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.
Le Condamné à Mort
Têtes Raides Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que ma main plus légère et grave qu’une veuve
Effleure sous mon col, sans que ton cœur s’émeuve,
Laisse tes dents poser leur sourire de loup.
Ô viens mon beau soleil, ô viens ma nuit d’Espagne,
Arrive dans mes yeux qui seront morts demain.
Arrive, ouvre ma porte, apporte-moi ta main,
Le ciel peut s’éveiller, les étoiles fleurir,
Ni les fleurs soupirer, et des prés l’herbe noire
Accueillir la rosée où le matin va boire,
Le clocher peut sonner, moi seul je vais mourir.
Ô viens mon ciel de rose, ô ma corbeille blonde !
Visite dans sa nuit ton condamné à mort.
Arrache-toi la chair, tue, escalade, mords,
Mais viens, pose ta joue contre ma tête ronde.
Nous n’avions pas fini de nous parler d’amour.
Nous n’avions pas fini de fumer nos gitanes.
On peut se demander pourquoi les cours condamnent
Un assassin si beau qu’il fait pâlir le jour.
Amour viens sur ma bouche, amour ouvre tes portes !
Traverse les couloirs, descends, marche léger,
Vole dans l’escalier, plus souple qu’un berger,
Plus soutenu par l’air qu’un vol de feuilles mortes.
Ô Traverse les murs , s’il le faut marche au bord
Des toits, des océans , couvre-toi de lumière,
Use de la menace, use de la prière,
Mais viens, ô ma frégate, une heure avant ma mort.
The lyrics of "Le condamné à mort" by Têtes Raides tells the story of a person facing their imminent death sentence. The opening lines "Sur mon cou, sans armure et sans haine, mon cou / Que ma main plus légère et grave qu’une veuve / Effleure sous mon col, sans que ton cœur s’émeuve, / Laisse tes dents poser leur sourire de loup" presents a powerful image of the condemned person, feeling the light touch of their executioner on their neck and asking for a final smile before they go. The song then shifts to a longing for the beauty of the world, with the singer calling for the sun and the night of Spain to visit them, and to take them away to the countryside before they die. The final section of the song is a plea for love, for it to come and visit the singer before they pass away, highlighting the tragedy of being executed before fully experiencing love.
The lyrics of "Le condamné à mort" are based on a poem of the same name by French poet Jean Genet. Genet wrote the poem in 1942 while he was in prison, and it was published in 1945 with the help of Jean-Paul Sartre. The poem was based on the true story of a man named Maurice Pilorge, who was executed in 1939 for murder. Têtes Raides's version of the poem was released in 1997 as part of an album titled "Le bout du toit" and has since become one of their most famous songs.
Line by Line Meaning
Sur mon cou, sans armure et sans haine, mon cou
On my neck, without armor and without hatred, my neck
Que ma main plus légère et grave qu’une veuve
That my hand, lighter and heavier than a widow's, barely brushes against
Effleure sous mon col, sans que ton cœur s’émeuve,
It, under my collar, without stirring your heart,
Laisse tes dents poser leur sourire de loup.
Let your teeth show their wolf's smile.
Ô viens mon beau soleil, ô viens ma nuit d’Espagne,
Oh come, my beautiful sun, oh come, my Spanish night,
Arrive dans mes yeux qui seront morts demain.
Arrive in my eyes which will be dead tomorrow.
Arrive, ouvre ma porte, apporte-moi ta main,
Arrive, open my door, bring me your hand,
Mène-moi loin d’ici battre notre campagne.
Lead me far away from here to roam our countryside.
Le ciel peut s’éveiller, les étoiles fleurir,
The sky may awaken, the stars may bloom,
Ni les fleurs soupirer, et des prés l’herbe noire
Neither the flowers sigh, nor the black grass of the meadow
Accueillir la rosée où le matin va boire,
Receive the dew where the morning will drink,
Le clocher peut sonner, moi seul je vais mourir.
The bell tower may toll, but I alone am going to die.
Ô viens mon ciel de rose, ô ma corbeille blonde !
Oh come, my rose-colored sky, oh my blonde basket!
Visite dans sa nuit ton condamné à mort.
Visit your condemned to death in his night.
Arrache-toi la chair, tue, escalade, mords,
Tear yourself apart, kill, climb, bite,
Mais viens, pose ta joue contre ma tête ronde.
But come, lay your cheek against my round head.
Nous n’avions pas fini de nous parler d’amour.
We hadn't finished talking about love.
Nous n’avions pas fini de fumer nos gitanes.
We hadn't finished smoking our Gitanes cigarettes.
On peut se demander pourquoi les cours condamnent
One may wonder why the courts condemn
Un assassin si beau qu’il fait pâlir le jour.
An assassin so beautiful that it makes the day pale.
Amour viens sur ma bouche, amour ouvre tes portes !
Love come on my lips, love open your doors!
Traverse les couloirs, descends, marche léger,
Cross the corridors, descend, walk lightly,
Vole dans l’escalier, plus souple qu’un berger,
Fly down the stairs, more agile than a shepherd,
Plus soutenu par l’air qu’un vol de feuilles mortes.
More sustained by the air than a flight of dead leaves.
Ô Traverse les murs , s’il le faut marche au bord
Oh cross the walls, if necessary, walk along the edge
Des toits, des océans , couvre-toi de lumière,
Of roofs, of oceans, cover yourself with light,
Use de la menace, use de la prière,
Use the threat, use the prayer,
Mais viens, ô ma frégate, une heure avant ma mort.
But come, oh my frigate, an hour before my death.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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