflects on the deep emotional turmoil and inner struggles that might lead someone to take their own life. The imagery of "les nœuds de la gorge coulissent les soucis" (the knots in the throat slide the worries) portrays the overwhelming weight of unspoken sorrows.
The lyrics also highlight the strange idea of turning one's flexible body into a dried bark or shell, symbolizing a loss of vitality and emotional connection. The powerful final argument and deafening silence characterizing this act of self-harm are depicted as a twisted form of perfection.
The song touches on the jealousy of the dead and zombies, referring to the impossibility of striking or reaching out to someone who has already fled. The lyrics ponder the hypothetical scenario of saving everyone, suggesting that if they had succeeded in saving others, they might have saved themselves as well.
Overall, "Quasiment parfait" offers a somber reflection on suicide, its consequences, and the human struggle with unspoken pain and isolation.
Line by Line Meaning
Ils se sont pendus
They hanged themselves
Choisis d'aller pendus
Chose to go hanged
bout de corde balancée balancée mouru
End of a swinging rope, swinging, died
Comme devenu son propre justicier
Like becoming their own executioner
Comme suspendu vers un étrange aller
Like suspended towards a strange departure
Qui comprendras-tu, toi qui t'es fini
Who will understand, you who have ended
Dans les nœuds de la gorge coulissent les soucis
In the knots of the throat slide the worries
Comme pour être sûr de ne plus jamais en parler
As if to be sure to never talk about it again
De ce qui ne se parle jamais
Of what is never spoken
Quelle étrange idée, quelles étrange idée
What a strange idea, what a strange idea
Faire de son corps souple une écorce séchée
Turn one's flexible body into a dried bark
Avec un final du plus bel argument
With a final of the most beautiful argument
Avec un silence des plus assourdissants
With a deafening silence
Jalousie des morts jalousie des zombies
Envy of the dead, envy of the zombies
Impossible à frapper celle ou celui qui fuit
Impossible to strike the one who flees
Et si nous avions pu tous les sauver
And if we had been able to save them all
Aurions réussi à tous nous sauver
Would we have succeeded in saving ourselves
Quasiment parfait, quasiment parfait
Almost perfect, almost perfect
Le sinistre causé aux nouveaus sinistrés
The disaster caused to the new victims
Et le mur qui s'effondre et l'ampleur des dégâts
And the collapsing wall and the extent of the damage
Qui va le réparer qui le réparera
Who will repair it, who will fix it
Car ils se sont pendus, choisis d'aller pendus
Because they hanged themselves, chose to go hanged
La chose est moins facile que l'on ne l'aurait cru
The thing is less easy than we would have thought
Dans un petit carton les lettres et les objets
In a small box the letters and objects
Dans un petit carton un genre de résumé
In a small box, a kind of summary
Lyrics © ZAMORA PUBLISHING
Written by: Ava CARRERE, Ismael COLOMBANI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind