La Noyée
Serge Gainsbourg feat. Anna Karina Lyrics
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Sur la rivière du souvenir
Et moi, courant sur la rive,
Je te crie de revenir
Mais, lentement, tu t'éloignes
Et dans ma course éperdue,
Peu à peu, je te regagne
Un peu du terrain perdu.
De temps en temps, tu t'enfonces
Dans le liquide mouvant
Ou bien, frôlant quelques ronces,
Tu hésites et tu m'attends
En te cachant la figure
Dans ta robe retroussée,
De peur que ne te défigurent
Et la honte et les regrets.
Tu n'es plus qu'une pauvre épave,
Chienne crevée au fil de l'eau
Mais je reste ton esclave
Et plonge dans le ruisseau
Quand le souvenir s'arrête
Et l'océan de l'oubli,
Brisant nos cœurs et nos têtes,
A jamais, nous réunit.
The song "La Noyée" by Serge Gainsbourg feat. Anna Karina tells the story of a person who is adrift in the river of memories, while the singer is running along the shore, calling out to the person to come back. The person slowly drifts away and the singer desperately tries to catch up, regaining some of the lost distance. The person occasionally sinks into the water or hesitates by the prickly bushes, covering their face in fear of shame and regret. Eventually, the person becomes a mere wreck, a dead dog in the river, but the singer remains their slave and dives into the stream of oblivion to be forever reunited.
The lyrics evoke a powerful sense of nostalgia, longing, and attachment to the past. The river symbolizes the flow of time and memories that one cannot control, but to which one is hopelessly bound. The singer's pursuit of the drifting person suggests a desperate attempt to hold onto a precious memory or relationship that is slipping away. The person's fear of being disfigured by shame and regret suggests that they might have done something wrong or experienced a painful loss that haunts them. The final lines suggest that even in death or forgetting, the two will always be united in some way, perhaps indicating a deep spiritual or emotional bond that transcends time and space.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu t'en vas à la dérive
You are drifting away aimlessly
Sur la rivière du souvenir
On the river of memories
Et moi, courant sur la rive,
And I, running on the bank,
Je te crie de revenir
I shout at you to come back
Mais, lentement, tu t'éloignes
But slowly, you move away
Et dans ma course éperdue,
And in my frantic race,
Peu à peu, je te regagne
Gradually, I catch up to you
Un peu du terrain perdu.
Regaining some lost ground.
De temps en temps, tu t'enfonces
From time to time, you sink deeper
Dans le liquide mouvant
In the moving water
Ou bien, frôlant quelques ronces,
Or passing by some brambles,
Tu hésites et tu m'attends
You hesitate and wait for me
En te cachant la figure
Hiding your face
Dans ta robe retroussée,
With your dress pulled up,
De peur que ne te défigurent
Afraid of disfiguring yourself
Et la honte et les regrets.
And shame and regrets.
Tu n'es plus qu'une pauvre épave,
You are no more than a poor wreck,
Chienne crevée au fil de l'eau
A dead dog in the water
Mais je reste ton esclave
But I remain your slave
Et plonge dans le ruisseau
And dive into the stream
Quand le souvenir s'arrête
When the memory stops
Et l'océan de l'oubli,
And the ocean of forgetfulness,
Brisant nos cœurs et nos têtes,
Breaking our hearts and minds,
A jamais, nous réunit.
Forever, unites us.
Contributed by Asher C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.