La superbe is the lead song in a two-volume album of the same name released in 2009 with 22 titles. It was Benjamin Biolay’s 5th album. Its title (“La superbe”) gains luster by its ambiguity and its evocation of excellence. Because of this ambiguity, I have left the title in French, without translation. It speaks for itself. The song is a tongue-in-cheek (bordering on sarcastic) celebration of the tenuous and unpredictable nature of the human condition, where life’s vicissitudes leave old-age ("la vieillesse-ennemi") as the ultimate reference point. In 2010, the song and album brought Biolay the Victoires de la Musique (French Grammys) award for Best Male Artist and Best Album of Songs/Variety.
At first glance, the adjective “superb” means “wonderful,” “magnificent,” “excellent,” or simply “superb.” When used as a noun instead of as an adjective, however, “La superbe” can carry a pejorative meaning of “pride” or “arrogance” and is often translated as such. In some contexts, it can mean “majesty,” “composure,” “countenance/demeanor,” “splendor.” This duality of the word nicely captures the “ups and downs” that Biolay depicts in his song. As a linguistic side note, Stanford historian Francis Fukuyama wrote: “l’Amérique a perdu de sa superbe” (Le Monde, 10 September 2011). This phrase “perdre sa superbe” refers to a loss of primacy or “exceptionalism.” Fukuyama, however, deploys a partitive article “de” (English does not have partitive articles) that qualifies the loss as an unspecified quantity that translates as “some.”
The song includes throughout a repetition of the impersonal pronoun “on,” which in French is always followed by the third person singular (“il”) verb form. In English, “on” translates as “we,” referring to collective humanity-at-large. In this usage, “we” is an informal/conversational equivalent to the use of “one,” which is more impersonal. “We” implies inclusiveness of the speaker whereas “one” carries a more objective tone. The song chronicles the shared existential circumstances of mankind.
Biolay sprinkles occasionally esoteric linguistic expressions and cultural allusions throughout the lyrics (e.g., partie de jambe en l'air, mort à credit, La vieillesse ennemie, le cirque Gruss). This keeps us on our toes.
Biolay sprinkles occasionally esoteric linguistic expressions and cultural allusions throughout the lyrics (e.g., partie de jambe en l'air, mort à credit, La vieillesse ennemie, le cirque Gruss). This keeps us on our toes.
The song includes throughout a repetition of the impersonal pronoun “on,” which in French is always followed by the third person singular (“il”) verb form. In English, “on” translates as “we,” referring to collective humanity-at-large. In this usage, “we” is an informal/conversational equivalent to the more impersonal “one.” “We” implies inclusiveness of the speaker whereas “one” carries a more objective tone. The song chronicles the shared existential circumstances of mankind.
Like many Biolay pieces, it’s a long song at 5-6 minutes, which is well over the standard 3-or-so minutes that conform with radio time. The song is highly structured, as befits an experienced songwriter like Biolay. It has 8 Verses, 3 Refrains, 3 Instrumentals and an Outro in the following sequence: VVVRI/VVRI/VVRI/V/O. Not only that, but the rhyme scheme is astoundingly regular. Seven of the 8 verses have 7 lines each while one “black sheep” verse (#4) has 8 lines. All of the 7 verses with 7 lines show the same rhyme pattern of: ABABABC while the fourth verse with 8 lines is: ABAABCBD.
Each Verse has three parts. All Verses begin with the same line: “On reste, Dieu merci, à la merci” (“We remain/stay, thank God, at the mercy…”), a phrase that suggests gratitude for mankind’s unnerving state of dependency. This line is followed by two or three lines beginning with “de” that complete the “à la merci…” phrase with a seemingly random recitation of symbolic artifacts of life. This is followed in each Verse by two lines followed in turn by a closing overstatement of wonder: “Quelle aventure, quelle aventure..” (“What an adventure…”). The 3 Refrains are identical, each one depicting life’s passive journey as “strolling” and “sniffing” with wins, losses and losing the wins with a net summation: “La Superbe.” An Instrumental interlude follows each Refrain. The Verses all have the same chords and progression, as do the Refrains. This musical repetition mirrors the recurrent cycles of life that constitute the main point of the song.
The tempo of the piece resembles a frantic race against time in the Verses, with a sustaining relapse for recovery in the Refrains and the Instrumental interlude that provide a platform for the next up-tempo Verse. The somber, dirge-like chords, melody, tempo and enveloping rhythm dominate barely decipherable lyrics that are expelled in rapid fire. The final Verse differs qualitatively from the preceding Verses, seemingly hinting at closure in its words and tempo.
Many Biolay performances sport luxuriant orchestral and electronic accompaniment as does this one in its official album release. I have chosen a live, spare rendition at Le Grand Studio RTL with piano and guitar to enhance lyrical audibility. Other versions online are the intriguing official video clip directed by Clarise Canteloube and featuring choreographer and ballerina Marie Agnes Gillot, and the Victoires de la musique show in 2010.
Many Biolay performances sport luxuriant orchestral and electronic accompaniment as does this one in its official album release. I have chosen a live, spare rendition at Le Grand Studio RTL with piano and guitar to enhance lyrical audibility. Other versions online are the intriguing official video clip directed by Clarise Canteloube and featuring choreographer and ballerina Marie Agnes Gillot, and the Victoires de la musique show in 2010.
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Verse 1
On reste, Dieu merci, à la merci D'un conifère D'un silence inédit D’une seule partie de jambe en l'air Le soleil est assis, Du mauvais coté de la mer, Quelle aventure, quelle aventure… Verse 2 On reste, Dieu merci, à la merci D'un abribus Ne reste pas ici, On entend sonner l'angélus Le soleil est joli Plus triste que le cirque Gruss Quelle aventure, quelle aventure… Verse 3 On reste, Dieu merci, à la merci D'un engrenage D'un verre de Campari Du bon vouloir de l'équipage Paris est si petit Quand on le regagne à la nage, Quelle aventure, quelle aventure… Refrain On flâne, on flaire On flaire la flamme singulière… On gagne, on perd On perd la gagne, La Superbe... Instrumental Verse 4 On reste, Dieu merci, à la merci De l'amour crasse D'un simple démenti D'une mauvaise vie D'une mauvaise passe Le silence est aussi pesant Qu'un porte-avion qui passe Quelle aventure, quelle aventure… Verse 5 On reste, Dieu merci, à la merci D'un sacrifice D'une mort à credit D'un préjugé né d'un préjudice Le soleil s'enfuit Comme un savon soudain qui glisse Quelle aventure, quelle aventure… Refrain On flâne, on flaire On flaire la flamme singulière.. On gagne, on perd On perd la gagne, La Superbe... Instrumental Verse 6 On reste, Dieu merci, à la merci D'un Nembutal Du plafond decrepit Qu'on observe à l'horizontal Le soleil est parti La neige tombe sur les dalles Quelle aventure, quelle aventure… Verse 7 On reste, Dieu merci, à la merci D'un lampadaire D'une douleur endormie D'un chaste spleen un soir d'hiver La vieillesse ennemie Reste la seule pierre angulaire Quelle aventure, quelle aventure… Refrain On flâne, on flaire On flaire la flamme singulière… On gagne, on perd On perd la gagne, La Superbe... Instrumental Verse 8 On reste, Dieu merci, à la merci D'une étincelle Quelque part à Paris Au fin fond du bar d'un hôtel Dès la prochaine vie Je rêve de se rester fidèle Quelle aventure, quelle aventure… Outro La Superbe, La Superbe, La Superbe |
Verse 1
We remain, thank God, at the mercy Of a conifer, Of a novel silence, Of only one hanky-panky, The sun is setting On the wrong side of the sea, What an adventure, what an adventure... Verse 2 We remain, thank God, at the mercy Of a bus shelter, Don't stay here, We hear the angelus ring The sun is lovely, Sadder than the Gruss circus What an adventure, what an adventure... Verse 3 We remain, thank God, at the mercy Of a gear box, Of a glass of Campari, Of the crew's goodwill, Paris is so small When you swim back there What an adventure, what an adventure... Refrain We stroll, we sniff, We sniff the singular flame... We win, we lose We lose the win, La Superbe... Instrumental Verse 4 We remain, thank God, at the mercy Of filthy love, Of a simple denial, Of a bad life, Of a bad patch The silence is as oppressive As an aircraft carrier passing by, What an adventure, what an adventure... Verse 5 We remain, thank God, at the mercy Of a sacrifice, Of a death on credit, Of a prejudice born from a bias, The sun flees, Like a soap suddenly slipping away, What an adventure, what an adventure... Refrain We stroll, we sniff, We sniff the singular flame... We win, we lose We lose the win, La Superbe... Instrumental Verse 6 We remain, thank God, at the mercy Of a sedative, Of the crumbling ceiling You're watching when lying down, The sun is gone, The snow falls on the tiles, What an adventure, what an adventure... Verse 7 We remain, thank God, at the mercy Of a streetlight, Of a dormant pain, Of a winter night's chaste spleen, The enemy old-age Remains the only cornerstone What an adventure, what an adventure... Refrain We stroll, we sniff, We sniff the singular flame... We win, we lose We lose the win, La Superbe... Instrumental Verse 8 We remain, thank God, at the mercy Of a spark, Somewhere in Paris, At the far end of a hotel bar, Beginning the next life I dream of staying faithful, What an adventure, what an adventure... Outro La Superbe, La Superbe, La Superbe |
NB:
Dieu merci, à la merci: note the word play with different meanings of “merci:” “thank you” and “mercy.”
à la merci de: this phrase (“at the mercy of”), along with the preceding phrase “Dieu merci,” both express mankind's state of dependence.
Un silence inédit: “inédit” means unpublished, original, unknown, unaccustomed, or novel.
partie de jambe en l'air: this literally means “part of a leg in the air,” but it is a common expression for having sex, sometimes translated as “hanky-panky” or “roll in the hay.”
the Gruss circus: the “Arlette Gruss Circus” is a traveling, traditional circus founded in 1985. Some people find its treatment of animals disturbing.
À la nage: this means “swimming” as in “regagner la rive à la nage” (“return to shore by swimming”).
D'un engrenage: an “engrenage” is a gear box or mechanism that symbolically consists of parts working together inexorably in the same way, time after time.
D'une mort à credit: “Death on the installment plan” is the name of a 1936 novel by French novelist Louis-Ferdinand Céline, commonly translated as “Death on Credit.” It recounts a story about a Paris doctor who treats the poor but seldom gets paid.
Nembutal: a barbiturate sedative.
Du plafond decrepit Qu'on observe à l'horizontal: sometimes it takes an unaccustomed point of view to notice the imperfections of life.
Le soleil est parti La neige tombe sur les dalles: time passes, seasons change, and not for the better.
D'un chaste spleen: the spleen is a human organ that ancient medicine associated with moodiness, melancholy and depression. Chaste means virtuous.
La vieillesse ennemie: the “old-age enemy” is an expression from a monologue by Don Diego in El Cid by Corneille (1637): “Ô rage! Ô désespoir! Ô vieillesse ennemie!”
Au fin fond de: this gem of an alliterative expression means “in the dark depths of” or “at the far end of.”
Je rêve de se rester fidèle: The song concludes with a spark of optimism leavened by an air of ambiguity.
NB:
Dieu merci, à la merci: note the word play with different meanings of “merci:” “thank you” and “mercy.”
à la merci de: this phrase (“at the mercy of”), along with the preceding phrase “Dieu merci,” both express mankind's state of dependence.
Un silence inédit: “inédit” means unpublished, original, unknown, unaccustomed, or novel.
partie de jambe en l'air: this literally means “part of a leg in the air,” but it is a common expression for having sex, sometimes translated as “hanky-panky” or “roll in the hay.”
the Gruss circus: the “Arlette Gruss Circus” is a traveling, traditional circus founded in 1985. Some people find its treatment of animals disturbing.
À la nage: this means “swimming” as in “regagner la rive à la nage” (“return to shore by swimming”).
D'un engrenage: an “engrenage” is a gear box or mechanism that symbolically consists of parts working together inexorably in the same way, time after time.
D'une mort à credit: “Death on the installment plan” is the name of a 1936 novel by French novelist Louis-Ferdinand Céline, commonly translated as “Death on Credit.” It recounts a story about a Paris doctor who treats the poor but seldom gets paid.
Nembutal: a barbiturate sedative.
Du plafond decrepit Qu'on observe à l'horizontal: sometimes it takes an unaccustomed point of view to notice the imperfections of life.
Le soleil est parti La neige tombe sur les dalles: time passes, seasons change, and not for the better.
D'un chaste spleen: the spleen is a human organ that ancient medicine associated with moodiness, melancholy and depression. Chaste means virtuous.
La vieillesse ennemie: the “old-age enemy” is an expression from a monologue by Don Diego in El Cid by Corneille (1637): “Ô rage! Ô désespoir! Ô vieillesse ennemie!”
Au fin fond de: this gem of an alliterative expression means “in the dark depths of” or “at the far end of.”
Je rêve de se rester fidèle: The song concludes with a spark of optimism leavened by an air of ambiguity.
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