The song was the band's most successful single. It entered the singles charts in late 1980, peaking at no. 8 in the UK Singles Chart and reaching no. 1 in West Germany and Switzerland. Steve Strange was on lead vocals; the French lyrics were spoken by Rusty Egan's Luxembourgish girlfriend Brigitte Arendt.
The song has the rare distinction of being entirely bilingual English-French by featuring the same lyrics translated into both languages: the English lyrics are sung, whereas the same lyrics translated into French are spoken by a female voice.
Fade to Grey
Visage Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Devenir gris
One man on a lonely platform
One case sitting by his side
Two eyes staring cold and silent
Shows fear as he turns to hide
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Un homme dans une gare isolée
Une valise à ses côtés
Deux yeux fixes et froids
Montrent de la peur lorsqu'il
Se tourne pour se cacher
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Sens la pluie comme un été Anglais
Entends les notes d'une chanson lointaine
Sortant de derrière un poster
Espérant que la vie ne fut aussi longue
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Feel the rain like an English summer
Hear the notes from a distant song
Stepping out from a backdrop poster
Wishing life wouldn't be so long
Devenir gris
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Devenir gris
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Devenir gris
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Devenir gris
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
The song "Fade to Grey" by Visage is an 80s synthpop classic that has been widely popular ever since its release. The song is about a man who finds himself alone on a lonely platform, carrying a suitcase by his side, and staring off into the distance with cold, empty eyes. The lyrics describe his fear and his attempt to hide from something he cannot escape. The repetition of the phrase "Devenir gris" (meaning "to fade to grey" in French) adds to the overall sense of isolation and despair in the song.
The second verse adds an interesting dimension to the song, introducing the idea of nostalgia and longing for a simpler time. The lyrics describe the sensation of feeling the rain like an English summer, and hearing the notes from a distant song. The subject of the song steps out from a backdrop poster, wishing that life were not so long.
The song continues to repeat the phrase "Fade to grey" throughout, as if building up to a final moment of letting go and surrendering to the emptiness. The repetition and the heavy use of electronic sounds create a sense of inevitability and foreboding that makes "Fade to Grey" an enduring classic of the synthpop genre.
Line by Line Meaning
Devenir gris
Becoming gray
Devenir gris
Becoming gray
One man on a lonely platform
A man standing alone on a platform
One case sitting by his side
A suitcase next to him
Two eyes staring cold and silent
His eyes staring coldly and silently
Shows fear as he turns to hide
He displays fear as he turns to hide
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
We fade to gray
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
We fade to gray
Un homme dans une gare isolée
A man in an isolated railway station
Une valise à ses côtés
A suitcase by his side
Deux yeux fixes et froids
Two fixed and cold eyes
Montrent de la peur lorsqu'il
Se tourne pour se cacher
Showing fear as he turns to hide
Sens la pluie comme un été Anglais
Feeling the rain like an English summer
Entends les notes d'une chanson lointaine
Hearing the notes of a distant song
Sortant de derrière un poster
Coming out from behind a poster
Espérant que la vie ne fut aussi longue
Hoping life wasn't so long
Devenir gris
Becoming gray
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
We fade to gray
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
We fade to gray
Devenir gris
Becoming gray
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
We fade to gray
Devenir gris
Becoming gray
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
We fade to gray
Ah-ah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
We fade to gray
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Chris Payne, Midge Ure, Billy Currie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@chryktus9040
Devenir gris
Devenir gris
One man on a lonely platform
One case sitting by his side
Two eyes staring cold and silent
Show fear as he turns to hide
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Un homme dans une gare isolée
Une valise a ses cotés
Des yeux fixes et froids
Montre de la peur lorsqu'il
Se tourne pour se cacher
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Sent la pluie comme un été Anglais
Entends les notes d'une chanson lointaine
Sortant de derriere d'un poster
Espérant que la vie ne fut aussi longue
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Feel the rain like an English summer
Hear the notes from a distant song
Stepping out from a back shop poster
Wishing life wouldn't be so long
Devenir gris
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Devenir gris
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Devenir gris
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Devenir gris
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
@truthreignsforever9286
“Sound of the Crowd”
Human League 👍
“Real Life” Send me an Angel” 👍
“trans x” living on video
A Flock of Seagulls “The more you live the more you love”
Sparks “number one song in heaven”
Ministry “Revenge”
To name a few, enjoy friend ☝️😎
Gary Numan “Cars” “Are friends electric”
Depeche Mode “everything counts”
@jekylthorn8969
It is impossible to explain to people who weren't there at the time, just how mind blowingly brilliant this music was and still is.
@siniestrotrasgo971
There won't be a comparable music-time ever again... Long life Goth Romantics ^··^
@Edoardo-vk6jc
I remember in 1983 at age 13 reading a book about Boy George and Culture club and the music scene in London. It set me on my journey to acquire music,etc of Visage and several others mentioned. Which then led me to find the bands that inspired them and so on... I'm grateful for the convenience of YouTube but sure miss spending hours in record shops in every city possible
New Music express was pretty awesome too and I looked forward to getting my copy by post and listening to the record inside.
If you are a fan from the beginning then I consider you a friend without introduction.
@TR8o8
pretty shure, whos listing to it ,
hes get it!
@joelashadali
I'm 59 you don't have to sell me on that statement!!!!
@BillAnt
Indeed .... and those who were there now fade to grey.... yours truly. :)
@futurecenterofficial
People in 1980: This makes me want to be in the 2020’s
People in 2020: This makes me want to go back to the 80’s
@gabrieladangelo4720
Absolutly
@TheDirge69
so true..
@jerseyforhawks
Oh, Bravo, excellent comment. Yeah, I have this on cassette and listened to this gem endlessly.