Pierre Barouh: À L'Ombre de Nous
The song "À l'ombre de nous" (“In our shadow”) appears in Claude Lelouche’s film "Un homme et une femme." It celebrates the budding love between the characters played by Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant but it also represents a more general commentary on love. Francis Lai composed the music and Pierre Barouh wrote the lyrics. It is the theme of an intimate hotel room scene (in black, white and sepia tones) between the characters in Deauville, Normandy. Their growing intimacy is diverted by her emotional flashback memories (in vibrant color) of her late, deceased husband.
Barouh’s haunting, melancholy vocals claim that passionate love shines bright and strong like a thousand burning suns. It is ravenous enough to devour both parties but when done it casts an enduring shadow or memory that persists like a metaphysical taste of eternity. Such a love builds from homely daily details with cheap names ("des noms de pacotille")—respect, folly, confidence, courage, style and tenderness—that nevertheless fuse into suns more brilliant than the sum of their parts.
A percussive rhythm, like a beating heart, stretches throughout the piece. The lyrics tumble out in short phrases arranged in Verse/Refrain, Verse/Refrain order. Each Verse and each Refrain has two stanzas. Each stanza has 6 lines, punctuated by a rolling sequence of assonant end-line rhymes.
À l'ombre de nous
Restera toujours
Au nom de l'amour
Un goût d'éternité
Au nom de notre amour
Une ombre va rester.
Cette ombre de nous
Combien de soleils
Brûlant notre ciel
Ont du se concerter
Qu'au nom de ces soleils
Une ombre va rester.
[Refrain]
Ces soleils...
Ils sont si chauds
Ils sont si forts
Qu'ils nous brûlent
Et qu'ils nous dévorent
Encore, encore, encore.
Ils ont des noms de pacotille
L'amour, le respect, la folie
C'est la confiance et le courage
C'est le bleu des livres d'images
C'est tout ce que tu attends de moi
C'est tout ce qui j'attends do toi.
À l'ombre de nous
Ne pourra fleurir
Aux jours a venir
Bien d'autre que beauté
Même en pensant au pire
Une ombre va rester.
Cette ombre de nous
Les mille soleils
D'un amour pareil
N'y pourront rien changer
Car des premiers soleils
Une ombre va rester.
[Refrain]
Ces soleils...
Ils sont si chauds
Ils sont si forts
Qu'ils nous brûlent
Et qu'ils nous dévorent
Encore, encore, encore.
Ils ont des noms de pacotille
C'est la passion, c'est le délire
C'est le panache et la tendresse
C'est le bleu de notre jeunesse
C'est tout ce qui me survivra
Tout ce qui, a jamais, vivra...
À l'ombre de nous.
In our shadow
Will always remain
In the name of love
A taste of eternity
In the name of our love
A shadow's going to stay.
This shadow of us
How many suns
Burning our sky
Had to collaborate
That in the name of these suns
A shadow's going to stay.
[Refrain]
These suns
They're so hot
They're so strong
That they're burning us
And they're devouring us
Again, again, again.
They have cheap names
The love, the respect, the madness
It's confidence and courage
It's the blue of the picture books
It's all you expect from me
It's all I expect from you.
In our shadow
Won't be able to bloom
In the days to come
Nothing other than beauty
Even while thinking the worst
A shadow's going to stay.
This shadow of us
The thousand suns
Of a similar love
Won't be able to change anything
Because from the first suns
A shadow's going to stay
[Refrain]
These suns
They're so hot
They're so strong
That they're burning us
And they're devouring us
Again, again, again.
They have cheap names
It's passion, it's excitation
It's the style and the tenderness
It's the blue of our youth
It's all that will survive me
All that, forever, will live
In our shadow
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