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)
Le Jour D'avant
Yann Tiersen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hard not to sit on your hands
Bury your head in the sand
Hard not to make other plans
And claim that you've done all you can
All alone and life must go on
It's hard, hard to stand up for what's right
Hard not to break down and cry
When every idea that you've tried
Has been wrong
But you must carry on
It's hard but you know it's worth the fight
Cause you know you got the truth on your side
When the accusations fly, hold tight
Don't be afraid of what they'll say
Who cares what cowards think anyway?
They will understand one day, one day
It's hard, hard when you're here all alone
And everyone else has gone home
Harder to know right from wrong
When all objectivity has gone,
And it's gone but you still carry one
Cause you, you are the only one left
And you've got to clean up this mess
You know you'll end up like the rest,
Bitter and twisted unless you stay strong
And you carry on
It's hard but you know it's worth the fight
Cause you know you got the truth on your side
When the accusations fly, hold tight
And don't be afraid of what they'll say
Who cares what cowards think anyway?
They will understand one day, one day
It's hard but you know it's worth the fight
Cause you know you got the truth on your side
When the accusations fly, hold tight
And don't be afraid of what they'll say
Who cares what cowards think anyway?
They will understand one day, one day
Yann Tiersen's song "Le Jour D'avant" is a poignant ballad about the hardships of standing up for what's right even when it goes against the grain. The song's opening lines set the tone for the rest of the lyrics, as it describes the difficulty of not being complacent and taking action: "It's hard, hard not to sit on your hands, bury your head in the sand. Hard not to make other plans and claim that you've done all you can. All alone and life must go on." These lines reflect the struggle to take responsibility and make a difference, even if it requires leaving one's comfort zone.
The following verses explore the difficulty of fighting for justice in a world where opinions are divided and objective truths are hard to come by. The lyrics describe the challenges of facing accusations and criticisms head-on, without being deterred or intimidated by the opinions of others: "When the accusations fly, hold tight. Don't be afraid of what they'll say. Who cares what cowards think anyway? They will understand one day, one day." Through these words, the artist encourages courage, resilience, and persistence in the face of opposition.
Overall, "Le Jour D'avant" is a powerful reminder of the importance of standing up for what's right, even in the face of adversity. The song's lyrics are both emotive and insightful, highlighting the challenges that often come with taking a stand for what we believe in. In the end, however, it is clear that the struggle is worth it, as we must all play a part in creating a better world for future generations.
Line by Line Meaning
It's hard,
Difficult and challenging
Hard not to sit on your hands
Difficult not to be idle and inactive when faced with a problem or challenge
Bury your head in the sand
Trying to ignore or avoid the problem by not acknowledging it
Hard not to make other plans
Hard to stay focused on the problem at hand and not get distracted
And claim that you've done all you can
Saying that you've tried everything to solve the problem, but deep down you know that it's not true
All alone and life must go on
Being on your own and feeling like you have to push forward despite the challenge
It's hard, hard to stand up for what's right
Difficult to do the right thing and go against what's popular or easy
And bring home the making each night
To bring home the reward of the struggle, one must keep working every day and night
Hard not to break down and cry
Difficult not to give up completely and lose hope
When every idea that you've tried
When every solution that you've tried so far to solve the problem has failed
Has been wrong
None of your ideas have worked, and it feels like you're going in the wrong direction
But you must carry on
Despite the setbacks, it's important to keep going
It's hard but you know it's worth the fight
It's tough, but it's worth the effort and struggle
Cause you know you got the truth on your side
You know that you're doing the right thing, and that's what matters
When the accusations fly, hold tight
When people blame or accuse you, stay strong and firm in your beliefs
Don't be afraid of what they'll say
Not being fearful or bothered by the opinions or thoughts of others
Who cares what cowards think anyway?
The opinions of those who are too scared to take up the fight don't matter
They will understand one day, one day
Eventually, people who opposed or didn't understand your struggle will come to see your point of view
Hard, hard when you're here all alone
Difficult when you feel like you're the only one fighting the battle
And everyone else has gone home
When others have given up or stopped fighting, it's tough to keep going
Harder to know right from wrong
When you're in a tough situation, it can be difficult to ascertain the correct course of action
When all objectivity has gone, and it's gone but you still carry on
When you're unable to look at things objectively, it's difficult to make the right decisions, but you still try
Cause you, you are the only one left
You're the only one left standing and fighting
And you've got to clean up this mess
You have to take up the responsibility to solve the problem
You know you'll end up like the rest, bitter and twisted unless you stay strong
If you give up the fight, you'll end up like all those who have given up before you
And you carry on
And yet, you keep going anyway
It's hard but you know it's worth the fight
It's tough, but it's worth it
When the accusations fly, hold tight
Stay firm and strong when people blame or accuse you
And don't be afraid of what they'll say
Don't be bothered by what others say or think
Who cares what cowards think anyway?
The opinions of those who are too scared to fight don't matter
They will understand one day, one day
Eventually, people who opposed or didn't understand your struggle will come to see your point of view
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Christian Olivier, Edith Begout, Pascal Olivier, Serge Begout, Yann Tiersen, Anne Gaelle Bisquay, Gregoire Jean M. Simon, Jean Luc Millot
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind