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)
La Valse des monstres
Yann Tiersen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dans Les Airs
La Piastre Des Etats
When we speak of marriage, yes that funny
Yes that funny hobby, I wouldn’t say
For if my tender maid would go, I would suffer martyrdom
One day I ask my wife what I will do to-day
You will fin a bag at the nearer neighbour lady
I wasn’t already arrived, my wife came and fetch me
My wife came and fetch me with and blow whit a screener
Ah! hurry hurry home, you shall find what to do
Sorry, sorry, sorry my wife, sorry sorry for this time
Sorry sorry for this time, il was my friend dear-Pierre
Who got me to the cabaret, I who didn’t wanted to drink
Ah! it’s to drink, to drink to drink, ah! it’s to drink that we need
Ah! it’s to drink that we need, always the old use
Ah! if somebody could pay the drink, my cold would disappear
The lyrics to Yann Tiersen's song "La valse des monstres" are actually in French, but the excerpt provided is not the correct translation of the original lyrics. In fact, it seems to be a different set of lyrics entirely. Without knowing the context or source of these lyrics, it would be difficult to provide a meaningful interpretation.
Instead, here is a brief overview of the original song's meaning and themes. "La valse des monstres" translates to "The Monsters' Waltz", and is an instrumental piece that features Tiersen's signature accordion sound. The song has a dreamlike, surreal quality to it, with haunting melodies and unexpected chord changes. The overall mood is one of melancholy and introspection.
Tiersen is a French composer and multi-instrumentalist who is known for his work on film soundtracks, including "Amelie" and "Goodbye Lenin!". His music often features elements of traditional Breton folk music, as well as minimalist and experimental styles.
Line by Line Meaning
Le Vent Du Nord
The north wind
Dans Les Airs
In the air
La Piastre Des Etats
The currency of the states
When we speak of marriage, yes that funny
When we talk about getting married, it may seem amusing
Yes that funny hobby, I wouldn't say
Although some may find it amusing, I personally wouldn't describe it that way
For if my tender maid would go, I would suffer martyrdom
If my beloved were to leave me, it would be extremely painful
One day I ask my wife what I will do to-day
One day, I asked my wife what my plans for the day were
What you will do to-Day, you will get the flour out
You will start by getting the flour out
You will fin a bag at the nearer neighbour lady
You will find a bag of flour at our neighbor's house
I wasn't already arrived, my wife came and fetch me
Before I even arrived, my wife came to get me
My wife came and fetch me with and blow whit a screener
She signaled me with a sharp whistle when she arrived
Ah! hurry hurry home, you shall find what to do
Hurry home, there's work to be done
Sorry, sorry, sorry my wife, sorry sorry for this time
I apologize to my wife, I'm sorry for this mistake
Sorry sorry for this time, il was my friend dear-Pierre
I apologize, it was my friend Pierre's fault
Who got me to the cabaret, I who didn't wanted to drink
It was Pierre's idea to go to the bar, even though I didn't want to drink
Ah! it's to drink, to drink to drink, ah! it's to drink that we need
Drinking, drinking, drinking, that's what we need
Ah! it's to drink that we need, always the old use
We always turn to drinking, it's a familiar habit
Ah! if somebody could pay the drink, my cold would disappear
If someone could buy me a drink, my sickness would fade away
Writer(s): Yann Tiersen Copyright: Sony Music Publishing France
Contributed by Emily T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lylia V
💖💖Je veux bien 🌌🌌
Plonger dans le vert de gris
Avaler des carrés bleus
Voler des ballons rouges
Je veux bien
Déshabiller des fleurs en pétales
Me hisser des voiles sur le dos
M'échapper en roue libre
Je veux bien
M'enfumer la moustache la nuit
Retrouver des chouettes grises le jour
Tourner sur des manèges rutilants
Je veux bien
Humer les pages d'un livre
Photographier des cartes ésotériques
Promener un chat en laisse
Je veux bien
Éclairer des sols sombres
Dessiner des rayures noires sur Blanc
Me coiffer d'un nid d'oiseau
Je veux bien
Écouter des disques bleus
Ventiler mon cerveau et
Valser à l'Envers avec des Monstres🎼🎼
💖💖 🎼🎼🎶🎶
MimM
Great composers can make kids believe in the magic of fantasy worlds ... but it's even harder to make adults remember the magic of daily life in our real world. And that is what Yann Tiersen's music does! ❤❤❤
Marco Tagliani
This piece is filled up with the melancholic beauty of France and its culture. This man is probably a genius and, for sure, a real poet.
Cristóbal
Cada cierto tiempo vuelvo a escuchar esta hermosa melodía, siempre sigue sonando igual que la primera vez.
Lai Arrais
Amooo este homem, a sensibilidade e a emoção que transmite ao escuta-lo .... é demais!
jana masarova
heard it for the fist time, instantly fell in love.. the more I listen the better it gets...goosebumps and all...
Marco
Amo musicas instrumentais, mas tenho um carinho especial por essa em particular, maravilhosa musica! Não canso de ouvir... E o áudio está perfeito, obrigado por compartilha querido amigo.
Ferruccio Cravea
È' una musica che riempie la vita, melanconica ma stimolante nello stesso tempo! Nessun artista mi provoca le stesse straordinarie sensazioni. Ho avuto la fortuna di assistere al concerto di Parma (maggio 2016 ) ed andrò' anche a Roma,ad ottobre pv. Ciao a tutti
Sergio Oliveira
Não tem palavra que defina o que eu sinto quando ouço esta música.
osmiridium
Beautiful, mysterious, and rousing all at once.
mario rossi
L'un des plus beaux morceaux de musique que je connaisse! Il me fais toujours rever!