Today they are one of the longest-standing Breton music groups surviving from the folk-rock revival of the 1970s. A popular live band in France, Tri Yann is famous for their outlandish costumes and theatrical presentation on stage. The band members are multi-instrumentalists, and usually the number of instruments on the stage is usually far greater than the number of musicians.
Current members:
Jean-Louis Jossic - Vocals, bombarde
Jean Chocun - Vocals, mandolin, guitar
Jean-Paul Corbineau - Vocals, acoustic guitar
Gérard Goron - Vocals, drums
Jean-Luc Chevalier - Electric guitar, bass guitar
Konan Mevel - Bagpipes, flutes
Fred Bourgeois - Vocals, keyboards
Christophe Peloil - Vocals, violin
Former members:
Bernard Baudriller - Bass guitar
Jérôme Gasmi - Drums
Christope Le Helley - Flute
Le Soleil Est Noir
Tri Yann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fils de deux muets, fils du Pays,
Rebelle semblant entre deux mondes,
Tire d'aile sanglant de quel pays?
Feu noir sur trois abers,
Sang noir sur dix estuaires,
Sept îles et fer en pluie.
Battu de vent, flottant bastion,
Battu, battant sang pavillon,
Soleil levant, noir, sans rayons.
Noirs l'eau, le feu, la terre,
Noirs de feu les deux airs,
Le vent, la brume aussi.
Mer en brume soleil déforme,
Terre en brume vieillie diforme;
Doigts sont changeants en dix corneilles,
Poissons sanglants en dix orteils.
Pigeons de feu sur mer,
Poison de gueux sous mer,
Sept îles et fer en pluie.
Morte saison sans floraison,
Morte maison, sang, déraison;
Saisons perdues en oraisons,
Moissons perdues sans rébellion.
Feuillaison en hiver,
Fenaison en désert,
Grésil de fer en pluie.
Discours de feu, discours de veau,
Concours de peu, discours dévots,
Secours de peu, futiles travaux,
Séjours de feu pour mille chevaux.
Noire langue des vipères,
Noire lande de colère,
Les vents, les hommes aussi.
Mil malloz ru, chant de l'épée,
Mille noires statues, noirs policiers,
Mille poings tendus, dix poings brisés,
Mille printemps dus pour mille années.
Cent mille hommes en colère,
Mille hommes sans la mer,
Sang, larmes et fer en pluie.
Mortes tribus sans héritiers
Portent tribut sang à payer.
Soleil fendu, bois condamnés,
Sol est venu, lois sont damnées.
Au temps que meurt la mer,
Autant se meurt la terre
Sous peur, sous fer en pluie.
Jour de demain, courage ardent.
Jour de Samain, coups, rage aux dents.
Seront les veaux perdant sang blanc,
Seront les loups perdant cents dents.
Rouge fin,
Rouge avers;
Rouge poings,
Rouge guerre.
Rouges mains,
Rouges serres;
Rouge festin,
Rouge chair,
Rouge vin,
Rouge bière,
Le feu, la mer aussi.
The song "Le Soleil est Noir" by Tri Yann is a haunting meditation on a world in turmoil. The opening lines introduce the image of a white bird from the edge of the world, born to two mute parents and caught between two worlds. The bird appears to be rebelling against an unknown force, as if trying to escape from a bloody land. The following lines paint a picture of destruction: black fire across three river mouths, black blood across ten estuaries, and iron rain falling on seven islands. The bird is buffeted by wind and swirling currents, hoisting a bloody flag as a symbol of its defiance.
The themes and images in the lyrics are intensely striking and difficult to interpret. The sea is black, the air is black, and the earth is black - all seemingly consumed by darkness. The images of changing fingers and bloody fish are unsettling as well. The words "morte saison" and "morte maison" suggest a sense of death and decay, with nothing growing and nothing living. The idea of "sang à payer" - blood to pay - evokes a sense of grim reckoning. The final lines suggest a world consumed by violence and bloodshed, with brave warriors standing amid the chaos of battle.
Overall, the song appears to be a meditation on a world consumed by violence, death, and decay. The lyrics are filled with powerful and disturbing imagery, suggesting a planet torn apart by war and destruction.
Line by Line Meaning
Bel oiseau blanc du bout du monde,
Beautiful white bird from the end of the world,
Fils de deux muets, fils du Pays,
Son of two silent parents, son of the land,
Rebelle semblant entre deux mondes,
Rebel between two worlds,
Tire d'aile sanglant de quel pays?
Taking off with bloody wings from which land?
Feu noir sur trois abers,
Black fire on three estuaries,
Sang noir sur dix estuaires,
Black blood on ten estuaries,
Sept îles et fer en pluie.
Seven islands and iron rain.
Battu de vent, flottant bastion,
Beaten by wind, floating bastion,
Battu devant, flots, tourbillons,
Beaten in the face of waves and whirlpools,
Battu, battant sang pavillon,
Beaten, waving bloody flag,
Soleil levant, noir, sans rayons.
Rising sun, black, without rays.
Noirs l'eau, le feu, la terre,
Black are the water, fire, and earth,
Noirs de feu les deux airs,
The two airs are black with fire,
Le vent, la brume aussi.
The wind and the mist too.
Mer en brume soleil déforme,
Sea deformed by mist and sun,
Terre en brume vieillie diforme;
Earth aged and deformed by mist;
Doigts sont changeants en dix corneilles,
Fingers become ten crows,
Poissons sanglants en dix orteils.
Bloody fish in ten toes.
Pigeons de feu sur mer,
Fire pigeons on the sea,
Poison de gueux sous mer,
Paupers' poison under the sea,
Sept îles et fer en pluie.
Seven islands and iron rain.
Morte saison sans floraison,
Dead season without blooming,
Morte maison, sang, déraison;
Dead house, blood, madness;
Saisons perdues en oraisons,
Lost seasons in prayers,
Moissons perdues sans rébellion.
Lost harvests without rebellion.
Feuillaison en hiver,
Foliage in winter,
Fenaison en désert,
Harvest in the desert,
Grésil de fer en pluie.
Iron sleet raining down.
Discours de feu, discours de veau,
Speeches of fire, speeches of calf,
Concours de peu, discours dévots,
Gathering of few, speeches of the devout,
Secours de peu, futiles travaux,
Little help, futile work,
Séjours de feu pour mille chevaux.
Abode of fire for a thousand horses.
Noire langue des vipères,
Black tongue of vipers,
Noire lande de colère,
Black heath of anger,
Les vents, les hommes aussi.
The winds and the men too.
Mil malloz ru, chant de l'épée,
A thousand swords sing a battle cry,
Mille noires statues, noirs policiers,
A thousand black statues, black police officers,
Mille poings tendus, dix poings brisés,
A thousand fists raised, ten fists broken,
Mille printemps dus pour mille années.
A thousand springs owed for a thousand years.
Cent mille hommes en colère,
A hundred thousand angry men,
Mille hommes sans la mer,
A thousand men without the sea,
Sang, larmes et fer en pluie.
Blood, tears, and iron raining down.
Mortes tribus sans héritiers
Dead tribes without heirs
Portent tribut sang à payer.
Paying tribute in blood.
Soleil fendu, bois condamnés,
Sun split apart, woods condemned,
Sol est venu, lois sont damnées.
Soil has come, laws are damned.
Au temps que meurt la mer,
At the time the sea dies,
Autant se meurt la terre
So too does the earth die
Sous peur, sous fer en pluie.
Under fear and iron rain.
Jour de demain, courage ardent.
Day of tomorrow, steadfast courage.
Jour de Samain, coups, rage aux dents.
Day of Samhain, strikes, rage in the teeth.
Seront les veaux perdant sang blanc,
Calves losing white blood,
Seront les loups perdant cents dents.
Wolves losing a hundred teeth.
Rouge fin,
Fine red,
Rouge avers;
Red pouring;
Rouge poings,
Red fists,
Rouge guerre.
Red war.
Rouges mains,
Red hands,
Rouges serres;
Red talons;
Rouge festin,
Red feast,
Rouge chair,
Red flesh,
Rouge vin,
Red wine,
Rouge bière,
Red beer,
Le feu, la mer aussi.
Fire and the sea too.
Contributed by Lillian A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.