Moonlight Over Delta Grasses
L'instant d'amour (The Moment of Love), (Album: Les murs de poussière (Walls of Dust), 1977)
This early song appeared on Francis Cabrel’s first album in 1977, Les murs de poussière, now nearly 50 years ago. A germ of existential philosophy regarding happiness and time animates the song. Happiness arises from an ability to seize and cultivate specific occasions that arise in the moment. The simple message is: “carpe diem” (“seize the day”) when the moment of love appears. Don’t dither or dally. And don’t get distracted with vague talk of “voyages que j'allais chercher loin de toi” (“trips that I was seeking far from you”). The life of a “chansonnier” can be grim but nights like this offer a fleeting opportunity for love and joy. It's a great pitch.
The song is replete with Cabrel’s rhymes and delicate choice of words and imagery carried by a captivating melody and expressively modulated vocals. There is a quality of anthropomorphism in the attribution of human qualities to features of nature. For example, in the second verse the wind softly asks the mist to make a sheet for them to lie upon. The notion of communication between wind and mist, and a delicate “brume” rather than a heavy “brouillard,” along with the bedroom nexus of the word “drap,” are all delightful choices. “La nuit” (the night) is an active participant throughout the narrative (“la nuit va refermer ses bras,” “la nuit s’allume”) while "l'amour se pose au creux des herbes." This collaboration among various features of nature and human emotion endows the song with a rich texture and depth and helps make a persuasive pitch for a nighttime of love.
In the song, the poet invites his interlocutor to seize the moment of love that lies waiting in the nighttime delta grasses, but it is not there for one person alone. He invites her to form a cage with the bars of her arms. It seems like an arms-length relationship, without any declarations of undying love. Basically, he says that "if you don't want it" ("si tu ne veux pas qu'il vienne"), well then "ne réponds pas." He buttresses his argument by the refrain's lament (repeated 3 times) that the life of a musician can be hard, eating cold bread, rapping on doors, breaking fingers and wandering roads where dogs and wolves roam. But, if she declines the chance for love and joy, at least he has the night to bury his sorrow.
There are 3 Verses, each with 7 lines, and 5 iterations of the 6-line Refrains, which have slight variations. As usual, bold and highlighted words in the text have notes following the lyrics.
|
FRENCH LYRICS Verse 1 Et si on parlait d'autre chose La nuit va refermer ses bras Je sais que l'amour se pose Au creux des herbes du delta J'irai l'attendre, mais reste Tout seul on ne l'approche pas J'irai l'attendre avec toi Verse 2 Vouloir vivre d'une guitare C'est souvent manger du pain froid Frapper aux portes des gares C'est souvent se briser les doigts La nuit s'allume, Écoute le vent qui demande tout bas À la brume de nous faire un drap Refrain Mais si tu ne veux pas qu'il vienne L'instant d'amour Du poète qui traîne Sur les chemins Où seuls les chiens Et les loups se promènent Si tu ne veux pas qu'il vienne L'instant de joie Du poète qui t'aime Ne réponds pas Il a la nuit Pour enterrer sa peine Instrumental Verse 3 On a trop parlé de voyages Que j'allais chercher loin de toi Pour ce soir fais-moi une cage Avec la grille de tes bras La nuit s'allume, Écoute le vent qui demande tout bas À la brume de nous faire un drap Refrain Mais si tu ne veux pas qu'il vienne L'instant d'amour Du poète qui traîne Sur les chemins Où seuls les chiens Et les loups se promènent Si tu ne veux pas qu'il vienne L'instant de joie Du poète qui t'aime Ne réponds pas Il a la nuit Pour enterrer sa peine Si tu ne veux pas qu'il vienne L'instant d'amour Du poète qui traîne Sur les chemins Où seuls les chiens Et les loups se promènent |
TRANSLATION (PENDERGAST) Verse 1 Suppose we talked about something else The night will close its arms I know that love awaits In the hollow of the delta grasses I'll go and wait for it, but stay Alone, you can't approach it I'll go and wait for it with you Verse 2 Wanting to live off a guitar It often means eating cold bread Knocking on station doors It often means breaking your fingers The night lights up, Listen to the wind that softly asks The mist to make us a sheet Chorus But if you don't want it to come The moment of love Of the poet who wanders Along the paths Where only dogs And wolves roam If you don't want it to come The moment of joy Of the poet who loves you Don't answer He has the night To bury his sorrow Instrumental Verse 3 We've talked too much about journeys That I would explore far from you For tonight make me a cage With the bars of your arms The night lights up, Listen to the wind that softly asks The mist to make us a sheet Chorus But if you don't want it to come The moment of love Of the poet who wanders Along the paths Where only dogs And wolves roam If you don't want it to come The moment of joy Of the poet who loves you Don't answer He has the night To bury his sorrow If you don't want it to come The moment of love From the poet who wanders Along the paths Where only dogs And wolves roam |
NB:
1) Et si is a conditional phrase that translates as “suppose” or “what if…” and is commonly used to make suggestions (“how about”) or hypothetical suppositions.
2) se poser has a meaning that depends on context, including “to land on,” “ask oneself,” “to act,” and more. Here it means "poses itself," or "awaits."
3) du delta: the word “delta” has the obvious geographic meaning of the fan-shaped mouth of a river where grasses grow. But it is also a mathematical term for change, which may be Cabrel’s surreptitious interpretation for the consequences of the "moment of love."
4) C'est souvent literally means “it’s often.” Here, it is an expression that refers back to the preceding phrase, in this case: “Vouloir vivre d'une guitare.” It explains that "wanting to live off a guitar" “often means” or entails certain other consequences.
1) Et si is a conditional phrase that translates as “suppose” or “what if…” and is commonly used to make suggestions (“how about”) or hypothetical suppositions.
2) se poser has a meaning that depends on context, including “to land on,” “ask oneself,” “to act,” and more. Here it means "poses itself," or "awaits."
3) du delta: the word “delta” has the obvious geographic meaning of the fan-shaped mouth of a river where grasses grow. But it is also a mathematical term for change, which may be Cabrel’s surreptitious interpretation for the consequences of the "moment of love."
4) C'est souvent literally means “it’s often.” Here, it is an expression that refers back to the preceding phrase, in this case: “Vouloir vivre d'une guitare.” It explains that "wanting to live off a guitar" “often means” or entails certain other consequences.
BACK TO CABREL PROFILE