The group was founded in Paris during the 1980s. Originally, they played music heavily influenced by the punk movement and depended on electric instruments. Their third album featured Anne-Gaëlle, a classically trained cellist, and marked a turning point in the group’s music toward a more acoustic sound. The group’s later efforts misleadingly took shape of casual folk songs while actually using stunning musical arrangements, experimental soundscapes and poetic lyrics rife with very dark humor.
Listeners find the influence of classic French musicians like Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens and Les Négresses Vertes.
Go Away
Têtes Raides Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A chacun d'trouver l'idéal
Alors passons-nous le mot
Dans les cités et les prés natals
Plutôt que d'se bouffer la peau
R'filons-nous les bons tuyaux
Du croix d'bois pas du ragot
Aux victimes du landal
A chacun d'trouver l'idéau
Alors passons-nous du mal
Dans les cités et les prés nataux
Plutôt que d'se bouffer la peau
R'filons-nous les bons tuyaux
Du croix d'bois pas du ragot
Go go away les démagos
Aux métèques aux esquimaux
Aux odeurs dorées boréales
Aux aztèques en morceaux
Et les tchèques au ketchup au kilo
Plutôt que d'se bouffer la peau
R'filons-nous les bons tuyaux
Du croix d'bois pas du ragot
Go go away les démagos
The lyrics to Têtes Raides's song "Go Away" are a call for unity and solidarity against demagogues and those who seek to divide and manipulate people. The song speaks to various groups, including victims of oppression ("Aux victimes du landau"), immigrants ("Aux métèques"), and indigenous peoples ("Aux aztèques"). The message is clear: rather than allowing ourselves to be pitted against each other, we should share information ("R'filons-nous les bons tuyaux") and stand together against those who seek to exploit us ("Go go away les démagos").
The repetition of the chorus reinforces this call for unity, and the inclusion of various cultures and peoples helps to broaden the message beyond one specific group or issue. The use of colloquial language ("croix d'bois") also gives the song a sense of urgency and immediacy, as if the singer is addressing their audience in a direct and personal way.
Overall, "Go Away" is a powerful message of resistance and hope, urging listeners to reject prejudice and division and stand together for a better world.
Line by Line Meaning
Aux victimes du landau
To those who have suffered from the cradle
A chacun d'trouver l'idéal
It's up to each individual to find the ideal solution
Alors passons-nous le mot
So let's spread the word
Dans les cités et les prés natals
In the cities and in the birthplace meadows
Plutôt que d'se bouffer la peau
Instead of tearing each other apart
R'filons-nous les bons tuyaux
Let's share good tips
Du croix d'bois pas du ragot
About actual facts, not rumors
Go go away les démagos
Go away, demagogues
Aux métèques aux esquimaux
To the foreigners, the Eskimos
Aux odeurs dorées boréales
To the golden scents of the North
Aux aztèques en morceaux
To the Aztecs in pieces
Et les tchèques au ketchup au kilo
And to the Czechs who love ketchup by the kilo
Contributed by Elena T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.