Tiersen has been honing his musical aesthetic since he could stand on two legs. He started learning piano at the age of four, taking up violin at the age of six and receiving classical training at musical academies in Rennes, Nantes and Boulogne. Then, at the age of 13, he chose to alter his destiny, breaking his violin into pieces, buying a guitar and forming a rock band.
Yann Tiersen has collaborated with vocal artists like Claire Pichet ("Le phare" and "Rue des cascades"), Elizabeth Fraser ("Les retrouvailles") and Shannon Wright ("Yann Tiersen and Shannon Wright"). Other musicians he has worked with include The Divine Comedy, Noir Désir, Dominique A., Francoiz Breut, Les Têtes Raides, The Married Monk and Sage Francis
Tiersen got a musical education from the city of Rennes' annual Transmusicales festival, seeing acts like Nirvana, Einstürzende Neubaten, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, The Cramps, Television and Suicide. When his band broke up a few years later, instead of hunting for some new musicians, he bought a cheap mixing desk, an eight-track reel, and started recording music solo with a synth, sampler and drum machine, poring over the grooves of old records on the hunt for loops and orchestral strings to plunder.
As it turned out, though, the key to his new approach lay in his own past. "One day I thought, instead of spending days on research and listening to tons of records to find the nearest sound of what I have in mind, why don't I fix this fucking violin and use it?" Through the summer of 1993, Tiersen stayed in his apartment, recording music alone with guitar, violin and accordion, guided not by the classical canon, but by intuition and his vision of "a musical anarchy".
By the end of the summer of 1993, Tiersen had recorded over 40 tracks, which would form the bulk of his first two albums. 1995's La Valse Des Monstres, inspired by Tod Browning's Freaks and Yukio Mishima's The Damask Drum was the second album to be released on Nancy-based label Ici, d'ailleurs. It would be followed six months later by Rue Des Cascades, a collection of short pieces recorded with toy piano, harpsichord, violin, accordion and mandolin. Six years later, the record would find a much larger audience when several tracks, along with a couple of Tiersen originals, would be used on the soundtrack to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's film Amelie (2001).
Tiersen's commercial breakthrough would come earlier, though, and off his own back. 1998's Le Phare (The Light House) was recorded in self-imposed seclusion on the isle of Ouessant, where Tiersen spent two months living in a rented house. At night, he watched the Creach'h, the most powerful lighthouse in Europe, as it illuminated the surrounding scenery. "I was amazed how the rays of lights from the lighthouse revealed some hidden details of the land, how we can rediscover something we have everyday, just in front of us, by a light pointing on it," says Tiersen.
Le Phare went on to sell over 160,000 copies, confirming Tiersen's status as one of the most pioneering and original artists of his generation and commencing a run of successful albums like 2001's L'Absente (featuring orchestral group Synaxis, Lisa Germano and the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon) and 2005's Les Retrouvailles (with guests Stuart Staples of Tindersticks, Jane Birkin and Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins). In this period, Tiersen also took his music out around the world, playing shows with a full orchestra and an amplified string quartet – a set-up captured on 2002's electrifying live album C'etait ici. And following the box-office success of Amelie, Tiersen's skills as a soundtracker were much in demand, leading to scores for the likes of Wolfgang Becker's tragicomedy Good Bye Lenin! (2003) and Tabarly (2008), a documentary about the French sailor Éric Tabarly, who ate his final meal on Ouessant Island before he meeting a watery end in the Irish sea.
Discography:
La valse des monstres (1995)
Rue des cascades (1996)
Le phare (1998)
Tout est calme (1999)
Black session (1999, radio concert)
L'absente (2001)
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001, Soundtrack)
C'était ici (2002, Live and Best Of)
Good Bye Lenin! (2003, Soundtrack)
Yann Tiersen and Shannon Wright (2004)
Les Retrouvailles (2005)
On Tour (2006, Live)
Tabarly (2008)
Dust Lane (2010)
I'm Gonna Live Anyhow
Yann Tiersen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm gonna live anyhow until I die.
I love the woods after the rain.
I love my town under the sun.
I love my home under the winds.
I love the shore after a storm.
I'm gonna live anyhow until I die.
I'm gonna live anyhow until I die.
I'm gonna live anyhow until I die.
The lyrics of Yann Tiersen's song I’m Gonna Live Anyhow convey a sense of resilience and determination to enjoy life no matter what obstacles come one's way. The repetition of the phrase "I'm gonna live anyhow until I die" serves as a powerful reminder that life is short and we should make the most of it. The opening line establishes the theme of the song: that no matter what happens, the singer is going to keep living and enjoying life until they die.
The following lines describe various natural settings that the singer loves: the woods after the rain, the town in the sunshine, their home in the wind, and the shore after a storm. These settings are all slightly different, but they share a sense of beauty and vitality that the singer deeply appreciates. By including such details, Tiersen creates a picture of a life lived fully, with a keen awareness of and appreciation for the natural world.
Overall, I’m Gonna Live Anyhow is a song about resilience, perseverance, and the joy of living. Its message is timely and timeless, and its simple melody and lyrics are both catchy and poignant.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm gonna live anyhow until I die.
I will continue to live my life to the fullest until the day I die.
I love the woods after the rain.
The beauty of nature is magnified and enhanced after a refreshing shower.
I love my town under the sun.
The warmth and brightness of the sun illuminates the charm and character of my hometown.
I love my home under the winds.
My home feels alive and dynamic when buffeted by the forces of nature.
I love the shore after a storm.
The fierce power of the storm is humbling and awe-inspiring, and the calmness that follows is a reminder of the cyclical nature of life.
I'm gonna live anyhow until I die.
My commitment to living fully and embracing all that life has to offer will not be diminished by the prospect of death.
I'm gonna live anyhow until I die.
My resolve to live my best life will not waver, no matter what challenges or trials may come my way.
Writer(s): Yann Tiersen
Contributed by Avery B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@rommina78
¡Me encanta éste disco! En especial esta canción... ¡No puedo dejar de oírla!!
@rommina78
¡Wow! Qué envidia (de la buena)... Espero algún día como tú, escucharlo y verlo en vivo... :')
@TheImmortalSorrow
So melancholic, so Yann Tiersen
@wonderland03
Love this sound! :3
@Shevelyoff
Great show! I just need full performance!
@tessa5191
I love the woods after the rain. I love my town under the sun. I love my home under the winds. I love the shore after a storm...I'm gonna live anyhow.
@robinsonluna78
Psicodelic affair , reflexion song , classy , its just yann
@Gabe1794
damn too good
@meister1955
Se la dedico a mi amigo Max. Q.E.P.D.
@Rajaks666
Tiersen only makes this kind of music ... soul soul soul ...