Zazie's mother was an architect and her father a music teacher. Her songs range from upbeat rock or pop songs to languid downtempo tunes and are characterised by the wit of their lyrics based on puns, alliterations, homophones and double-entendres.
Zazie debuted in 1992 with the album "Je Tu Ils" and the single "Sucré salé".
In 1995, she released her sophomore album Zen, which was co-written and co-produced with Vincent-Marie Bouvot. It included the singles "Zen" and "Homme Sweet Homme". Her 1996 single "Un point c'est toi" from the same album was discussed on Canada's MuchMusic TV program Too Much 4 Much due to its controversial content. Ultimately, the discussion panel deemed the video okay for audiences. In the video, a group of four smitten women, including Zazie, follow a pair of men down to a lake. There, the two men strip off their clothes and swim in the water. Zazie fantasizes about undressing one of the men and kissing him. To shock of the women, however, the two men kiss each other.
In 1997, Pascal Obispo and Zazie released the single "Les Meilleurs Ennemis".
Her 1998 album Made in Love was co-produced by Ali Staton, Pierre Jaconelli, and herself. The album photos were taken by fashion designer Jean-Baptiste Mondino. The songs "Ça Fait Mal Et Ça Fait Rien", "Tous des anges", and "Tout Le Monde" were released as singles. This album was followed by a live album, Made in Live, the next year. In 1999 she also wrote a song for Jane Birkin in Jane Birkin's album .
In 2001, Zazie dueted with Axel Bauer on the single "A Ma Place". It was her most successful single in France, reaching number four on the French charts.
Zazie once again addressed gay content on her 2002 single "Adam et Yves" from her 2001 album La Zizanie. This album was produced solely by Pierre Jaconelli. Other singles included "Rue de la paix" and "Danse avec les loops". In 2003, she released another live album, Ze Live.
Her 2004 album Rodéo was co-produced and co-written with Jean-Pierre Pilot and Philippe Paradis. A short film "Rodéo indien" was made using songs from the album as a soundtrack. Zazie played the role of an Indian woman who leaves her cheating husband. She followed this album up with a live album, Rodéo Tour in 2006.
In 2007 her sixth studio album "Totem" was released and debuted at number 1. The second single (but first commercially released) was "Je Suis Un Homme" which became Zazie's first solo top ten hit in France. In Winter 2008 a best of album "Zest of Zazie" was released which as well as past hits contained two new songs "Fm Air" and "Un peu beaucoup" and live recordings.
D'Jamba
Zazie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
En mal de savane et de courage
Je colle mon oreille aux coquillages
Un peu de jour
Un peu d'amour
En otage
Au nord rien ne sera comme avant
J'ai laissé D'jamba entre le désert et le vent
Avec des rêves chargés de pluie
Comme si le nord
Pouvait encore
Réveiller l'eau qui dort
Au fond des puits
Mais là-bas c'est pas comme ici
Le soleil et la pluie
C'est pas pareil
Perdue entre vainqueurs
Et perdants
Je rêve d'un monde plus près du cœur
Ou tout n'est pas noir ou blanc
Je suis Massaï et fille du vent
Je reste sauvage chez les blancs
Parmi les loups
Les sages et les fous
S'il faut vivre après tout
Je choisis l'amour avant tout
Là-bas c'est pas comme ici
C'est le jour et la nuit
Le soleil et la pluie
C'est pas pareil
Ye yeah ah, D'jamba
Ye yeah ah, D'jamba
Et D'jamba
Met du soleil au fond de moi
D'jamba, il est comme je suis
D'jamba, il est de mon pays Soleil, je t'envoie la pluie
D'jamba, D'jamba
Attends moi
Là-bas
Ici
Le soleil
La pluie
Ici
The song "D'Jamba" by Zazie expresses the inner turmoil and longing of a person who is feeling trapped and caged, both literally and figuratively. The lyrics talk about the singer being a wild animal in a cage, yearning for the freedom and courage of the African savanna. The use of the metaphor of putting one's ear to a seashell implies that the singer is searching for something beyond their current circumstance, perhaps the sound of home or the comfort of the ocean. The lines "Au nord rien ne sera comme avant/J'ai laissé D'jamba entre le désert et le vent" suggest that the singer has left something behind in the north, and the name "D'jamba" could refer to a person, place, or feeling that they are missing.
The chorus of the song repeats the name "D'jamba" as a sort of mantra, symbolizing the hope and positivity that the singer is desperately clinging to. The lyrics also touch on the contrast between life in the north and life in the singer's homeland, highlighting the differences in climate, culture, and mindset. The final lines of the song assert the singer's determination to choose love above all else, even in a world that can be divided into winners and losers.
Line by Line Meaning
Au nord je suis un fauve en cage
In the north, I feel like a caged beast longing for the savannah and courage.
En mal de savane et de courage
Longing for the savannah and courage.
Je colle mon oreille aux coquillages
I listen carefully to the seashells and hear echoes of my past.
Un peu de jour
A little bit of daylight.
Un peu d'amour
A little bit of love.
En otage
Feeling held hostage by my current circumstance.
Au nord rien ne sera comme avant
Things will never be the same in the north for me.
J'ai laissé D'jamba entre le désert et le vent
I left D'jamba behind, somewhere between the desert and the wind.
Avec des airs de mon pays
Carrying the sounds and memories of my homeland.
Avec des rêves chargés de pluie
With my dreams full of rain and possibilities.
Comme si le nord
It's as if the north could
Pouvait encore
once again
Réveiller l'eau qui dort
awaken the dormant waters in the wells.
Au fond des puits
Deep in the wells.
Mais là-bas c'est pas comme ici
But things are different there compared to here.
Le soleil et la pluie
The sun and the rain.
C'est pas pareil
It's not the same.
Perdue entre vainqueurs
Lost among winners
Et perdants
And losers.
Je rêve d'un monde plus près du cœur
I dream of a world that is closer to the heart.
Ou tout n'est pas noir ou blanc
Where everything is not just black or white.
Je suis Massaï et fille du vent
I am a Massaï and a child of the wind.
Je reste sauvage chez les blancs
I remain wild among the white people.
Parmi les loups
In the midst of wolves.
Les sages et les fous
The wise and the foolish.
S'il faut vivre après tout
If we must live, after all.
Je choisis l'amour avant tout
I choose love above all else.
C'est le jour et la nuit
It's day and night.
Ye yeah ah, D'jamba
Ye yeah ah, D'jamba.
Et D'jamba
And D'jamba,
Met du soleil au fond de moi
Brings the sun deep within me.
D'jamba, il est comme je suis
D'jamba is like me.
D'jamba, il est de mon pays
D'jamba is from my country.
Soleil, je t'envoie la pluie
Sun, I send you the rain.
Attends moi
Wait for me.
Là-bas
Over there.
Ici
Here.
Le soleil
The sun.
La pluie
The rain.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ISABELLE ANNE DE TRUCHIS DE VARENNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind