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)
Mary
Yann Tiersen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Here on this sleeper train
And do you feel the pain
Growing into the night, Mary
And I can feel the taste
Of your third birthday cake
Remember how it was
To hold you into my arms, Mary
The summer lights around
I was there
His hand upon my knees
And we're gone
Across this sunny streets
And we're gone
The day you died, Mary
And we go faster now
Together throught the fields
Here on this sleeper train
And I can touch your face, Mary
The precious things we've done
Hidden under my skin
I let you sleep a while
I let you sleep a while, Mary
It was there
The summer lights around
I was there
His hand upon my knees
And we're gone
Across this sunny streets
And we're gone
The day you died, Mary
The song "Mary" by Yann Tiersen is a hauntingly beautiful piece with deep, introspective lyrics that leave listeners feeling reflective and contemplative. The singer of the song seems to be on a sleeper train, addressing someone named Mary. The repetition of her name throughout the song emphasizes the connection between the singer and Mary, as if their bond is so strong that her name is like a mantra, a way of connecting to her even across time and space. The singer asks if Mary recognizes them and if she feels the pain growing into the night - this suggests that Mary may be someone who is no longer alive, and that the singer is perhaps talking to her ghost or memory.
The lyrics discuss memories of Mary's third birthday cake and holding her in their arms - this vivid imagery suggests that the singer had a deep emotional connection to Mary, perhaps as a parent or caregiver. The lyric "It was there, the summer lights around" may suggest a bittersweet nostalgia for a time in the past when Mary was alive and happy. The song then takes a darker turn, discussing the day Mary died and the singer's grief over her loss. The repetition of "and we're gone" emphasizes the feeling of being lost and directionless in the wake of Mary's death.
Overall, "Mary" is a poignant and introspective song that forces listeners to confront the reality of mortality and the pain of loss. The repetitive structure of the lyrics emphasizes the cyclical nature of grief - the pain and nostalgia may fade, but they never truly go away.
Line by Line Meaning
Do you recognize me
Yann is asking Mary if she remembers him
Here on this sleeper train
Where they are currently, riding on a train together
And do you feel the pain
Yann is asking Mary if she also feels the pain he is feeling
Growing into the night, Mary
The pain is getting worse as the night goes on
And I can feel the taste
Yann can vividly remember the taste of Mary's third birthday cake
Of your third birthday cake
The cake she had when she turned three years old
Remember how it was
Yann is reminiscing on how it felt to hold Mary as a child
To hold you into my arms, Mary
The memory of holding Mary brings Yann comfort
It was there
Yann is recalling a moment from the past
The summer lights around
Describing the scenery of the past moment with Mary
I was there
Yann is saying that he was present in that moment
His hand upon my knees
Referring to someone else's hand on Yann's knees in that past moment with Mary
And we're gone
The moment has passed and they are no longer in that place and time
Across this sunny streets
Describing the location of where they once were
The day you died, Mary
A reference to Mary's passing
And we go faster now
Referring to the train they are on, which is moving faster and taking them further away from the past
Together throught the fields
Describing the scenery outside the window of the train
Here on this sleeper train
Reminding the listener that they are on a train together in the present moment
And I can touch your face, Mary
Yann wishes he could touch Mary's face again
The precious things we've done
Recalling the good memories he shared with Mary
Hidden under my skin
The memories of Mary are deeply ingrained in Yann's being
I let you sleep a while
Yann is allowing Mary to rest in peace and not disturb her memory
I let you sleep a while, Mary
A repeated reminder of his respect for Mary's memory and desire to let her rest
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: YANN PIERRE TIERSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mariamz793
Do you recognize me
Here on this sleeper train
And do you feel the pain
Growing into the night, Mary
And I can feel the taste
Of your third birthday cake
Remember how it was
To hold you in my arms, Mary
It was there
The summer lights around
I was there
His hand upon my knees
And we're gone
Across this sunny streets
And we're gone
The day you died, Mary
And we go faster now
Together through these fields
Here on this sleeper train
And I can touch your face, Mary
The precious things we've done
Hidden under my skin
I let you sleep a while
I let you sleep a while, Mary
It was there
The summer lights around
I was there
His hand upon my knees
And we're gone
Across these sunny streets
And we're gone
The day you died, Mary
@Jercam
Beautiful. And Elizabeth Fraser's voice is divine.
@jenniferfulks5836
I absolutely love the way this song makes me feel! I always have to listen to it at least twice in a row. Its so beautiful.
@sallykatfennessy8526
This song gives me shivers!
@Luisviolin2010
It's such a beautiful song.
@MIRIAMuse
Just....THANK YOU.
@Alexiees
Im going to cry :'(
@koucha90
wow this is so sad beautiful song <3
@no_one_noise
This is great
@24Demil
Bella!
@celticmoonvlz
Estaban ahi Las luces de verano alrededor Yo estaba ahí Su mano sobre mis rodillas Y nos vamos A través de estas calles asoleadas Y nos vamos El día en que falleciste, Mary... =/